PRACTICAL NAMING GUIDE
When your server cannot find a file
Start with the selected library type and its root. Check a complete Movies or Shows library, rather than a folder containing both. This checker can identify naming risks without access to your server or media contents.
Choose a folder or paste paths
Choose the Movies or Shows root. The selected folder's name is removed, leaving paths relative to that library. Selecting an individual movie or season may produce incomplete-context findings. No file contents are read. Selecting a folder may show a browser message saying “Upload”; this page does not upload those files.
On mobile or browsers without folder selection, paste one relative file path per line. Do not paste an absolute disk path. A tab followed by a nonnegative byte count adds optional size information. Without sizes, zero-byte checks are unavailable. Unicode tree branches are supported; plain relative paths or JSON are more reliable than arbitrary command output.
Northbound (2025)/Northbound (2025).mkv Northbound (2025)/Northbound (2025).en.srt Northbound (2025)/poster.jpg
A JSON array is useful when names contain tabs or other unusual characters:
[
{"path": "Northbound (2025)/Northbound (2025).mkv", "size": 2400000000},
{"path": "Northbound (2025)/Northbound (2025).en.srt", "size": 34000}
]If pasted paths begin with Movies/ or Shows/, enable “Ignore one enclosing root folder.” Leave it off when your paths already begin with individual titles. Maximum: 100,000 entries or 24 MB of pasted text. The app runs its checks in a Web Worker and displays 50 findings at a time.
Movies: keep related files together
A dedicated folder helps distinguish a feature from extras and associate sidecars. Use the actual title and a verified year when available. Never invent a year just to satisfy a naming pattern.
Northbound (2025)/ Northbound (2025).mkv Northbound (2025).en.forced.srt poster.jpg
Compare the folder and video names if the movie matches incorrectly. Multiple video files can be intentional versions or split parts, so a duplicate warning is a review request, not a deletion instruction. Jellyfin versions use a shared folder-name prefix with distinct version labels.
Shows: check the identifiers first
Signal Coast (2025)/
Season 01/
Signal Coast (2025) - S01E01.mkv
Signal Coast (2025) - S01E01.en.srtIn Jellyfin, prefer the full Season word rather than S01 as a folder name. A filename marked S02E01 inside Season 01 is a concrete conflict. The checker will not decide whether the folder or the filename is wrong. An episode may span multiple identifiers; a repeated identifier can also be a valid alternate version.
Plex date-based and split-part patterns receive informational findings; parts beyond its documented eight-part limit receive a warning. The tool cannot check whether an airdate, episode number or provider order matches the actual program.
Subtitles: start with the exact basename
Put the subtitle beside its video and preserve the complete video basename. Add dot-separated language and flag tokens. The following files form a clear pair:
Northbound (2025).mkv Northbound (2025).en.sdh.srt
Common language codes are checked against a bundled list. An unfamiliar code receives a recommendation, not an error. Jellyfin allows custom track titles and additional flags, so arbitrary text is not automatically rejected. An orphan finding can also mean that the selected folder omitted the matching video. VobSub uses paired .idx and .sub files; a standalone .sub may be text and is not rejected solely for lacking .idx.
Subs and Subtitles folders are reviewed conservatively because support and required layouts vary. Beside-the-video placement is the portable suggestion, not a claim that every subfolder layout fails.
NFO, artwork and provider IDs
Jellyfin uses names including movie.nfo, tvshow.nfo, season.nfo and an episode's basename plus .nfo. This tool checks association only; XML, embedded artwork references and metadata contents are not read.
Jellyfin accepts several provider-tag delimiters, including square brackets and braces. Plex uses brace-delimited provider IDs. A correctly formed ID is not proof that it identifies the right title. See the source status before relying on platform-specific details.
Review a plan before changing anything
Export CSV for a spreadsheet or JSON for a complete report with provenance. Both exports stay on your device and may contain private filenames. No executable rename scripts are generated. Review related sidecars together, reconcile multiple suggestions for one file, and check the destination before applying any manual change.
Still not recognized?
Check server read permissions, the configured library path, supported containers, scanner exclusions and metadata agent settings. Those are outside a local filename check. A PASS does not mean a video is undamaged or that its metadata is correct.