tinyMediaManager vs. Alternatives: Which Media Manager Is Right for You?

Automating Metadata with tinyMediaManager: Step-by-Step Workflow

tinyMediaManager (tMM) is a powerful, open-source metadata manager for movies and TV shows. This guide gives a concise, prescriptive workflow to automate metadata scraping, naming, and export so your media library is organized, consistent, and ready for playback on Plex, Emby, Jellyfin, or other clients.

Prerequisites

• Installed tinyMediaManager (latest stable release).
• Local media files organized in folders (one folder per movie or season).
• Optional: Plex/Emby/Jellyfin set up to read local metadata or NFO files.

1) Configure global settings

1. Open tinyMediaManager → Settings.
2. Language & scraping: Set preferred language and country.
3. Metadata sources: Enable primary scrapers (TMDb for movies, TheTVDB/TVMaze for TV). Keep secondary sources (IMDb, FANART.TV) enabled for fallback.
4. Artwork providers: Enable Fanart, TMDb images, and local artwork.
5. APIs & keys: Enter API keys for TMDb and Fanart (recommended to avoid rate limits).

2) Set naming and file placement rules

1. Settings → Media Files.
2. Choose a naming scheme:
   • Movies: {title} ({year})/{title} ({year}){ext}
   • TV: {show.title}/Season {season.number:02}/{show.title} – S{season.number:02}E{episode.number:02} – {episode.title}{ext}
3. Enable automatic renaming and select preview-only initially to verify results.
4. Configure allowed file extensions and preferred subtitle file patterns (e.g., .srt, .ass).

3) Add your media folders

1. Library → Movies (or TV).
2. Click “Add video folder” and point to your top-level movie/TV directories.
3. Let tMM scan—this creates entries for each item without changing files.

4) Automatic scraping and matching

1. Select all items (Ctrl/Cmd+A) in the Movies/TV view.
2. Use Metadata → Scrape Selected.
   • For movies: choose TMDb first, enable year-match strictness.
   • For TV: choose by series title and use episode guide from TheTVDB/TVMaze.
3. Review the automatic matches shown in the results pane.
4. If mismatches occur, use the “Search Online” pane to pick the correct title manually.

5) Bulk metadata enhancement

1. After initial scrape, with items still selected:
   • Metadata → Fetch Artwork to download posters, fanart, banners.
   • Metadata → Download NFO to generate per-item NFO files.
2. Use the “Update Online IDs” action to ensure each item has stable identifiers (TMDb/TVDB/IMDB).

6) Configure export for your media server

1. Settings → Media Export.
2. Select your target (Plex/Emby/Jellyfin or Kodi).
   • For Plex/Emby/Jellyfin: enable NFO and artwork export and choose “Write artwork to folder” and “Generate NFO”.
   • For Kodi: choose Kodi-compatible NFO templates.
3. Set export frequency to “on change” or schedule automated exports (e.g., nightly).

7) Enable automated tasks

1. Settings → Scheduler.
2. Enable periodic scraping and export tasks:
   • Daily scrape for new files and metadata updates.
   • Nightly export to push NFOs and artwork to media folders.
3. Optionally enable “Watch folder” to trigger immediate actions when files change.

8) Automatic renaming & file operations

1. With renaming preview validated, go to Media Files → Rename.
2. Run Rename Selected in bulk or enable automatic rename-on-add in Settings.
3. For moving/organizing files, enable “Move files after renaming” and set target root folder.

9) Quality control and conflict handling

1. Use the built-in Duplicate Finder to detect duplicates and resolve conflicts.
2. Set preferred artwork resolution and format to avoid oversized images.
3. Inspect a sample of 10–20 items after automation runs to ensure correct results.

10) Maintenance tips

• Backup tinyMediaManager database regularly (Settings → Backup).
• Keep API keys and tMM updated to avoid scraping breaks.
• Use strict naming and consistent folder structure to reduce manual fixes.
• If using remote media servers, periodically rescan libraries there after tMM exports.

Minimal example workflow (summary)

1. Add folders → Scan.
2. Configure scrapers & API keys.
3. Bulk scrape selected items.
4. Fetch artwork and download NFOs.
5. Run rename and move files.
6. Export NFO/artwork to target server.
7. Enable scheduler/watch folder for ongoing automation.