Plex / Jellyfin / Emby / Kodi

CineRename produces a folder structure directly compatible with the main media servers. This page summarizes the conventions and best practices per server.

Naming conventions

CineRename follows the official conventions:

• Plex Movie naming
• Plex TV naming
• Jellyfin Movie/TV naming
• Emby naming guide

All three servers largely share the same convention. The plex, jellyfin and emby presets are therefore close but not identical (subtleties on Specials, multi-episodes, extended editions).

Movies

Movies/
├── My Movie (2023)/
│   ├── My Movie (2023).mkv
│   ├── My Movie (2023).en.srt
│   └── My Movie (2023).fr.srt
└── Other Movie (2024) {edition-Director's Cut}/
    └── Other Movie (2024) {edition-Director's Cut}.mkv

Notes:

• The year in parentheses is essential for matching.
• Multiple editions use {edition-...} (Plex/Jellyfin/Emby understand this).
• Subtitles .lang.srt next to the video file are automatically attached.

TV Series

Series/
├── My Series (2020)/
│   ├── Season 01/
│   │   ├── My Series (2020) - S01E01 - Pilot.mkv
│   │   ├── My Series (2020) - S01E01 - Pilot.en.srt
│   │   └── My Series (2020) - S01E02 - Episode 2.mkv
│   └── Season 02/
│       └── ...

Notes:

• The S01E01 format is the most universal.
• The episode title after the - is optional but helps with display.
• The Season 01 folder (in English, zero-padded) is required by Plex.

Animes

CineRename processes animes as TV series by default. Special cases:

• Absolute numbering (episodes from 1 to N without a season) → CineRename can convert to S01E01..S01EN depending on your preset.
• Anime-only servers like Stash or Jellyfin with the AniDB plugin → a specific anidb preset is available (Japanese titles, AniDB IDs).

Configure Plex

1. In Plex, create two distinct libraries: Movies and Series.
2. Point them to the folders you use as targets (organize --to).
3. Enable the Plex Movie / Plex TV Series agent (the others do not support {edition-...}).
4. Run a scan.

If Plex doesn't recognize your files

Check:

1. The title + year match TheTVDB / TMDB.
2. The folder structure is correct (one folder per movie, Season XX subfolders for series).
3. No weird characters have been removed (e.g., : is automatically replaced by -).

Configure Jellyfin

Identical to Plex, with a few nuances:

• Jellyfin scrapes with TheTVDB by default (rather than TMDB) — handy since CineRename also uses TheTVDB.
• Real-time scanning can be enabled via Library → Real-time monitoring.

Configure Emby

Identical to Jellyfin (Emby and Jellyfin are forks of the same historical code).

Configure Kodi

1. In Kodi, navigate to the Videos > Files section.
2. Add your source folder for movies or series.
3. When configuring the scraper (Information provider):
   • For Movies: Choose The Movie Database Python or Local information only if you use NFOs.
   • For Series: Choose TheTVDB (recommended since CineRename uses TVDB IDs by default).
4. For movies, if you use the default CineRename preset (one movie per folder), make sure to enable the "Movies are in separate folders" option.
5. Confirm and update the library.

What to do if recognition fails?

1. Rename via the Studio rather than a silent CLI — you will see uncertain matches.
2. Force a different match when in doubt (title similar to another).
3. Add the TVDB / TMDB ID explicitly in the folder name:
   • Plex: My Movie (2023) {tmdb-12345} or {tvdb-12345}
   • Jellyfin: My Movie (2023) [tmdbid-12345] or [tvdbid-12345](Note: CineRename queries TheTVDB/TVmaze for its own internal engine, but it preserves and transfers tags like {tmdb-...} entered manually to force matching on the Plex/Jellyfin side).
4. If it persists, do the Plex Dance (move file out of library, scan, put it back, rescan).