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MetaTana

These docs are for MetaTana 2.0, coming soon

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Folders

Folders is the page for the folders MetaTana watches and where their files go: each watched folder and its settings, how files are named, the destinations sorted files are filed into, and the routing rules that pick a destination.

Folders page: three watched folders under Watching, each with its path, what it holds, how many files, where its files go and its state, such as Checked 14:02 or Paused, then the Naming, Destinations and Advanced routing sections.
Folders: watched folders, naming, destinations, and routing

The page

Folders has four sections:

  • Watching lists each folder with its path, what it holds, how many files it has, where its files go, and its state, such as Checked 14:02, Paused, Offline, or Read only. Each row has one action (Scan now, Resume, or Check again) and a ⋯ menu with Edit folder…, Rescan all files, Pause watching, Reconnect folder… for an offline folder, and Remove folder…. Scan all scans every folder, and Add folder opens the Add folder flow.
  • Naming shows the naming pattern for movies, episodes, and anime, each with an example. Edit naming opens Settings › Files › Naming. ⋯ › Preview renames… shows what the saved patterns would do to the first 25 library files of each kind, without renaming anything.
  • Destinations lists where sorted files go, with Templates and Add destination. See Destinations.
  • Advanced routing lists routing rules, with Add rule. See Routing rules.

How files flow

A file reaches your library through a few steps. All of them are set up on this page; the decisions they need show in the Inbox.

Step Where it lives What happens
Watched folder Watching MetaTana scans the folder and watches it for changes. Its Folder role decides what happens next.
Library folder Watching Files are identified and filed straight into the Library. With Tidy into Movies and TV folders on, they move into your library folders; otherwise they stay where they are.
Incoming folder (Arrivals) Inbox, and All arrivals in the Inbox menu Files wait until they are complete, are identified, then wait for your approval. See All arrivals.
Routing rules Advanced routing Checked before the default destinations. The first rule that matches picks the destination.
Destination Destinations The library folder a file is filed into, such as Movies, Shows, or Anime.
Library Library The filed title, with its metadata, artwork, and sidecar files.

Decisions that need you, such as a file with no match, a Fair match, a duplicate, or a rename in a folder that asks first, wait in the Inbox with a reason. Activity records each step, with Undo for file moves and renames.

Adding a folder

A fresh install has no folders. Choose a folder under Add your first folder on Home opens the same flow as Add folder here and in the Library; on desktop you can also drop one exact file. Add your first folder walks through it.

Home on a fresh install: the Add your first folder card with Choose a folder, I use tinyMediaManager, and Advanced.
Home: Add your first folder on a fresh install
  1. Choose or drop a folder. MetaTana checks what is inside and shows counts such as 212 movies · 14 shows (1,030 episodes) · 3 anime · 2 unsure.
  2. Pick Folder: Library folder (default) or Incoming folder, which sets the folder role to Incoming so new media goes through Arrivals. Opened from Arrivals, Incoming folder is already picked. For a library folder, also pick File handling (Leave files where they are or Tidy into Movies and TV folders) and For your player (Plex, Jellyfin, Emby, Kodi, or None).
  3. Select Scan folder. MetaTana scans the folder now, then watches it with Autopilot on.

The folder is added as mixed unless the check finds only one kind of media, so episodes in a mixed folder are not forced to be movies. Advanced › Folder type sets one type for the whole folder, and Advanced › More source options opens the full add-folder form for incoming folders, tags, NFO format, and the other fields in Folder settings.

Adding the same folder again saves your File handling and For your player choices before scanning. If saving fails, MetaTana asks you to retry and does not start the scan. A single-file drop or a folder already covered by a larger folder uses that folder's saved choices; MetaTana tells you when they differ from what you picked.

File drops and folder drops

A file drop is a one-time exact scan. It does not turn on watching for the file's parent folder, and files beside it stay out of that scan.

A folder drop adds the folder (or reuses one already added), starts its first scan, and turns on watching and scheduled scans. Pausing or removing that folder stops its future scans and watching.

Edit folder

Select a folder's path, or Edit folder…, to open the Edit folder drawer:

Setting Choices
Content type Movies, Shows, Anime, Mixed, or Other. Trusted over filenames
New files Autopilot or Ask first
Tidy into Movies and TV folders Library folders only. Turning it off is the same as Rename files: Never
Rename files in this folder Always, Ask first, or Never
Naming Library default (the pattern from Settings › Files › Naming) or Custom, a pattern for this folder only
Write NFO files Use default, Always, or Never, then the Player the files are for
NFO format, Folder tags As in Folder settings
First write Whether Autopilot may write NFO and artwork files here, with Ask me again after you said no. See NFO and artwork

More options holds the rest: Path, Media type, Label, This folder is on, Folder role, the import profile, Arrivals handling, and destination scope for folders that are not library folders, Organize by first tag, Trust existing NFOs and artwork in this folder, Scan on a schedule, Watch for changes, Pause watching, and Remove folder…. Removing a folder leaves its files on disk. Select Save changes to keep your edits.

Folder roles

Role What it's for
Library Normal media folders you want to scan and identify. Most folders are Library folders, and their files are filed straight into the Library.
Incoming Folders where new files land from elsewhere. Files wait until they are complete, then go through Arrivals and are filed to a destination once you approve them.
Drop folder A folder you drop media into by hand to sort before filing. Goes through Arrivals too.
Disc copies A folder where copies of your own discs land (Blu-ray or DVD folders and ISO files). Goes through Arrivals too.

A folder has one role. If you want both behaviors, browsing some media in place and filing new arrivals, use two folders.

Folder settings

The full add-folder form (Advanced › More source options) and Edit folder set:

Field Notes
Path The folder MetaTana scans, as MetaTana sees it (the host path on desktop, the container path on Docker).
Folder role See Folder roles.
This folder is on This computer, A network share, or A removable drive. When a network share is disconnected or a removable drive is unplugged, its titles show Source offline instead of File missing. A folder on a \\server\share, //server, smb:, or nfs: path is set to a network share automatically. Any other path starts as this computer, so set it yourself for a mounted share or a USB drive.
Media type and content type Movies, Shows, Anime, Mixed, or Other. Trusted over filenames. A folder added through the Add folder flow is Mixed unless its contents are clearly one kind.
Scan on a schedule Whether MetaTana scans it regularly. On by default for every way to add a folder; MetaTana starts it after the first scan begins. Turn off Keep this folder updated under Advanced when adding a folder for one scan only.
Watch for changes Scans files as they appear. On by default; MetaTana starts watching after the first scan begins. An exact-file drop scans only that file and never watches its parent folder. Watch folders for changes in Settings › General › Scanning turns watching on or off for every folder.
Scans Incremental by default: new and changed files are processed, technical details (codec, resolution, duration) are filled in for files still missing them, and the rest is skipped. To re-read every file in one folder, for example after you edit NFO files next to unchanged media, choose Rescan all files in its ⋯ menu. Turning off Incremental scan in Settings › General › Scanning makes every scan full, including scheduled scans.
Arrival handling For incoming folders: Review first, Auto promote, or Archive only.
Destination scope For routing: which destinations this folder can file titles into.
Folder tags Added to every title found in this folder. Useful for "everything in this folder is anime".
Organize by first tag Uses the title's first tag when sorting it into folders.
Write NFO files Library folders only. Writes NFO and artwork files next to your media for the player you pick (Plex, Jellyfin, Emby, or Kodi). The Inbox asks once before the first write. Set by For your player when you add the folder.
Tidy into Movies and TV folders Library folders only. Autopilot moves and renames files into Movies and TV folders, asking first if Rename files in this folder is Ask first. Files already under your own Movies, Films, TV, or Anime folder stay there. Set by File handling when you add the folder.

For the rules behind these settings, such as when a folder's type wins, how offline folders are handled, and incremental and full scans, see Scanning and matching.

Destinations

Watched folders are where content comes from; destinations are where it ends up, organized by media type and rule.

The Destinations and Advanced routing sections of the Folders page: a list of destinations with their content type and path, and the routing rules in the order they are checked.
Folders: Destinations and Advanced routing
Concept Role
Watched folder A folder MetaTana reads from: where your media lives now. Identified titles show in Library.
Destination A folder MetaTana files into: where routed titles are organized.

A library-only setup uses watched folders only: files stay where they are and MetaTana indexes them. A routed setup uses destinations: files are moved into a destination folder laid out by type.

Add destination (or a destination's edit dialog) has:

Field Notes
Name Shown in rules and in Activity, for example Movies.
Path The folder as MetaTana sees it (the container path on Docker).
Content type Movies, TV shows, Anime, Concerts, Documentaries, Mixed, or Archive.
Folder layout Title (Year), Show / Season / Episode, Anime / Season / Episode, or Keep the folder layout. File names follow Settings › Files › Naming.
Accepts Playable files, Source files, or Both.
Disc images Ask first, Allow, or Block for ISO and disc folders.
Default destination Used when no rule matches.
Enabled Turn off to stop filing into it without removing it. Identification continues; only the filing step pauses.

Templates adds a ready-made set of destinations.

When you add an incoming folder and have no destination yet, MetaTana uses your Library folders: a Movies, TV, or Anime folder takes its own kind, and a mixed folder gets Movies, TV Shows, and Anime folders inside it (or your own Films or TV folder if it has one).

Routing rules

Rules are checked before the default destinations, in order, and the first rule that matches wins. Drag a rule by its handle, or use the keyboard on the handle, to change the order; the new order is saved at once. A rule has a Name, a Priority, where it Goes to, and conditions such as Folder role, Tags, Resolution, Dynamic range, or Container. Add rule needs at least one destination: add one under Destinations first, or start from Templates.

Common workflows

Force a full rescan The folder's ⋯ menu › Rescan all files (also in the ⋯ beside Scan now in the Edit folder drawer). It checks every file again, including unchanged ones, so it is slower. Useful after fixing extensions or paths, or after editing NFO files by hand. The incremental setting stays as it is.
Pause or remove a folder Pause watching in the folder's ⋯ menu keeps it set up but stops scans, watching, and routing; Resume on its row starts it again. Remove folder… removes it from MetaTana; its files stay on disk.
Split movies and shows Add a Movies destination and a TV shows destination with different paths, then add rules in Advanced routing to send each type to its destination.
4K movies to their own folder Add a destination for 2160p movies, then a rule with Resolution set to 2160p that goes to it. Put it above broader movie rules.
Anime to its own destination Add an Anime destination with the Anime / Season / Episode layout. Give your anime folder the folder tag anime in its Edit folder drawer, and add a rule on that tag.
A file landed in the wrong destination Check Advanced routing. Rules run in order and the first match wins, so a broad rule above a narrow one catches everything. After changing a rule, drop a test file into an incoming folder and follow it in the Inbox and in Activity until it lands where you expect.

Common pitfalls

Read-only folders A read-only folder (a Docker :ro mount, a read-only share, or an NTFS drive on macOS) scans and is watched like any other. Its row shows Read only with "Scans work, file changes are blocked": NFO, artwork, rename, organize, and delete need write access.
Wrong path inside Docker The path must be the one inside the container. If you mounted -v /mnt/media:/library/movies, use /library/movies, not /mnt/media. See Scan found too few.
The folder role matters for routing Switching a folder's role from Library to Incoming sends its new files through Arrivals, to be checked and filed into a destination. Don't switch unless you intend that.
Filing moves the file Filing into a destination moves the file from its watched folder. If another app expects the file to stay where it is, leave that folder's files in place instead of routing them. Moves can be undone in Activity.
Moving to another drive copies first A move between drives copies the file and removes the original only after the copy is in place, so it is slower and briefly needs space on both drives. A disc folder can only be filed to another drive through Arrivals.

Going deeper