Bug :.plexmatch doesn't recognize media files under Multi-level directory

Server Version#: 1.40.1.8227

Directory structure in docker container:

/dir1
	/dir2
		/dir3
            /tv
                /series1
					some mp4 files
                /series2
                    /Season1 title
						some mp4 files
                    /Season2 title
                        .plexmatch
						some mp4 files
                        /SPs
                            media1.mp4
                            media2.mp4

.plexmatch content:

Title: series2 title
Season: 2
ep:SP01:SPs/media1.mp4
ep:SP02:SPs/media2.mp4
# another attempt
Pattern:SPs/media{sp}.mp4

Library:

Type: TV Shows

Folder added: only /dir1/dir2/dir3/tv

Bug manifestation:

media1.mp4 and media2.mp4not in library, .plexmatch doesn’t working.

It works when I move directory Season2 title into tv like this:

/dir1
	/dir2
		/dir3
            /tv
                /series1
					some mp4 files
                /series2
                    /Season1 title
						some mp4 files
                /Season2 title
                    .plexmatch
                    some mp4 files
                    /SPs
                        media1.mp4
                        media2.mp4

It also works after created another .plexmatch under SPs.

Other attempt

I have renamed the folders to short name in file path. It is not length of path caused the problem.

Log

Plex Media Server Logs_2024-04-08_14-26-04.zip (280.8 KB)

What I did:
  1. Move three folders ( 3 seasons of Magia Record ) into /htpc/tr/anime/tv/
  2. Rename /htpc/tr/anime/tv/[philosophy-raws][Angel Beats!]/Bonus/ to Boonus/,and modified .plexmatch correctly.
  3. Scan the library
  4. The files appear in library
  5. Undo step 1 and 2
  6. The files in step 4 are missing
.plexmatch content:

/htpc/tr/anime/tv/[SweetSub&EnkanRec&VCB-Studio] Magia Record/[SweetSub&EnkanRec&VCB-Studio] Magia Record [Ma10p_1080p]/.plexmatch

Title: Magia Record
Season:1
Pattern: [SweetSub&EnkanRec&VCB-Studio] Magia Record [{ep}][Ma10p_1080p]*.mkv
Pattern: SPs/[SweetSub&EnkanRec&VCB-Studio] MagiRepo [{sp}][Ma10p_1080p][x265_flac].mkv

/htpc/tr/anime/tv/[SweetSub&EnkanRec&VCB-Studio] Magia Record/[SweetSub&EnkanRec&VCB-Studio] Magia Record 2nd SEASON [Ma10p_1080p]/.plexmatch

Title: Magia Record
Season: 2
Pattern: [SweetSub&EnkanRec&VCB-Studio] Magia Record 2nd SEASON [{ep}][Ma10p_1080p]*.mkv
Pattern: SPs/[SweetSub&EnkanRec&VCB-Studio] Magia Record 2nd SEASON [S1 Recap {sp,1-3,+12}][Ma10p_1080p][x265_flac].mkv
ep: SP16: SPs/[SweetSub&EnkanRec&VCB-Studio] Magia Record 2nd SEASON [S2 Recap][Ma10p_1080p][x265_flac].mkv
ep: SP17: SPs/[SweetSub&EnkanRec&VCB-Studio] Magia Record 2nd SEASON [TVSP][Ma10p_1080p][x265_aac].mkv

/htpc/tr/anime/tv/[SweetSub&EnkanRec&VCB-Studio] Magia Record/[SweetSub&EnkanRec&VCB-Studio] Magia Record Final SEASON [Ma10p_1080p]/.plexmatch

Title: Magia Record
Season: 3
Pattern: [SweetSub&EnkanRec&VCB-Studio] Magia Record Final SEASON [{ep}][Ma10p_1080p][x265_flac_aac].mkv
ep: SP18: SPs/[SweetSub&EnkanRec&VCB-Studio] Magia Record Final SEASON [S1&S2 Recap][Ma10p_1080p][x265_flac].mkv
ep: SP19: SPs/[SweetSub&EnkanRec&VCB-Studio] Magia Record Final SEASON [S2 Recap][Ma10p_1080p][x265_flac].mkv

/htpc/tr/anime/tv/[philosophy-raws][Angel Beats!]/.plexmatch

Title: Angel Beats!
Pattern: [philosophy-raws][Angel Beats!][{ep}][BDRIP][HEVC Main10P FLAC][1920X1080].mkv
ep:SP02: [philosophy-raws][Angel Beats!][OVA1][BDRIP][HEVC Main10P FLAC][1920X1080].mkv
ep:SP03: Bonus/[philosophy-raws][Angel Beats!][Another Epilogue][BDRIP][HEVC Main10P FLAC][1920X1080].mkv
ep:SP05: [philosophy-raws][Angel Beats!][OVA2][BDRIP][HEVC Main10P FLAC][1920X1080].mkv

Another Bug

/tv
	/series1
		.plexmatch
		some mkv files
		/Bonus
			media.mkv

The scanner can’t find the media.mkv. The log tells there are 18 files in directory, but 46 mkv files in fact. It says Adding subdirectory for scanner /tv/series1/Bonus, but no processing found after this message. The scanner found out the file, after renamed directory Bonus to Boonus and modified .plexmatch correctly.

My personal recommendation: stop trying to make plexmatch work. It is a crutch, and will never fully work as you expect. Particularly with bonus content.
Furthermore, it will severely slow down library scanning.

Bonus and extras as folder names will ensure that their content is ignored by Plex:
https://support.plex.tv/articles/201381883-special-keyword-file-folder-exclusion/

If you want Plex to show bonus content as such, you need to tell plex what these files are: https://support.plex.tv/articles/local-files-for-tv-show-trailers-and-extras/

There is no good reason not to adopt the plex way of naming media, because all the major media servers/players do support it.

https://support.plex.tv/articles/categories/your-media/

Thank you for reminding me of the special keyword. There are a few files from Season 0 and NCOP/ED in the Bonus directory, but only Season 0 is needed. It’s common for Season 0 to be included as a bonus with animation DVDs or Blu-ray discs.

There’s a real need to use plexmatch. Renaming files is difficult due to persistent seeding for private trackers. Before using plexmatch, I had used hard links to solve the problem. However, it resulted in synchronization issues when managing files, which required me to spend more time on them.

Match Hinting for TV Series | Plex Support
According the article, Bonus isn’t keyword in plexmatch.

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