Plex not reading local episode .nfo files for TV show despite valid XML and correct folder structure

[mattxcz]

Hi, I’m trying to get Plex to read local .nfo metadata files for a TV show, but Plex seems to ignore them.

My setup is:

• TV show: Ulice

• Folder structure is standard TV layout (see bellow)

• Video file and .nfo file are next to each other

• Example files:

  • Ulice.S21E159.mp4

  • Ulice.S21E159.nfo

The .nfo is valid XML and uses an episodedetails structure like this:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="yes"?>
<episodedetails>
<title>5107. díl</title>
<showtitle>Ulice</showtitle>
<id>537989</id>
<uniqueid type="home" default="true">nova-episode-537989</uniqueid>
<season>21</season>
<episode>159</episode>
<absolute_number>5107</absolute_number>
<aired>2026-04-07</aired>
<premiered>2026-04-07</premiered>
<year>2026</year>
<plot>...</plot>
<runtime>43</runtime>
<duration>2577</duration>
<thumb>https://...</thumb>
</episodedetails>

What I already checked:

• the XML is valid

• the .nfo filename matches the video filename

• the episode numbering in the filename and in the .nfo matches

• Plex library refresh does not pick it up

• it feels like Plex is ignoring local episode NFO metadata entirely

My questions:

1. Does Plex currently support local episode .nfo files reliably for TV libraries?

2. Are there any required agent/library settings I may be missing?

3. Does Plex only read some tags and ignore the rest?

4. Does the presence of online matches override local .nfo files unless something is configured differently?

If anyone has a working example of TV episode .nfo files in Plex, I’d really appreciate it.

Plex on LXC (proxmox) version: v1.43.1.10576
Folder structure:
/Serialy/
Ulice/
S21/
S21E01.mp4
S21E01.nfo

[napolij]

I don’t think nfo support is available in the current stable Plex release.

But it is being worked on, you show check out the NFO Preview thread

https://forums.plex.tv/t/plex-nfo-agent-forum-preview/936104/281

[MovieFan]

Also keep in mind that once the feature is available publicly, it’s not automatic. You need to choose it as the agent for the library. If you don’t see it as an agent option, you are not running the proper version.

[FordGuy61]

@napolij

I don’t think nfo support is available in the current stable Plex release.

FYI, NFO support is in 1.43.0.10576, the current public release. I checked my server, and it is listed in Settings → Metadata Agents (I’m not using it, but it does appear).

@mattxcz Definitely check out the thread @napolij linked. Probably the best place for NFO questions, what has been updated in the beta releases, etc. The first post has info about supported formats (Kodi/XBMC). Additional details throughout the thread.

[mattxcz]

This is my option fot metadata agent, which is also set in “TV shows” as metadata provider: