Publishing

Publishing

Publishing deploys selected assets from the protected cache to the media library and generates NFO metadata files for media players.

What is Publishing?

Given enriched media with selected assets in cache, publishing:

1. Copies assets from cache to library location
2. Applies player-specific naming conventions
3. Generates NFO metadata files
4. Records library file references in database

INPUT: Enriched media item with selected assets in cache
    │
    └──► PUBLISHING
              │
              ├──► Step 1: COLLECT
              │         └──► Gather all selected assets from cache
              │         └──► Verify cache files exist
              │
              ├──► Step 2: DEPLOY
              │         └──► Copy to library location
              │         └──► Apply naming conventions (Kodi format)
              │
              ├──► Step 3: GENERATE
              │         └──► Build NFO from metadata
              │         └──► Include actor data with local paths
              │
              └──► Step 4: RECORD
                        └──► Create library_image_files records
                        └──► Update publish status and timestamp

OUTPUT: Library folder with assets and NFO ready for media players

Why Publishing?

Publishing bridges the gap between Metarr's protected cache and media player expectations.

Without publishing:

• Assets sit in content-addressed cache (hash-based names)
• Media players can't find or use them
• No NFO file for metadata import

After publishing:

• Assets in library with proper naming (poster.jpg, fanart.jpg)
• NFO file with all metadata for Kodi/Jellyfin/Plex
• Actor headshots in .actors/ directory

Two-Copy System

Publishing creates working copies, not moves:

Location	Purpose
Cache (/data/cache/)	Protected source of truth
Library (/media/movies/)	Working copies for players

Benefits:

• Library deletions don't affect cache
• Re-publish restores from cache
• Provider removals don't lose assets
• Different libraries can use different selections

Triggers

Trigger	Condition
Auto-publish	autoPublish = true after enrichment completes
Manual	User clicks "Publish" in UI
Batch	Bulk publish from library view
Republish	User requests update after changes

Core Concepts

Naming Conventions

Assets named per Kodi/Jellyfin expectations:

Asset Type	Filename
Poster	poster.jpg
Fanart	fanart.jpg
Logo	logo.png
Clearart	clearart.png
Banner	banner.jpg
Disc	disc.png
Trailer	movie-trailer.mp4
NFO	movie.nfo

NFO Generation

NFO files contain all metadata in Kodi-compatible XML format:

• Title, year, plot, runtime, ratings
• Genres, studios, directors, writers
• Cast with character names and headshot paths
• Provider IDs (TMDB, IMDb)
• Artwork references

Republishing

Republish to:

• Update after changing asset selections
• Restore after library file deletion
• Apply updated metadata
• Sync new naming conventions

Implementation

For movie-specific implementation details: → Movies: 06-PUBLISHING.md

Related Documentation

• Enrichment - Previous job (provides selected assets)
• Caching - Where assets come from