NFO files/Parsing

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NFO files

Parsing

Introduction

A Parsing NFO file is used to point the scraper to the exact title to be matched and scraped.

A Parsing NFO file can be used for any of the following classes of media:

Albums

Artists

Movies

Music Videos

TV Shows

Note: A Parsing NFO file cannot be used for Seasons or Episodes. Seasons and Episodes are matched via the correct TV Show.

Create

To create and use the parsing nfo, follow these steps:

1. Locate the title at the appropriate site of the information provider, eg TheMovieDB or The AudioDB
2. Open a text file and copy the entire URL address from the address bar and paste it into the nfo file.
   • The file contains only the link and nothing else. See example below
   • If there is more than one URL in the file only the first URL will be used.
3. Save the file and ensure it is correctly named as follows:

Albums	album.nfo
Artists	artist.nfo
Moviesnote	<VideoFileName>.nfo or movie.nfo
Music Videos	<MusicVideoFilename>.nfo
TV Shows	tvshow.nfo

4. To scrape the new title:

• The normal Library Update function, or
• Locating the new title in Videos>Files then press i on a keyboard or
• Selecting Scan to library from the context menu

Example of Parsing Movie NFO

https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/15849-the-mummy

Note:

<VideoFileName>.nfo

• NFO Files are named the same as the video file except with the .nfo extension.
• We recommend using this filename format to name nfo files.

movie.nfo

Kodi may also scan nfo files named movie.nfo. To use this name, the setting Movies are in separate folders that match the movie title must be Enabled in the Set Content Screen

• If the above setting is not enabled, Kodi will ignore the movie.nfo. If the <VideoFileName>.nfo file is available, Kodi will scan this one instead, otherwise an online scrape will be performed if a valid scraper is set for the Source.
• If you use movie.nfo and later Export your library to Separate Files, Kodi will still create the nfo file in the <VideoFileName>.nfo format and two nfo files will exist. If a Refresh or rescan is run in future, and the above setting is still enabled, the <VideoFileName>.nfo file will be ignored in favour of movie.nfo, which means any changes you may have made to the library entry (play counts, watched status etc) will not be re-scanned back into the library.
• We recommend using the <VideoFileName>.nfo format for nfo files to avoid the above traps.

IMDB & MusicBrainz ID's

TheMovieDB, TVDB and TV Maze databases include an IMDB' field that contains the IMDB ID for the title. This allows the use of the IMDB address in the Parsing NFO for Movies and TV Shows. This does not mean the title will be scraped from IMDB. The scraper simply recognises the ttxxxxx ID and uses it to search for the title at the online database of the currently active scraper. Using the IMDB ID relies on the IMDB ID for the title having been saved at the scraper site.

For Music, the MusicBrainz ID's are the authority. Not all music sites use the MusicBrainz ID though.

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