Running a server

Libraries

Add folders of movies and shows, and keep them up to date automatically.

A library is one or more folders of the same kind: Movies or TV Shows. You might have "Movies", "4K Movies", "TV Shows" and "Kids". Each library can be shared separately.

#Adding a library

Go to Manage → Libraries → Add library in the server's web app (http://<server>:32500), then:

1. Give it a name.
2. Choose Movies or TV Shows. This can't be changed later.
3. Add one or more folders, one per line, or pick them with Browse server folders.

A library can combine folders from different drives. Their contents appear together as one library.

#What happens during a scan

Scans are fast because they do as little as possible up front:

1. Folders are walked in parallel, and only new or changed files are touched. A rescan of an unchanged library takes seconds.
2. Titles appear immediately, named from their files and folders. Until a file is probed, its resolution, HDR format and codec are guessed from its name (like 2160p, DV, x265), so quality badges and filters work right away.
3. Metadata fills in concurrently: posters, descriptions, cast and genres from TMDB. See Metadata.
4. Files are probed in the background with ffprobe, to read the exact streams, chapters and HDR details.

Players connected to the server update live as items are added.

#Keeping libraries up to date

You don't need to rescan by hand. Wren TV keeps watching:

• Folder watching picks up new and changed files within seconds, using filesystem notifications.
• Polling checks folders every 30 seconds (5 seconds on macOS), for network and FUSE mounts where notifications don't arrive. Change it with scanner.poll_sec.
• A full incremental rescan runs every 30 minutes as a safety net. Change it with scanner.interval_min, or set it to 0 to turn it off.

To scan now, choose Scan on the library in Manage → Libraries.

#Cloud and debrid mounts

On rclone, debrid or other cloud mounts, every probe downloads part of a file. Set scanner.probe_workers: -1 to probe files only when they're first played instead of in the background:

yamlscanner:
  probe_workers: -1

#What's skipped

• Files that aren't video. Supported: .mkv, .mp4, .m4v, .mov, .avi, .ts, .m2ts, .webm, .wmv, .mpg, .mpeg, .flv. Disc images (.iso) aren't supported.
• Hidden files (starting with .), and samples (sample in the name).
• Folders named Sample, Samples, Extras, Featurettes, Behind the Scenes, Deleted Scenes or Trailers, and NAS system folders (@eaDir, #recycle, $RECYCLE.BIN).

#Fixing a wrong match

If a title matched the wrong movie or show, open it in the server's web app and choose Fix match. Paste the correct TMDB ID or link, such as https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/603. To avoid wrong matches in the first place, see naming your files.

#Editing and removing libraries

Use Edit in Manage → Libraries to rename a library or change its folders. Removing a library removes its items from Wren TV. Your files are never touched.