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# Recommended naming scheme

On the Radarr Discord people often ask, "What's the recommended/best way to name your files?" First off, it's personal preference, but it's often recommended to add non-recoverable info.

Why?

If, for what ever reason, you ever need to do a re-install or re-import in the Starr Apps or Plex/Emby/Jellyfin it's nice to have all that info in the filename so it gets imported correctly and isn't incorrectly matched as HDTV or WEB-DL etc.

The Tokens not available in the release won't be used/shown.

## Standard Movie Format

This naming scheme is made to be compatible with the New Plex Agent that now supports IMDb and TMDb IDs in filenames, if you don't need it or want it just remove `{imdb-{ImdbId}}`

Starting from v4.0.0.5720, Radarr now supports recognizing Dolby Vision (DV) and High Dynamic Range (HDR) types.

If you're using a lower version replace:

`{[MediaInfo VideoDynamicRangeType]}` with `{[MediaInfo VideoDynamicRange]}`

Starting from v4.2.2.6489, Radarr now supports Plex Multiple Edition tags in naming.

If you're using a lower version or don't need it replace:

`{edition-{Edition Tags}}` with `{Edition Tags}`

    {Movie CleanTitle} {(Release Year)} {imdb-{ImdbId}} {edition-{Edition Tags}} {[Custom Formats]}{[Quality Full]}{[MediaInfo 3D]}{[MediaInfo VideoDynamicRangeType]}{[Mediainfo AudioCodec}{ Mediainfo AudioChannels}][{Mediainfo VideoCodec}]{-Release Group}

RESULTS: - [CLICK TO EXPAND]

`The Movie Title (2010) {imdb-tt0066921} {edition-Ultimate Extended Edition} [IMAX HYBRID][Bluray-1080p Proper][3D][DV HDR10][DTS 5.1][x264]-EVOLVE`

If you do Anime - [CLICK TO EXPAND]

    {Movie CleanTitle} {(Release Year)} {imdb-{ImdbId}} {edition-{Edition Tags}} {[Custom Formats]}{[Quality Full]}{[MediaInfo 3D]}{[MediaInfo VideoDynamicRangeType]}{[Mediainfo AudioCodec}{ Mediainfo AudioChannels}]{MediaInfo AudioLanguages}[{Mediainfo VideoCodec}]{-Release Group}

The officially supported format is `{imdb-{ImdbId}}` and this is required in Radarr `v4.2.2.6489` and above to make the tags conditional. Plex also support `(imdb-{ImdbId})` or `[imdb-{ImdbId}]` which you can read here, however Radarr will not treat these as conditional meaning a movie with no IMDb ID would have `(imdb-)` or `[imdb-]` in the name. IMDb IDs are going to be very accurate and rarely change, but they may be missing for some movies added to Radarr. TMDb IDs, on the other hand, do change or are removed more frequently, but Radarr will always have this ID for each movie.

## Original Title vs Original Filename

If you want to keep the original release name that holds all the info of the file then I suggest to use `{Original Title}` over `{Original Filename}`

Why?

The filename can be Obscured where the Release naming isn't. Especially when you use Usenet.

`{Original Title}` => `The.Movie.Title.2010.REMASTERED.1080p.BluRay.x264-GROUP`

`{Original Filename}` => `group-karatekid-1080p` or `lchd-tkk1080p` or `t1i0p3s7i8yuti`

## Movie Folder Format

Please note that folder names are created (in the database) whenever the movie is added to Radarr, and it may be missing or incorrect at that time and your folder would have a blank ID!!!

If you instead add it in the filename, the IMDb ID will be freshly pulled for any download or upgrade.

Another potential negative of using it in the folder is that folder renames are complex, lengthy, and potentially destructive in Radarr compared to file renames.

### Minimal needed and recommended

    {Movie CleanTitle} ({Release Year})

RESULT:

`The Movie Title (2010)`

Note

Keep in mind adding anything more after the release year could give issues during a fresh import in to Radarr, but it helps for movies that have the same release name and year.

Radarr supports IMDb ID and TMDb ID in the folder name.

Quote from a developer

TMDb is usually better as it guarantees a match, IMDb only gets matched if the TMDb entry has the correct IMDb ID association. We don't actually talk to IMDb.

Thanks:

A big Thanks to fryfrog and rg9400 for the suggestions.

Questions or Suggestions?

If you have questions or suggestions click the chat badge to join the Discord Support Channel where you can ask your questions directly and get live support.

Last update: August 26, 2022 21:19:04
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