Naming conventions for TV shows

Prefix

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.

Folder structures

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, the season folders are 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.

Naming conventions

Single episode files

Used for TV show files that only contain a single episode. All examples will be read as season 1, episode 2.

With season

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 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)

Without 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 (unless a season folder is present).

Examples:

• anything ep02.mkv
• anything ep_02.mkv
• anything 02.mkv
• 02.mkv

Multi-episode files

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.

Long format

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 s01e01 1x02.mkv (not valid)

Short format

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_ep02.mkv

The separators (e, x, -, _) are fully interchangeable and stackable, i.e. anything_1x01_02e03-x-04.mkv is perfectly valid (albeit somewhat odd).

Split episodes

Mizuu does not currently support split episodes.

Using release year

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 file in order for Mizuu to use it.

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.

Separators, meta data, etc.

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 (.).

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 (if possible).

If you experience any identification issues while using special separators, filename tags or special characters, please remove it and try again.