Keep Jellyfin Metadata and Artwork Through Refreshes

You pick a poster, correct a title and refresh Jellyfin. The old choice comes back. Before editing it again, find out which saved file or setting is bringing it back.

Our recommendation: choose one app to maintain your local metadata, keep a copy of the files you value, and prove the workflow on one movie. Repeating a correction in two apps makes it harder to know which copy is current.

This guide is for a library you want to maintain with local NFO files and artwork. If Jellyfin has identified an entirely different film, start with fixing the match. The steps below assume the identity is already right.

Understand what Jellyfin reads and writes

An NFO is a small text file containing metadata. Jellyfin reads local NFOs ahead of online metadata. Its Nfo saver controls writing; turning that saver off does not disable reading. Artwork paths or URLs inside an NFO also take priority over images beside the video. Jellyfin uses the first NFO image entry for each artwork type. These rules are documented in Jellyfin's NFO guide.

That gives you two different jobs: deciding what should be saved, and checking what Jellyfin reads. Treat them separately. A correct screen in your editor is only the first check; the file on disk and the result in Jellyfin must agree too.

For example, if you want poster.jpg to be the poster, inspect the NFO for an image reference before replacing the JPEG again. A poster problem is not a reason to change a correct movie ID.

Choose one app to maintain the files

Both approaches below are reasonable. Pick the one that matches where you prefer to make edits.

Where you make most edits	Suggested working rule	What to watch
Jellyfin	Let Jellyfin save the NFO; keep other tools from automatically replacing it	An edit elsewhere may be replaced by your next Jellyfin save
A media manager such as MetaTana	Review and write files there; turn off Jellyfin's Nfo saver for that library	Direct edits in Jellyfin may not be carried back to your saved files

This is our workflow advice, not a Jellyfin requirement. There is no benefit in having two unattended tools repeatedly “correct” the same fields. You can still use both apps; give each a clear job.

Start by recording the current library settings. Do not disable every provider to enforce this rule. Jellyfin's metadata overview distinguishes local metadata from its online sources. You may still want online data for gaps in a lightly curated library.

Make a small, inspectable movie folder

Start with one movie in its own folder. A working example is:

Movies/
  Arrival (2016)/
    Arrival (2016).mkv
    movie.nfo
    poster.jpg
    fanart.jpg

Jellyfin documents individual movie folders and local artwork names in its movie guide. The example above uses one poster and one background so there is less to compare while you investigate. You do not need to restructure a working library to copy this layout.

Before changing anything, copy the NFO and artwork into a dated backup folder outside the scanned library. Also note the movie's current title, year, provider ID and selected poster. A screenshot helps, but it cannot restore the original XML or image file.

Keep that backup separate from any NFO export. Local metadata files are not a complete backup of Jellyfin's users, settings and playback history.

Investigate the field that changes

Use the smallest investigation that fits the symptom:

What you see	What to compare first
Correct movie, wrong poster	The chosen image, the local JPEG and image references in the NFO
Correct poster, old plot or title	The editor's saved value and the same field in the NFO
Changes return after using another app	File modification times and that app's write settings
Nothing changes in Jellyfin	The exact folder Jellyfin reads and whether the changed file is readable there

Open the NFO in an editor that understands XML. Compare the title and provider IDs before touching an image reference. If you edit XML by hand, preserve its structure and check it still parses; our NFO editing guide covers that process.

If you suspect an NFO image reference, work on the backed-up copy first. Remove or correct only the unwanted reference in the active file, then check one item. Do not erase all NFO files or remove provider IDs to solve a poster problem.

For a server running in Docker or on another machine, open the path from that server's point of view. A file you can read on your laptop is not proof that the server can read it. Compare mounts and permissions before changing broad access rules.

Refresh one item, then check it again

Save the intended metadata or artwork through your chosen editor. In Jellyfin, open that movie's menu and choose Refresh metadata. Read the replacement choices before confirming. Leave broad image replacement off unless replacing images is the change you intend.

Then check the result in this order:

1. Open the movie in Jellyfin and compare its title, year and ID with your notes.
2. Check the poster and background, including the full image rather than only its small thumbnail.
3. Reopen the NFO and image files. Confirm they contain what you intended and have not been rewritten by another app.
4. Repeat the normal action that used to undo your choice, such as another metadata refresh. Check that the result stays correct.

If it changes again, stop the wider rollout. Record which action preceded the change. Correct the writing rule or conflicting file, then repeat the same small check. A second refresh is useful evidence here; a library-wide refresh is not.

If the result is worse, pause automatic writes to the affected folder, restore your saved files and original settings, and refresh only that movie. This restores the files you backed up; it does not promise to restore unrelated server state.

Use MetaTana without replacing good work

MetaTana can review local metadata and write Jellyfin-format NFO files and artwork. For a curated library, start with one small folder and set Rename files in this folder to Never while you test metadata changes. Use Ask first later if you also want to review new names.

After adding the folder, open Folders, edit it and review Trust existing NFOs and artwork in this folder under More options. Trust is useful when the files are correct. It is not a repair for a wrong provider ID. Also check Replace NFO files that came with your media before allowing replacements. These are separate controls from renaming. See MetaTana's NFO and artwork guide.

Review the first-write list before approving it. Compare the written NFO with your intended edit and check Activity for the outcome. If you want local artwork to remain your chosen artwork, also review Write artwork URLs in Settings › Files › NFO files and inspect any image references already present.

New scraping on Free uses your own free TMDb API key; Pro includes hosted metadata without that key. Neither plan removes the need to check a match before writing it to your library.

Download MetaTana for Jellyfin when you want to review more folders this way. The useful milestone is one movie that stays correct after a refresh. Expand to a small batch only after that works.

Official documentation checked on 26 October 2026. The single-writer approach and staged checks above are our recommendations; menu wording can vary by server version.