FileBot

⭑⭑ Please watch the Getting Started and Video Tutorials if you have not done so already. ⭑⭑

Q: Can I move files? Can I rename folders? Can I change how files and folders are named?

Yes, the naming scheme is extremely flexible. You can transform the given variables into any file path you can conceive. Sorting files into a new folder structure is thus fully supported. Please use Double-Click ➔ Edit Format to open the Format Editor for the selected New Names item and then edit your custom naming scheme to your liking.

You can define an absolute path in the naming scheme: If you are organizing files for Plex then the {plex.id} binding will give you the path you want: {drive} refers to the file system root for the file at hand. If you want to organize files into a specific folder, please modify your naming scheme accordingly, e.g. X:\{plex.id} or \\server\share\{plex.id} on Windows or /Volumes/Media/{plex.id} on macOS or ~/Media/{plex.id} on Linux.

Please read How do I organize files for Plex? if you are renaming and organizing files for Plex.

Q: How do I fix misidentified files?

⭑⭑ If series / movie auto-detection does not work, then you can use SHIFT-CLICK <database> to force manual input and selection of the series or movie. ⭑⭑ You can manually fix an individual match via Double-Click ➔ Edit Match. If your files are already in order, then you can use Linear Rename instead of automatic matching. As a last resort, you can always grab the episode list in in the Episodes panel and then drag-and-drop or selectively copy-and-paste the episode data you want over into Rename for manual matching. Click Match to automatically align files with episodes or use drag-n-drop to realign files and episode data.

If you're using the command-line you can do the same via the --q and --filter options. Please read --q manual lookup and --filter and fine-tuning manual. The --mapper option may also come in handy. When dealing with problematic files manually on the command-line, the --action test and --mode interactive options can be used for testing and checking.

Consider using Match Mode: Strict instead of Match Mode: Opportunistic to favour simple matches / no matches over excessive guesswork.

Translating ⇆ is difficult and may require some finesse. Please read How do I convert AniDB Absolute numbers to TheTVDB Airdate SxE numbers? if you are struggling with Anime episodes.

If the episode SxE number and the episode title refer to different episodes, then the SxE number takes precedence. Please read How do I match episode files by episode title? if you want episode titles to take precedence over SxE numbers.

Some files contain neither SxE number nor episode title. In this case, some form of manual matching will be necessary. Please read How can I rename video files ripped from a DVD or BluRay disk? if you're struggling with files ripped from disk.

Q: How can I make FileBot remember my decisions? How can I make FileBot not ask me to confirm each movie or series?

Please toggle Manual Confirmation to Automatic Selection to make decisions automatically or remember previously made decisions. You can override a previously remembered decision via SHIFT-CLICK <database> to force manual input. Please read Match Mode: Opportunistic vs Strict for details.

Q: How do I exclude a file from the renaming?

Select the file that you want to exclude from renaming and press DELETE or BACKSPACE to remove the selected row from both Original Files and New Names. Use SHIFT-DELETE or SHIFT-BACKSPACE to remove a selected item from Original Files but not New Names or vice versa.

Q: FileBot does not give me the season number. I have {s00e00} in my format, but it'll only give me the episode number. What did I do wrong?

You have selected Episode Order: Absolute in the Preferences. Please use Airdate Order or DVD Order instead.
Are you using AniDB data? AniDB only provides absolute episode data since Anime do not have seasons. Use TheTVDB instead.

Q: FileBot is using E20240701 and not S02E24 as episode number. What did I do wrong?

You have selected Episode Order: Date and Title (see Absolute Airdate Mode) in the Preferences. Please select Episode Order: Airdate instead to restore default behaviour.

Q: How can I make FileBot only process video files? i.e. ignore artwork, nfo files, etc

You can selectively drop files, e.g. search for *.mkv, select all and drag into FileBot. Please read How do I process only specific kinds of files? for more options and examples.

Q: How can I rename video files ripped from a DVD or BluRay disk?

If you rip video files from a DVD, then you will typically get file names that do not contain SxE numbers (e.g. Alias-V01D01T01.mp4) and thus cannot be matched to TheTVDB or TheMovieDB/TV via automatic matching. However, even badly numbered files are typically in order at the very least, so you can rename files in linear order to make quick work of the task at hand. You can always manually match files to episodes one by one as a last resort.

Q: How can I rename folders? It's only letting me rename files when I drop folders!

When you drop a folder into Original Files, then FileBot will add all the files within that folder to the list. You can use LINK-DROP to add the selected folder as a single item. Please read Rename Folders for details.

DVD and BluRay folders are added as a single Folder item by default.

Q: FileBot is highlighting episodes in shades of red colour. What does this mean?

Shades of RED colour highlight potential mismatches at varying degrees of oddness. RED colour does not mean that the match is incorrect, and merely suggests that something seems to be a bit off. Please double-check everything before hitting Rename.

Q: FileBot is deleting the extension from files when renaming. What did I do wrong?

You have set Extension: Override in Rename Options and ignored the Missing Extension warnings before renaming. Please set it back to Extension: Preserve.

Q: Can I undo rename operations? Can I revert previously renamed files to their original names?

Yes. Please click Open History and then right-click any item and select Revert. You can revert the most recent rename operation by calling filebot -revert on the command-line. Please read Rename History for details.

Q: How can I get rid of (US) (UK) (2005) etc at the end of the series name?

Please adjust your custom format according to what you want.

Q: Can I quickly switch to a previously used naming scheme?

Yes. Please click Recent Formats and then select one of the previously used custom formats from the list. You may prefer to create custom Presets for recurring tasks.

Q: Can I process video files without reading media info?

FileBot may read the first few megabytes for each video file to parse MediaInfo properties. If you are processing files on a remote file system, then I/O latency can be >1s compared to the typical <10ms of a local drive. You may configure FileBot to not read MediaInfo, or pregenerate MediaInfo locally on the server-side ahead of time. Please read Optimizations for Remote File Systems for details on how to configure FileBot for your environment.

Q: I'm trying to run FileBot from the console, but I'm having trouble passing in --format because of spaces or double-quotes?

Please read up on how Cmdline and Argument Passing works. Please consider using @file syntax for reading command-line arguments from text files instead of passing complex arguments on the command-line.

Please use the sysenv script to print the argument array so that you can see what is being passed in:

Q: Why are some bindings not working in the Format Editor? It says "BindingException: Sample file has not been set"

You have not yet selected a media file for testing. Please click View Bindings to set a sample media file.

Q: How can I enter my OpenSubtitles login details?

You can enter your OpenSubtitles login details (for OpenSubtitles.com and not OpenSubtitles.org) by clicking Login in the Desktop application, or calling filebot -script fn:configure on the command-line for each user, or by clicking Tools ➔ Configure in the FileBot Node WebUI:

Q: Does FileBot have keyboard shortcuts?

Yes. Please read Keyboard Shortcuts for a complete list of all keyboard shortcuts.

Q: How can I tell what version of FileBot I've got installed?

GUI: Press the F5 key to open Groovy Pad and then press System Information: CLI: Run filebot with the -version flag:

Q: Where are the logs? What does the log say?

GUI: Press the F5 key to open the Groovy Pad and then press Error Log: CLI: Run the logs script:

Q: Where is the application data folder? How do I backup my settings? How do I restore my settings?

The default location for application data (e.g. settings, logs, etc) is %APPDATA%\FileBot on Windows and $HOME/.filebot on macOS and Linux but may vary depending on how you have installed FileBot. You can backup and restore your settings via Export User Data and Restore User Data.


Press F5 ➔ Application Data ➔ Open Folder in the Desktop application or run filebot -script fn:sysinfo on the command-line to find the application data folder.


e.g. Windows: e.g. macOS, Linux and BSD: e.g. AUR package: e.g. SNAP package: e.g. Mac App Store package: e.g. Microsoft Store Store package:

Q: How do I clear the cache?

Please call filebot -clear-cache on the command-line. Please read Clear Cache for details.

Q: <something> doesn't work. Is there something wrong with my license key?

No, there's probably nothing wrong with your license key. Please read How to Request Help so that we can help you find out what's actually going on.

Q: Where can I find the latest beta builds?

Please read Latest Beta Revisions and Release Candidates for details on the latest builds and revisions.