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+====== Media Library Structure Best Practices ======
+A clean, predictable directory structure is the **foundation** of a stable media ecosystem. Plex, Sonarr, Radarr, Lidarr, and other automation tools all assume certain filesystem behaviors — and fighting those assumptions leads to broken imports, duplicate media, and long-term frustration.\\
+This guide covers **directory layout best practices only**. File naming conventions, renaming rules, and application-specific settings are covered in their respective guides.
+===== Design Goals =====
+A well-designed media library structure should:\\
+  * Be unambiguous to both humans and automation tools
+  * Prevent media type overlap
+  * Scale cleanly as libraries grow
+  * Survive rebuilds of Plex or automation services
+  * Avoid brittle, one-off layouts
+The goal is **boring predictability**. If you ever need to re-point Plex or rebuild the ARR stack, the filesystem should require **zero rethinking**.
+===== Core Principles =====
+Follow these rules universally:
+  * One media type per top-level directory
+  * One logical library per directory tree
+  * No mixed media types in the same path
+  * No temporary or in-progress data in final library paths
+  * Automation tools manage contents — not humans
+Violating these rules almost always leads to:\\
+  * Misidentified media
+  * Incorrect imports
+  * Broken Plex metadata
+  * Difficult troubleshooting
+===== Recommended Top-Level Layout =====
+At the highest level, media should be separated by **type**, not quality, codec, or source.
+Example:
+  * /media/movies
+  * /media/tv
+  * /media/music
+These paths should be treated as **final destinations only**. Nothing enters these directories unless it is ready to be consumed by Plex.
+===== Movies Directory Structure =====
+Movies should live in a **flat but organized** hierarchy.
+Recommended structure:
+  * /media/movies/Movie Title (Year)/
+      * Movie Title (Year).ext
+Why this works well:\\
+  * Plex expects one movie per directory
+  * Radarr manages movies at the folder level
+  * Prevents subtitle and extra file collisions
+  * Makes manual inspection trivial
+Avoid:\\
+  * Nesting by genre
+  * Nesting by resolution (4K, 1080p, etc.)
+  * Grouping multiple movies in a single directory
+Quality and format decisions belong to **automation profiles**, not filesystem layout.
+===== TV Shows Directory Structure =====
+TV content is inherently hierarchical and should reflect that clearly.
+Recommended structure:
+  * /media/tv/Show Name/
+      * Season 01/
+          * Episode files
+      * Season 02/
+          * Episode files
+Why this works well:\\
+  * Plex relies on season-based hierarchy
+  * Sonarr expects one show per root folder
+  * Enables clean season upgrades and replacements
+  * Keeps specials and extras manageable
+Notes:\\
+  * Season folders should always exist, even for single-season shows
+  * Specials should be handled using standard season conventions
+  * Avoid dumping episodes directly into the show root
+===== Music Directory Structure =====
+Music libraries benefit from **strict separation and consistency**, especially when managed by automation tools.
+Recommended structure:
+  * /media/music/Artist/
+      * Album/
+          * Track files
+Why this works well:\\
+  * Plex Music expects Artist → Album hierarchy
+  * Lidarr manages artists and albums cleanly
+  * Preserves album-level metadata and artwork
+  * Avoids cross-artist collisions
+Additional guidance:\\
+  * Multi-disc albums should live under the same album directory
+  * Compilations can be handled via artist naming rules
+  * Soundtracks should be treated as albums, not playlists
+===== Separation of Download, Staging, and Final Media =====
+Never allow automation tools to download directly into final library paths.
+Instead, maintain **three conceptual zones**:
+  * Download directory (temporary, incomplete)
+  * Staging/import directory (post-processing)
+  * Final media library (read-mostly)
+Only the final library paths should be exposed to Plex. This separation ensures:\\
+  * Clean libraries
+  * Predictable imports
+  * Easy recovery from failed downloads
+  * No partial or corrupted media appearing in Plex
+===== Permissions and Ownership =====
+Ensure consistent permissions across all media paths.
+Best practices:\\
+  * Plex and automation tools should have read/write access
+  * Avoid mixing ownership models
+  * Prefer group-based permissions
+  * Avoid per-file manual permission changes
+If permissions require constant fixing, the structure is likely wrong upstream.
+===== What This Guide Intentionally Does NOT Cover =====
+This page does **not** cover:\\
+  * File naming formats
+  * Episode numbering schemes
+  * Metadata agents
+  * Quality profiles
+  * Import and rename settings
+Those topics are covered in:\\
+  * Sonarr configuration guide
+  * Radarr configuration guide
+  * Lidarr configuration guide
+  * Plex library configuration guide
+Keeping these concerns separate prevents overlap and confusion.
+===== Design Philosophy Recap =====
+A good media library structure should be:\\
+  * Obvious
+  * Boring
+  * Automation-friendly
+  * Easy to rebuild against
+If your automation stack disappeared tomorrow, you should be able to:\\
+. Reinstall applications\\
+. Point them at the same directories\\
+. Resume operation without reorganization\\
+If the filesystem gets out of the way, the ecosystem works as intended.