https://support.plex.tv/hc/en-us/categories/200028098-Media-Preparation
https://support.plex.tv/hc/en-us/articles/200381023-Naming-Movie-files
https://support.plex.tv/hc/en-us/articles/200220687-Naming-Series-Season-Based-TV-Shows
You can put Movies into some kind of folder structure that makes sense to you, but Plex won’t care. Viewing by Folder with Plex is a PITA. It’s much better to just create Movie Libraries for Genres… to a point. I have 26 Libraries that make sense to me. You can explore another PITA - Collections - Hard to set up, hard to use, hard to get rid of when you find out you hate them.
No matter what you end up doing, Movies in Folders need to be named correctly - both the Movie and it’s Folder.
Example:
13 Sins (2014) — The Movie Database (TMDB) - 13 Sins (2014) at TMDB
H:\Movies <— a movie library folder - perhaps one of many movie libraries
…13 Sins (2014)
…13 Sins (2014).mkv
TV Shows are another matter entirely. You have ZERO wiggle room when it comes to File Names and Folder Structure for TV Shows.
Example:
The Expanse - TheTVDB.com - The Expanse at TVDB
H:\TV Shows\ <— a tv show library folder - perhaps one of many tv show libraries
… The Expanse
…Season 01
…The Expanse - S01E01.mkv
…The Expanse - S01E02 - Episode Name Optional.mkv
…and so on
…Season 02
…The Expanse - S02E01.mkv
…The Expanse - S02E02 - Episode Name Optional.mkv
…and so on
If you want TV Shows to work - do it like that.
If you don’t want TV Shows to work - do anything else.
FileBot (link in my signature) can handle the naming and structuring for you automatically or manually in seconds.
What FileBot can’t do is remove possible embedded metadata in the Title Field of MP4/M4V files. Plex will read this info and prefer it over a perfect file name/structure, but you can combat that situation by moving Local Media Assets to the bottom of every agent list you can find. All tabs in TV Show and Movies here:
https://support.plex.tv/hc/en-us/articles/200241558-Agents
Just drag LMA to the bottom of the list and drop it. If you do have embedded metadata this will cure the issue, if you don’t it won’t matter. LMA will do what it has to from the bottom. If you don’t use any MP4 Files - or never plan to use any - you can disregard this paragraph. If you do have some MP4/M4V files - or may have at some point - do the above.
Renaming/restructuring is best performed OUTSIDE the library and you may need to write a new bundle for the show or movie so The Plex Dance® was invented:
The Plex Dance®:
- remove show/movie from library
- rescan library files
- empty trash
- clean bundles
https://support.plex.tv/hc/en-us/articles/200392106-Library-Actions <— scan library files, empty trash, clean bundles - bring names and structures into compliance/Move LMA/etc
- replace corrected show/movie into library
- rescan library files
All Steps. In Order. No Shortcuts.
Here are my various libraries that may give you some ideas, but this will probably be considered overkill by many. It makes sense to me - until it doesn’t - then I can do something else.
One thing is certain… I would never think of viewing by folder as that’s just ignernt:
