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Naming conventions for TV shows
Mizuu uses the filename (and parent folder name) to identify and recognize your TV shows. Therefore it is important that your files are named correctly - preferably according to the conventions listed below.
The filename is the most important factor when identifying a TV show, however the parent folder name will be used as a priority in a number of cases - see below.
Please note that some of this functionality is not available yet, but will be available in the upcoming release.
Most people will use a simple folder structure. This typically means that you have a top-level directory as a TV show file source in Mizuu, and keep each of your TV shows in a separate folder in the top-level directory.
Example of a typical simple folder structure:
TV shows [top-level directory]
|—— TV show 1
| |—— Files
|—— TV show 2
| |—— Files
In the above example, Mizuu will attempt to identify the TV show based on the parent folder name, i.e. “TV show 1” and “TV show 2” in this specific case. If the parent folder name identification fails, it’ll attempt using the filenames. In this case it is important that the filename contains the complete title of the TV show. More on this below.
Example of another typical simple folder structure:
TV shows [top-level directory]
|—— TV show 1
| |—— Season #
| |—— Files
|—— TV show 2
| |—— Season #
| |—— Files
In the above example, Mizuu will attempt to identify the TV show based on the parent folder name, just like the example above. Additionally, it uses season folders, which you can read about right here.
It is bad practice to keep episode files from different TV shows in the same folder. You should always use separate TV show folders for each TV show, otherwise you will likely run into strange problems.
Used for TV show files that only contain a single episode. All examples will be read as season 1, episode 2.
This is the most common scenario and is the recommended way to name your files.
Examples:
- anything s01e02.mkv
- anything s1e2.mkv
- anything s01.e02.mkv
- anything s01_e02.mkv
- anything 1x02.mkv
- anything season-1_episode 2.mkv
- 1e01 anything.mkv (has to begin with this)
- anything 102.mkv*
* This is supported from three digits and up to 7 digits. Here’s an overview of their meaning:
- 102 = season 1, episode 2
- 0102 = season 1, episode 2
- 01002 = season 1, episode 2
- 001002 = season 1, episode 2
- 0001002 = season 1, episode 2 (this is primarily used for TV shows with the year as season)
For special cases where you don’t need the inclusion of the season number. Mizuu will treat all files like this as being part of the first season of the given TV show (season folders will naturally override this).
Examples:
- anything ep02.mkv
- anything ep_02.mkv
- anything episode 02.mkv
- anything pt-02.mkv
- anything part02.mkv
- 002 anything.mkv (has to begin with this for episode numbers with three digits)
- anything 02.mkv (anywhere in the filename for episode numbers equal to or less than two digits)
Used for TV show files that contain one or more episodes. All examples will be read as season 1 and (up to) episodes 1 through 3.
You can use this if the season varies with each episode. Once Mizuu detects a known pattern, it looks for the same pattern for future checks in the filename. Mixed patterns are not valid.
Examples:
- anything s01e01 s01e02.mkv
- anything.s01e01.episode-title.s01e02.episode-title.mkv
- anything_s01e01s01e02s01_e03.mkv
- anything 1x01 1x02.mkv
- anything ep01 ep02.mkv
- anything episode01 episode02.mkv
- anything pt01 pt2.mkv
- anything part01 part2.mkv
-
anything s01e01 1x02.mkv(not valid)
You can use this if all episodes are from the same season.
Examples:
- anything s01e01e02.mkv
- anything s01e01-02-03.mkv
- anything 1x01x02.mkv
- anything ep01_02.mkv
The separators (e, x, -, _) are fully interchangeable, but cannot be stacked, i.e. anything_1x01_02e03-04x05.mkv is perfectly valid (albeit somewhat odd).
Mizuu does not currently support split episodes.
Some TV shows include extras or special episodes. These should be named according to the TV shows special listings on www.thetvdb.com. The season number should always be 00.
Examples:
- Chuck S00E01.mkv (according to the show specials listing)
- House 00x01.mkv (according to the show specials listing)
Certain TV shows may have the same title, making it hard for Mizuu to identify them correctly. The release year is very useful in situations like this.
You can add the release year to the parent folder name or include it in the filename of each TV show episode file in order for Mizuu to use it:
- Doctor Who (2005) [folder]
- Doctor Who (2005) S01E01.mkv [file]
- Doctor Who S01E01 (2005).mkv [file]
Please note that it's a bad idea to use certain naming conventions when also including a release year in the filename.
In other words, please don't end up with filenames like anything 2008 2010.mkv. In that case, it's practically impossible to know if 2008 is the release year or the 8th episode of the 20th season.
Mizuu supports the following season folder naming conventions:
- Season ## anything (folder name has to start with this)
- S## anything (folder name has to start with this)
- ## (folder name has to be digits only, 4 max)
- Special or Specials (folder name can only contain this)
- Special episode or Special episodes (folder name can only contain this)
- Extra or Extras (folder name can only contain this)
A season folder is used to identify individual episodes within the folder. This means that the season folder will override whatever season number is in the filename of the files within the folder. The application does not fallback to the filename season number if it fails to identify the individual files based on the season folder name, so make sure it's correct!
Optionally, you can use the IMDb ID of a TV show as the show folder name or part of the show folder name. It is generally a good idea to keep the show title in the folder name as a fallback if the show cannot be identified based on the IMDb ID, but it is not a requirement.
You can also use IMDb ID's in episode filenames, although you have to include it in every filename for a given TV show. It is recommended to put the IMDb ID after season and episode information. It's important to note that the filenames must include the IMDb ID of the TV show and not that of each individual TV show episode.
Examples:
- The Big Bang Theory (tt0898266) [folder]
- tt0898266 [folder]
- The Big Bang Theory S01E01.mkv (tt0898266) [file]
- S01E01.mkv (tt0898266) [file]
It is recommended to use space as a separator, but Mizuu does include some logic to deal with other kinds of separators, i.e. hyphens (-), underscores (_) and dots (.). This is valid for filenames and folder names.
Additionally, Mizuu includes logic to deal with various kinds of filename meta data and tags.
Finally, you should avoid using special characters in your filenames and folder names (if possible).
If you experience any identification issues while using special separators, filename tags or special characters, please remove it and try again.