NFO files/TV shows

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Home icon grey.png   ▶ NFO_files ▶ TV shows


Requirements

TV Shows require the following nfo files

  1. One nfo file for the TV Show. This file holds the overall show information
  2. One nfo file for each Episode. This file holds information specific to that episode

For one TV Show with 10 episodes, you will require 11 nfo files.

If you choose not to use nfo files for each episode, but only for the main TV Show, then the tvshow.nfo file must contain a valid <episodeguideurl> to allow online updates. If not, only episodes with .nfo files will be added.

TV Shows and Episodes must abide by the standard naming conventions even if you are using nfo files.

The order of importing metadata is as follows:

  1. nfo file. If no nfo file exists, then
  2. Depending on your scraper settings for your source, either
    1. Online scraper sites- if a scraper is set in your source settings
    2. Nothing- if Local Info Only is set

When Kodi locates the nfo file it will load the *.nfo file and:

  1. If the file is a metadata nfo, Kodi will import the meta-data directly into the library from the .nfo file or
  2. If the file is a parsing nfo, Kodi will parse the nfo file for a direct URL to the scraper info page, then scrape the online metadata.
  3. If the file is a combination nfo, Kodi will parse the nfo file and scrape the online metadata, then import the metadata from the nfo file.


Known Issues

The parsing nfo requires the URL to be http only (no s). Currently https addresses are not recognised during parsing. The bug has been reported and a fix is implemented. It is suggested you try the https address initially, if this fails then use the http address.


nfo Placement

Correct placement of the nfo file is essential. Regardless of what settings you have set for the source and scraper, Kodi will always search for and scrape a nfo file if it is available. Failing to save the file in the correct location, as detailed below, will force Kodi to either:

  1. Scrape the metadata from the online source set in your scraper or,
  2. If you have Local Info Only set as your scraper, then no entry will be made into the library.


TV Show

One TV Show nfo is required. Be aware the nfo filename is actually tvshow.nfo. This is not meant to indicate that it is replaced with the name of the show.

Naming & Saving conventions for your TV Show *.nfo files:

Saved TV Show as File Name Save Location
All formats tvshow.nfo f:\MyTVShows\iZombie\tvshow.nfo


TV Episode

One nfo file for every episode is required.

Naming & Saving conventions for your TV Episode *.nfo files:

Saved Episodes as File Name Save Location
BluRay Structure: index.nfo f:\MyTVShows\iZombie\iZombie S01E01\BDMV\index.nfo
DVD Structure: VIDEO_TS.nfo f:\MyTVShows\iZombie\iZombie S01E01\VIDEO_TS\VIDEO_TS.nfo
Single Episode file in directory: <EpisodeFileName>.nfo f:\MyTVShows\iZombie\iZombie S01E01\<EpisodeFileName>.nfo
All episodes in TV Show directory: <EpisodeFileName>.nfo f:\MyTVShows\iZombie\<EpisodeFileName>.nfo


TV nfo Tags

The only required tags are indicated below in the tables. All other tags are optional. Of course, the less tags used, the less information that will be scraped into the library unless you are using a parsing or combination nfo.

See also: Databases


TV Show Tags

The following table lists the XML tags available for the TV Show in Kodi. Children tags are displayed correctly with parent tags.

NFO (xml) Tag Required Multiple Notes
<tvshow></tvshow> Yes No The top level parent tag for the nfo file. All other tags must be contained within these two tags
<title></title> No No
<originaltitle></originaltitle> No No
<showtitle></showtitle> No No
<sorttitle></sorttitle> No No Allows alternate title sort without modifying show title in library.
 <ratings>
   <rating name="default" max="10" default="true">
      <value></value>
      <votes></votes>
   </rating>
 </ratings>
No No
<userrating></userrating> No No
<top250></top250> No No
<season></season> No No
<episode></episode> No No Number of episodes in TV Show
<displayepisode></displayepisode> No No Not used in TV Shows
<displayseason></displayseason> No No Not used in TV Shows
<outline></outline> Not Used
<plot></plot> Can contain more information on multiple lines, will be wrapped
<tagline></tagline> No No
<runtime></runtime> No No Minutes only
<thumb aspect="" type="" season=""></thumb> No Yes Path to TV Show and Season artwork
<fanart url="">
    <thumb dim="" colors="" preview=""></thumb>
</fanart>
No No Path to available TV Show fanart. Multible <thumb> entries allowed. dim=Dimensions
<mpaa></mpaa> No No
<playcount></playcount> Setting this to 1, or greater, will mark the TV Show as watched if the importwatchedstate flag is set in advancedsettings.xml
<lastplayed></lastplayed> No No
<file></file> No No Not Used. Exported in Single File Export only
<path></path> Yes No Exported in Single File Export only
<filenameandpath></filenameandpath> Yes No Exported in Single File Export only
<basepath></basepath> Yes No Exported in Single File Export only
<episodeguide>
  <url cache=""></url>
</episodeguide>
Yes/No No Required if no or missing episode nfo's
<id></id> No No Scraper site ID
<uniqueid type="unknown" default="true"></uniqueid> No No Scraper site ID
<genre></genre> No Yes Supports "clear" attribute
<tag></tag> No Yes TV Show tags
<premiered></premiered> No No
<year></year> No No
<status></status> No No Continuing or Ended show
<aired></aired> No No Used for TV Episodes
Unknown
<studio></studio> No Yes Supports "clear" attribute
<trailer></trailer> No No Path to TV Show trailer
<actor>
  <name></name>
  <role></role>
  <order></order>
  <thumb></thumb>
</actor>
No Yes The <order> tag determines where in the list the actor will appear. 0 = first in the list

Supports "clear" attribute

<resume>
  <position></position>
  <total></total>
</resume>
No No Not used for TV Show
<dateadded></dateadded> No No Date the file was added to library. Can be altered in advancedsettings.xml


TV Episode Tags

The following table lists the XML tags available for TV Episodes in Kodi. Children tags are displayed correctly with parent tags.

For multi-part episodes, simply add multiple <episodedetails> XML blocks in succession.

NFO (xml) Tag Required Multiple Notes
<episodedetails></episodedetails> Yes No The top level parent tag for the nfo file. All other tags must be contained within these two tags
<title></title> No No
<originaltitle></originaltitle> No No
<showtitle></showtitle> No No
 <ratings>
   <rating name="default" max="10" default="true">
      <value></value>
      <votes></votes>
   </rating>
 </ratings>
No No
<userrating></userrating> No No
<top250></top250> No No
<season></season> No No Season the episode belongs to
<episode></episode> No No Episode numbering
<displayepisode></displayepisode> No No Used to place Special Episodes in the correct viewing order
<displayseason></displayseason> No No Used to place Special Episodes in the correct viewing order
<outline></outline>
<plot></plot> Can contain more information on multiple lines, will be wrapped
<tagline></tagline> No No
<runtime></runtime> No No Minutes only
<thumb></thumb> No Yes Path to episode artwork
<mpaa></mpaa> No No
<playcount></playcount> Setting this to 1, or greater, will mark the TV Show as watched if the importwatchedstate flag is set in advancedsettings.xml
<lastplayed></lastplayed> No No
<file></file> No No Not Used. Exported in Single File Export only
<path></path> Yes No Exported in Single File Export only
<filenameandpath></filenameandpath> Yes No Exported in Single File Export only
<basepath></basepath> Yes No Exported in Single File Export only
<id></id> No No Scraper site ID
<uniqueid type="unknown" default="true"></uniqueid> No No Scraper site ID
<genre></genre> No Yes Supports "clear" attribute
<credits></credits> No Yes Writers
<director></director> No No
<premiered></premiered> No No
<year></year> No No
<status></status> No No Not used in Episodes
Unknown
<aired></aired> No No Original air date of the episode
<studio></studio> No Yes Supports "clear" attribute
<trailer></trailer> No No Path to TV Show trailer
<fileinfo>
  <streamdetails>
    <video>
      <codec>h264</codec>
      <aspect>1.777778</aspect>
      <width>1920</width>
      <height>1080</height>
      <durationinseconds>2626</durationinseconds>
      <stereomode></stereomode>
    </video>
    <audio>
      <codec>mp2</codec>
      <language>eng</language>
      <channels>2</channels>
    </audio>
  </streamdetails>
</fileinfo>
No No While it is possible to manually set the information contained within the <streamdetails> tag, there is little point in doing so.

Kodi will always overwrite this data when it plays back the video file.
In other words, no matter how many times you try to manually set it, it will be overwritten the moment the video is played

<actor>
  <name></name>
  <role></role>
  <order></order>
  <thumb></thumb>
</actor>
No Yes The <order> tag determines where in the list the actor will appear. 0 = first in the list

Supports "clear" attribute

<resume>
  <position></position>
  <total></total>
</resume>
No No
<dateadded></dateadded> No No Date the file was added to library. Can be altered in advancedsettings.xml
<art>
  <fanart></fanart>
  <poster></poster>
</art>
Yes No Art in use. Exported in Single File Export only



Sample nfo Files

Provided below is a sample nfo file for the TV Show and for Episodes to assist with the manual creation process.

Press Expand at right edge of the green bar to view


TV Show nfo

Sample TV Show nfo. Extract from Single File Export



TV Episode nfo

Sample TV Episode nfo. Extract from Single File Export


Technical Notes

There are differences in tags used by Single File Export and Separate File Export. Though testing reveals that transposing tages between the two has no detrimental affect on the scrape.

TV Show
XML Tag Exported in

Single File

Exported in

Separate File

Notes
<file></file> Yes No
<path></path> Yes No
<filenameandpath></filenameandpath> Yes No
<basepath></basepath> Yes No
<art>
  <banner></banner>
  <fanart></fanart>
  <poster></poster>
  <season num=""></season>
</art>
Yes No
TV Episode
<file></file> Yes No
<path></path> Yes No
<filenameandpath></filenameandpath> Yes No
<basepath></basepath> Yes No
<actor></actor> Yes Yes Separate File saves in seemingly random order.
<art>
  <thumb></thumb>
</art>
Yes No




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