====== 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:\\ 1. Reinstall applications\\ 2. Point them at the same directories\\ 3. Resume operation without reorganization\\ If the filesystem gets out of the way, the ecosystem works as intended.