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Recommended Naming Scheme

On the Radarr/Sonarr Discord, people often ask:

  • "What's the best way to name my files and folders?"
  • "Why doesn't my naming scheme work well?"

While naming is a personal choice, adding non-recoverable information to your filenames is strongly recommended for several good reasons.

FAQ

Why should I include extra information in filenames?
  • Easy re-imports: If you ever need to reinstall or re-import your media in Radarr/Sonarr or media servers like Plex/Emby/Jellyfin, having all the details in the filename helps everything get imported correctly. Without this info, files might get wrongly identified as HDTV or WEB-DL quality.
  • Prevents duplicate downloads: Radarr/Sonarr won't accidentally download the same file again.
What's non-recoverable information and can't be recovered later?
  • Quality source (HDTV, WEB-DL, Blu-ray, Remux, etc.)
  • Release group (the team that created the release)
  • Edition type (Director's Cut, Theatrical, Unrated, etc.)
  • Repack/Proper status (whether it's a fixed version)
Why is the non-recoverable information important/needed?
  • Stops download loops: With a proper naming Radarr/Sonarr knows what you already have.
  • Quality source: Can you tell what quality Movie (2023).mkv is just by looking at it? Probably not. Without this info, you can't easily upgrade or downgrade your files, and you might download the same movie or TV show again.
  • Release group: Knowing the release group helps you identify if there are known issues with that specific release. It also helps you find extra information about hybrid releases or source materials.
  • Edition type: Tells you if you have the Director's Cut, Theatrical version, Unrated version, etc.
  • Repack/Proper: Shows whether you have the fixed version or the original (possibly broken) release.
Don't Plex, Emby, and Jellyfin work fine with simple names like movie (year).ext/tv showname SxxExx.ext?
  • Yes, they do work with simple names. However, these media servers only care about organizing and playing your files—they don't track quality or help prevent duplicate downloads. That's what Radarr/Sonarr handles.
Why are the recommended filenames so long?
  • Complete information: To ensure your files have all the details needed to prevent download loops after import.
  • Only used parts show up: If your file doesn't have certain attributes (like being a repack), those parts won't appear in the filename.
  • Media servers hide filenames anyway: Plex, Emby, and Jellyfin display movie titles and show information, not the actual filename, so the length doesn't matter for viewing.

This naming guide was created with help from the Sonarr/Radarr support team and community feedback.

Getting Started

First, you need to set up Radarr to show all the naming options:

  1. Go to Settings → Media Management

  2. Enable Show Advanced at the top of the page

    Enable Advanced

    After you click this button, you'll see all the advanced options like this:

    Unhide Advanced

  3. Enable Rename Movies to see the movie renaming options.

    Enable Rename Movies

  4. Also make sure Analyze video files is enabled under File Management

    Enable Analyze video files

Standard Movie Format

While both IMDb and TMDb IDs are unique, TMDb can occasionally remove IDs entirely, sometimes only to be re-added with a new ID later. However, due to using TMDb as its metadata source, they can be seen as "more aligned" with Radarr. IMDb IDs on the other hand, once present, are very accurate and rarely ever change.

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

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

This naming scheme is designed to work with the New Plex Agent.

If you use the {edition-{Edition Tags}} part of the recommended file name, Plex will recognize the movie edition and add it to the Plex interface - for example, Director's Cut.

However, this means that if you have two copies of a movie with different editions in a single merged library - for example, a 1080p Director's Cut and a 2160p Theatrical Edition - these will appear as two separate items in Plex.

If you want a movie to appear only once per library when you keep more than one copy of a movie, replace: {edition-{Edition Tags}} with {Edition Tags}.

TMDb is usually better as it guarantees a match, IMDb only gets matched if the TMDb entry has the correct IMDb ID association.

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

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

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

Movie: The Movie Title (2010) {tmdb-345691} {edition-Ultimate Extended Edition} [IMAX HYBRID][Bluray-1080p Proper][3D][DV HDR10][DTS 5.1][x264]-RlsGrp

TMDb is usually better as it guarantees a match, IMDb only gets matched if the TMDb entry has the correct IMDb ID association.

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

Movie: The Movie Title (2010) {imdb-tt0066921} {edition-Ultimate Extended Edition} [Surround Sound x264][Bluray-1080p Proper][3D][DTS 5.1][DE][10bit][AVC]-RlsGrp

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

Movie: The Movie Title (2010) {tmdb-345691} {edition-Ultimate Extended Edition} [Surround Sound x264][Bluray-1080p Proper][3D][DTS 5.1][DE][10bit][AVC]-RlsGrp

Source: Emby Wiki/Docs

TMDb is usually better as it guarantees a match, IMDb only gets matched if the TMDb entry has the correct IMDb ID association.

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

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

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

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

TMDb is usually better as it guarantees a match, IMDb only gets matched if the TMDb entry has the correct IMDb ID association.

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

Movie: The Movie Title (2010) [imdbid-tt0066921] - {edition-Ultimate Extended Edition} [Surround Sound x264][Bluray-1080p Proper][3D][DTS 5.1][DE][10bit][AVC]-RlsGrp

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

Movie: The Movie Title (2010) [tmdbid-tt0066921] - {edition-Ultimate Extended Edition} [Surround Sound x264][Bluray-1080p Proper][3D][DTS 5.1][DE][10bit][AVC]-RlsGrp

Source: Jellyfin Wiki/Docs

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

Movie: The Movie Title (2010) [imdbid-tt0106145] - {edition-Ultimate Extended Edition} [IMAX HYBRID][Bluray-1080p Proper][3D][DV HDR10][DTS 5.1][x264]-RlsGrp

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

Movie: The Movie Title (2010) [tmdbid-65567] - {edition-Ultimate Extended Edition} [IMAX HYBRID][Bluray-1080p Proper][3D][DV HDR10][DTS 5.1][x264]-RlsGrp

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

Movie: The Movie Title (2010) [imdbid-tt0106145] - {edition-Ultimate Extended Edition} [Surround Sound x264][Bluray-1080p Proper][3D][DTS 5.1][DE][10bit][AVC]-RlsGrp

{Movie CleanTitle} {(Release Year)} [tmdbid-{TmdbId}] - {{Edition Tags}} {[MediaInfo 3D]}{[Custom Formats]}{[Quality Full]}{[Mediainfo AudioCodec}{ Mediainfo AudioChannels]}{MediaInfo AudioLanguages}{[MediaInfo VideoDynamicRangeType]}[{Mediainfo VideoCodec }{MediaInfo VideoBitDepth}bit]{-Release Group}

Movie: The Movie Title (2010) [tmdbid-65567] - {edition-Ultimate Extended Edition} [Surround Sound x264][Bluray-1080p Proper][3D][DTS 5.1][DE][10bit][AVC]-RlsGrp

Alternative Movie Naming Options

These are other standard movie format naming schemes that work well. Use these if you don't like the brackets used in the main recommendations.

Original Title

Another option is to use {Original Title} instead of the recommended naming scheme above. {Original Title} uses the title of the release, which includes all the information from the release itself. The benefit of this naming scheme is that it prevents download loops that can happen during import when there's a mismatch between the release title and the file contents (for example, if the release title says DTS-ES but the contents are actually DTS). The downside is that you have less control over how the files are named.

If you use this alternate naming scheme, we suggest using {Original Title} instead of {Original Filename}.

Why?

The filename can be obscured or unclear, whereas the release naming is clear, especially when you use Usenet.

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

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

P2P/Scene Naming

Use P2P/Scene naming if you don't like spaces and brackets in the filename. It's the closest to the P2P/scene naming scheme, except it uses the exact audio and HDR formats from the media file, where the original release or filename might be unclear.

{Movie.CleanTitle}{.Release.Year}{.Edition.Tags}{.MediaInfo.3D}{.Custom.Formats}{.Quality.Full}{.Mediainfo.AudioCodec}{.Mediainfo.AudioChannels}{.MediaInfo.VideoDynamicRangeType}{.Mediainfo.VideoCodec}{-Release Group}

Movie: The.Movie.Title.2010.Ultimate.Extended.Edition.3D.Hybrid.Remux-2160p.TrueHD.Atmos.7.1.DV.HDR10Plus.HEVC-RlsGrp

Movie: The.Movie.Title.2010.MA.WEBDL-2160p.TrueHD.Atmos.7.1.DV.HDR10Plus.h265-RlsGrp

Movie Folder Format

While both IMDb and TMDb IDs are unique, TMDb can occasionally remove IDs entirely, sometimes only to be re-added with a new ID later. However, due to using TMDb as its metadata source, they can be seen as "more aligned" with Radarr. IMDb IDs on the other hand, once present, are very accurate and rarely ever change.

Please note that folder names are created in the database when the movie is added to Radarr, and the ID may be missing or wrong at that time. This could result in your folder having a blank ID. ‼

If you add the ID to the filename instead, the IMDb/TMDb ID will be pulled fresh for any download or upgrade.

The minimum needed and recommended format

{Movie CleanTitle} ({Release Year})

Example: The Movie Title (2010)

Keep in mind adding anything additional after the release year could give issues during a fresh import into Radarr, but it can help for movies that have the same release name and year

TMDb is usually better as it guarantees a match, IMDb only gets matched if the TMDb entry has the correct IMDb ID association.

{Movie CleanTitle} ({Release Year}) {imdb-{ImdbId}}

Example: The Movie Title (2010) {imdb-tt1520211}

{Movie CleanTitle} ({Release Year}) {tmdb-{TmdbId}}

Example: The Movie Title (2010) {tmdb-1520211}

Keep in mind adding anything additional after the release year could give issues during a fresh import into Radarr, but it can help for movies that have the same release name and year

TMDb is usually better as it guarantees a match, IMDb only gets matched if the TMDb entry has the correct IMDb ID association.

{Movie CleanTitle} ({Release Year}) [imdb-{ImdbId}]

Example: The Movie Title (2010) [imdb-tt1520211]

{Movie CleanTitle} ({Release Year}) [tmdb-{TmdbId}]

Example: The Movie Title (2010) [tmdb-1520211]

Keep in mind adding anything additional after the release year could give issues during a fresh import into Radarr, but it can help for movies that have the same release name and year

TMDb is usually better as it guarantees a match, IMDb only gets matched if the TMDb entry has the correct IMDb ID association.

{Movie CleanTitle} ({Release Year}) [imdbid-{ImdbId}]

Example: The Movie Title (2010) [imdbid-tt1520211]

{Movie CleanTitle} ({Release Year}) [tmdbid-{TmdbId}]

Example: The Movie Title (2010) [tmdbid-1520211]

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