media-renamer 1.1.0

Rename movie folders and files with TMDB-sourced IMDB-style formatting

Media Renamer

A Python tool for renaming movie folders and files with proper IMDB-style formatting using The Movie Database (TMDB) API.

What it does

Media Renamer takes movie folders with inconsistent naming and renames them (and all files within) to a standardised format that includes IMDB identifiers. This is particularly useful for media server applications like Plex that benefit from consistent, metadata-rich file naming.

Example transformation

Before:

Beverly Hills Cop Axel F (2024)/
├── Beverly Hills Cop Axel F (2024).mkv
├── Beverly Hills Cop Axel F (2024).1208527.srt
├── Beverly Hills Cop Axel F (2024).1208528.srt
└── Beverly Hills Cop Axel F (2024).1208529.srt

After:

Beverly Hills Cop -- Axel F (2024) {imdb-tt3083016}/
├── Beverly Hills Cop -- Axel F (2024) {imdb-tt3083016}.mkv
├── Beverly Hills Cop -- Axel F (2024) {imdb-tt3083016}.1208527.srt
├── Beverly Hills Cop -- Axel F (2024) {imdb-tt3083016}.1208528.srt
└── Beverly Hills Cop -- Axel F (2024) {imdb-tt3083016}.1208529.srt

Features

• Interactive search: Presents multiple options from TMDB with cast information
• Fuzzy folder name parsing: Handles torrent-style names with quality/codec tags and group identifiers (e.g. Aniara (2019) (1080p BluRay x265 HEVC 10bit DTS 5.1 Qman) [UTR])
• Tolerant year matching: Year is used as a soft ranking signal rather than a hard filter — results for the right film ranked by year proximity, so an off-by-one label won't discard correct matches
• Intelligent filename sanitisation: Replaces problematic characters (: becomes --, / becomes or, etc.)
• Comprehensive renaming: Renames both folders and all files within them
• Flexible input: Accepts custom rename strings or skips items entirely
• Safe operation: Checks for existing target folders to prevent conflicts
• Comprehensive test suite: Includes pytest-based tests with mocked API calls

Installation

Via pipx (recommended)

pipx install media-renamer

Then save your TMDB API key:

media-renamer --set-api-key your_api_key_here

This writes the key to ~/.media-renamer.conf and you're ready to go. As a fallback, the TMDB_API_KEY environment variable is also accepted.

From source

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone <repository-url>
   cd media-renamer
   

2. Create a virtual environment:

   python -m venv venv
   source venv/bin/activate  # On Windows: venv\Scripts\activate
   

3. Install dependencies:

   pip install -r requirements.txt
   

4. Make scripts executable:

   chmod +x media-renamer
   chmod +x replace-structure
   

Setup

Get a TMDB API Key

1. Create a free account at The Movie Database
2. Go to API Settings and request an API key
3. Save it:

   media-renamer --set-api-key your_api_key_here
   

   This writes the key to ~/.media-renamer.conf.

Usage

Basic usage

./media-renamer <folder_pattern>

Examples

Rename all movie folders in current directory:

./media-renamer "*"

Rename specific folders:

./media-renamer "Beverly Hills Cop*" "Bridget Jones*"

Supported folder name formats

The tool handles a range of naming conventions:

Format	Example
Clean with year	Beverly Hills Cop Axel F (2024)
Torrent with quality/group tags	Aniara (2019) (1080p BluRay x265 HEVC 10bit DTS 5.1 Qman) [UTR]
Underscore separators	The_Dark_Knight_(2008)
No year	Some Movie [YTS]

Year mismatches of one or two years are tolerated — the correct film will still appear in the results, ranked by proximity to the folder's year.

Interactive process

When you run the tool, it will:

1. Parse each folder name to extract title and year (stripping torrent noise)

2. Search TMDB for matching movies, ranked by year proximity

3. Present up to 3 options with cast information:

   Looking up Beverly Hills Cop Axel F (2024)...
   1) Beverly Hills Cop -- Axel F (2024) {imdb-tt3083016} (Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F; 2024; Eddie Murphy, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Taylour Paige)
   2) Beverly Hills Cop -- Axel F (2024) {imdb-tt8874500} (Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F; 2024; Behind the Scenes)
   3) Beverly Hills Cop -- Axel F (2024) {imdb-tt9876543} (Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F; 2024; Documentary)
   Choose 1-3, or enter a new rename string, or nothing to skip:
   >
   

4. You can:

   • Enter a number (1-3) to select one of the options
   • Type a custom rename string
   • Press Enter to skip this folder

Filename formatting rules

The tool follows these character replacement rules for safe filenames:

Character	Replacement	Reason
:	--	Subtitle separator
/	or	Alternative indicator
\	or	Alternative indicator
<>	()	Bracket substitution
"	'	Quote substitution
|	,	List separator
?	!	Question to exclamation
*	x	Wildcard to letter

Testing

The project includes a comprehensive test suite using pytest.

Run tests

python test_media_renamer.py

Create test data

Use the included replace-structure script to create a test directory structure:

./replace-structure /path/to/your/movies ./test-data

This creates a copy of your directory structure with empty files, perfect for testing without risking your actual media files.

Test coverage

The test suite covers:

• Folder name parsing
• Filename sanitisation
• Movie name formatting
• TMDB API integration (mocked)
• Complete renaming workflows
• Edge cases and error handling

File structure

media-renamer/
├── media-renamer           # Main script
├── replace-structure       # Test data generator
├── test_media_renamer.py   # Test suite
├── requirements.txt        # Python dependencies
├── .env                    # API key (create this)
├── .gitignore             # Git ignore file
└── README.md              # This file

Requirements

• Python 3.7+
• requests - For TMDB API calls
• python-dotenv - For environment variable management
• pytest - For running tests
• pytest-mock - For test mocking

Compatibility

This tool is designed to work with:

• Plex Media Server - The naming format is optimised for Plex's metadata agents
• Other media servers - The standardised format should work with most media management tools
• General file organisation - Useful for anyone wanting consistent movie file naming

Contributing

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch
3. Make your changes
4. Run the test suite
5. Submit a pull request

Acknowledgements

• The Movie Database (TMDB) for providing the comprehensive movie API
• Plex for inspiring the naming format standards
• Originally designed to complement a browser extension for enhanced IMDB search results https://github.com/lorenzowood/plex_name_formatter_extension