Renaming files -- do I need to completely re-import my library?

Plex Media Server Metadata & Adding Files
1

I think I know the answer to this question, but maybe y’all have a better solution, so here goes.

I’m in the process of renaming my collection, some of which have garbage names that I’ve manually matched. I recently purchased a FileBot license and would like to rename everything to remain consistent with Plex’s ability to match automatically.

That said, I have play history, dashboard data from other users, etc… I would like to preserve this info if I can, but will ultimately be changing the majority of my underlying file names. I’m expecting to have to delete entire libraries and re-import them with the new file names, thus losing the other data. Is there a way around this?

Thanks in advance.

Server Version#: 1.19.1.2645-ccb6eb67e
Player Version#: 4.3.2.1

2

I recommend you to keep your filenames as they are, as long as everything is working as it should.
Only if you replace files anyway (e.g. upgrading their quality etc.) you could use the opportunity to fix the file names.

That being said, you should absolutely use the recommended naming schema for newly added files.

3

Adding to what Otto said, if you do end up renaming the file for an item that is already in a Plex library, you don’t have to delete/rebuild libraries. Just run the ‘Scan Library Files’ command in Plex, and it will figure it out. I don’t know what this will do to play history, etc. I think it preserves all that, but I’m not certain. You can try it with one album or movie to test.

4

Play History is held in a vault somewhere - unaffected by even “The Plex Dance”:

…which you may need at some point - if renaming and refreshing doesn’t do the trick.

5

Thanks everyone, could have sworn I had tried doing a scan after making changes and not seeing the server correctly pick up the changes, but I think I was mixing up the scenario I was seeing when transcoding a file and re-running scan (doesn’t actually pick up the change, only “Analyze” did).

I tried renaming a single file, and re-scanning – it did the trick. Library and info preserved, but with a new, nicely-formatted file name.

Cheers!

6

This is the usual outcome. But it may only work that way if

  • the library’s default agent hasn’t been changed since adding those files the first time
  • the file can be “matched” at all. Which means it will very likely fail with personal media and the like.
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