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).mkvis 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 Sonarr to show all the naming options:
- Go to Settings → Media Management
-
Enable Show Advanced at the top of the page
After you click this button, you'll see all the advanced options like this:
-
Enable Rename Episodes to see the episode naming options
-
Also make sure Analyze video files is enabled under File Management
Episode Format
{Series TitleYear} - S{season:00}E{episode:00} - {Episode CleanTitle:90} {[Custom Formats]}{[Quality Full]}{[Mediainfo AudioCodec}{ Mediainfo AudioChannels]}{[MediaInfo VideoDynamicRangeType]}{[Mediainfo VideoCodec]}{-Release Group}
Single Episode: The Series Title! (2010) - S01E01 - Episode Title 1 [AMZN WEBDL-1080p Proper][DV HDR10][DTS 5.1][x264]-RlsGrp
Multi Episode: The Series Title! (2010) - S01E01-E03 - Episode Title [AMZN WEBDL-1080p Proper][DV HDR10][DTS 5.1][x264]-RlsGrp
{Series TitleYear} - {Air-Date} - {Episode CleanTitle:90} {[Custom Formats]}{[Quality Full]}{[Mediainfo AudioCodec}{ Mediainfo AudioChannels]}{[MediaInfo VideoDynamicRangeType]}{[Mediainfo VideoCodec]}{-Release Group}
Example: The Series Title! (2010) - 2013-10-30 - Episode Title 1 [AMZN WEBDL-1080p Proper][DV HDR10][DTS 5.1][x264]-RlsGrp
{Series TitleYear} - S{season:00}E{episode:00} - {absolute:000} - {Episode CleanTitle:90} {[Custom Formats]}{[Quality Full]}{[Mediainfo AudioCodec}{ Mediainfo AudioChannels]}{MediaInfo AudioLanguages}{[MediaInfo VideoDynamicRangeType]}[{Mediainfo VideoCodec }{MediaInfo VideoBitDepth}bit]{-Release Group}
Single Episode: The Series Title! (2010) - S01E01 - 001 - Episode Title 1 [iNTERNAL HDTV-720p v2][HDR10][10bit][x264][DTS 5.1][JA]-RlsGrp
Multi Episode: The Series Title! (2010) - S01E01-E03 - 001-003 - Episode Title [iNTERNAL HDTV-720p v2][HDR10][10bit][x264][DTS 5.1][JA]-RlsGrp
Series Folder Format
While both IMDb and TVDb IDs are unique, TVDb can occasionally remove IDs entirely, sometimes only to be re-added with a new ID later. However, due to using TVDb as its metadata source, they can be seen as "more aligned" with Sonarr. IMDb IDs on the other hand, once present, are very accurate and rarely ever change.
{Series TitleYear}
Example: The Series Title! (2010)
This naming scheme is made to be used with the New Plex TV Series Scanner
TVDb is usually better as it guarantees a match, IMDb only gets matched if the TVDb entry has the correct IMDb ID association.
{Series TitleYear} {imdb-{ImdbId}}
Example: The Series Title! (2010) {imdb-tt1520211}
{Series TitleYear} {tvdb-{TvdbId}}
Example: The Series Title! (2010) {tvdb-1520211}
Source: Emby Wiki/Docs
TVDb is usually better as it guarantees a match, IMDb only gets matched if the TVDb entry has the correct IMDb ID association.
{Series TitleYear} [imdb-{ImdbId}]
Example: The Series Title! (2010) [imdb-tt1520211]
{Series TitleYear} [tvdb-{TvdbId}]
Example: The Series Title! (2010) [tvdb-1520211]
Source: Jellyfin Wiki/Docs
Jellyfin doesn't support IMDb IDs for shows
{Series TitleYear} [tvdbid-{TvdbId}]
Example: The Series Title! (2010) [tvdbid-1520211]
Season Folder Format
For this, there's only one real option to use in our opinion.
Season {season:00}
Example: Season 01
Multi-Episode Style
Prefixed Range
Example:
Alternative Episode Naming Options
These are other standard episode 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.Series.Title.S01E01.Episode.Title.1080p.AMZN.WEB-DL.DDP5.1.H.264-RlsGrp
{Original Filename} => show episode 1-1080p 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.
{Series.CleanTitleYear}.S{season:00}E{episode:00}{.Episode.CleanTitle}{.Custom.Formats}{.Quality.Full}{.Mediainfo.AudioCodec}{.Mediainfo.AudioChannels}{.MediaInfo.VideoDynamicRangeType}{.Mediainfo.VideoCodec}{-Release Group}
Single Episode: The.Series.Title's!.2010.S01E01.Episode.Title.1.ATVP.WEBDL-2160p.EAC3.Atmos.5.1.DV.HDR10Plus.h265-RlsGrp
Multi Episode: The.Series.Title's!.2010.S01E01-E03.Episode.ATVP.WEBDL-2160p.EAC3.Atmos.5.1.DV.HDR10Plus.h265-RlsGrp
Questions or Suggestions?
