Manual / FAQ

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Frequently Asked Questions


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


Q: Can it move files? Can it rename folders? Can it pad Season / Episode numbers with leading 0s?
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:

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{drive}/Media/TV Shows/{n}/Season {s.pad(2)}/{n} - {s00e00} - {t}

If you are organizing files for Plex then the {plex} binding will give you the path you want:

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{drive}/Media/{plex}

{drive} refers to the file system root. If you want to organize files into a specific folder, please modify your naming scheme accordingly, e.g. X:/{plex} on Windows or /Volumes/Media/{plex} on macOS. Please watch How do I organize files for Plex? if you are renaming files for Plex.


Q: How do I fix misidentified files?
If the series / movie is not auto-detected correctly, then you can SHIFT-CLICK the database to force manual input and selection of the series or movie. You can manually fix an individual match via Double-Click ➔ Edit Match. 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. 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. If your files are already in order, then you can use Linear Rename instead of automatic matching. When dealing with problematic files manually on the command-line, the --action test and --mode interactive options can be used for testing and checking.


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: How can I change the episode numbering scheme to S00E00 instead of the default SxE?
You can change the naming scheme in Format Editor to whatever you like. Select Edit Format or double-click a New Names item to open the Format Editor.

Anime do not have season numbers so converting AniDB absolute numbers to TheTVDB SxE numbers ⇆ can be tricky.


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?
Have you set your preferred Episode Order to Absolute Order in 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: 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 to process only specific kinds of files for more options and examples.


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 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.

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{n.replaceTrailingBrackets()}

Q: Can I quickly switch to a previously used naming scheme?
Yes. Please click Change Format and then select one of the previously used custom formats from the list.


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:

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filebot -script fn:sysenv

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 Change Sample to set a sample media.


Q: How can I enter my OpenSubtitles login details?
You can enter your OpenSubtitles login details by clicking Login in the Desktop application or calling filebot -script fn:configure on the command-line:

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filebot -script fn:configure

Q: UI is glitching. FileBot crashes on startup. What's wrong?
Graphics glitching all over? FileBot not working via remote desktop (RDP)? You may need to tell Java Swing to turn off Direct3D rendering:

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setx J2D_D3D false

Are you using ZoneAlarm or MSI Afterburner or RivaTuner? Any 3rd party software that interferes with Windows internals (e.g. filesystem, registry, Direct3D render pipeline, etc) can cause applications to crash.


Q: How can I tell what version of FileBot I've got installed?
GUI: Press F5 to open the Groovy Pad and then press System Information:

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runScript 'sysinfo'

CLI: Run filebot with the -version flag:

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filebot -version

Q: Where are the logs? What does the log say?
GUI: Press F5 to open the Groovy Pad and then press Error Log:

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runScript 'logs'

CLI: Run the logs script:

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filebot -script fn:logs

Q: Where is the application data folder?
The default location for application data such as log files is %APP_DATA% on Windows and ~ on Mac and Linux. Please Press F5 if you need help finding your Application Data location.

e.g. Windows:

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%APPDATA%\FileBot

Press Win+R, then paste %APPDATA%\FileBot, then hit ENTER to open the FileBot application data folder.

e.g. Mac, Linux, BSD:

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~/.filebot

e.g. Mac App Store:

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~/Library/Containers/net.filebot.FileBot/Data/Library/Application Support/User Data

e.g. Microsoft Store Store:

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%USERPROFILE%\AppData\Local\Packages\PointPlanck.FileBot_*\LocalCache\Roaming\FileBot

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.