Updated 2026-07-28

Video File Naming Rules for Movies and TV Shows

Stream scans your media source and uses the video filename to search TMDB for movie and TV show metadata. Clear filenames make matching faster and more accurate.

Folder names can help you stay organized, but Stream's automatic matching is based on the video filename itself.

Quick Recommendations

Use these patterns whenever possible:

Movies

Start the filename with the complete movie title. Add the release year when possible, especially when multiple movies share the same title.

Inception (2010).mkv
The.Irishman.2019.1080p.x264.mp4
Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022).mkv
流浪地球.2019.1080p.H265.mp4

Technical tags may appear after the title and year. Stream will try to ignore common tags such as resolution, source, codec, HDR, subtitles, and release group.

The.Matrix.1999.1080p.BluRay.H.264.mkv
Killers.of.the.Flower.Moon.2023.2160p.WEB-DL.H.265.mkv

TV Shows

For TV shows, every episode should include the show title plus season and episode numbers. The most reliable pattern is S01E01.

Shameless.S01E01.1080p.AMZN.WEB-DL.mkv
The.Office.S03E02.720p.HDTV.mp4
Friends.S01E01.1080p.WEB-DL.mkv

Stream also supports these episode styles:

The episode-number-only style is supported, but it is less explicit. Prefer S01E08 when you can.

Specials

Use season 00 for specials and extras that belong to a show.

Shameless.S00E01.mkv
Breaking.Bad.S00.E01.1080p.mkv

Separators

Dots, spaces, underscores, and dashes are all acceptable separators.

Show.Name.S01E01.mkv
Show Name S01 E01.mkv
Show_Name_S01E01.mkv
Show-Name-S01E01.mkv

Be consistent across a library. Consistent naming makes mistakes easier to spot.

Technical Tags

Technical tags can appear after the title/year or after the episode marker.

Common examples include:

• Resolution: 2160p, 1080p, 720p
• Source: WEB-DL, WEBRip, BluRay, REMUX, HDTV
• Codec: H.264, H.265, HEVC, x264, x265
• Audio: AAC, AC3, DTS, TrueHD, Atmos
• HDR: HDR, HDR10, DV, Dolby.Vision
• Subtitle tags: CHS, CHT, ENG, SUB

Constellation.S01E01.2024.2160p.ATVP.WEB-DL.DDP5.1.Atmos.DV.H.265.mkv
The.Gray.Man.2022.2160p.NF.WEBRip.x265.DDP5.1.Atmos.mkv

Avoid These

• Do not rely on folder names alone for TV season and episode numbers.
• Avoid putting the year before the title.
• Avoid names that contain only technical tags, such as 1080p.BluRay.x264.mkv.
• Avoid unsupported metadata identifiers such as {tmdb-27205} or {imdb-tt1375666} for now.
• Avoid custom edition tags such as {edition-Director Cut} for now.

If Metadata Is Wrong

Try renaming the file with a clearer title, year, and season/episode marker, then refresh the media source. If two movies or shows share the same name, adding the movie release year or TV first-air year usually improves matching.

Supported Scope

These rules apply when Stream matches files from folders such as local, SMB, and WebDAV sources. Plex and Emby sources provide their own library structure and metadata, so filenames should be managed according to the media server's requirements.

Privacy

Filename matching sends a cleaned search title to TMDB to find movie or TV metadata. Your video files remain in the source you configured.

Next Steps

If you have not built a library yet, start with the Quick Start Guide. For a network library, follow the SMB or WebDAV setup guide.