How to Name TV Shows and Movies for Plex

Getting Plex to correctly identify your movies and TV shows comes down to one thing: how you name the files and folders. This guide walks you through how to name TV shows and movies for Plex so the scanners and metadata agents can find the right posters, summaries, and episode details without any manual fixing. It suits anyone setting up a new media library or cleaning up an existing one that keeps matching incorrectly.

What you’ll need

• A Plex Media Server already installed and running, either on a NAS, a home server, or a PC
• Your video files, ideally already sorted by whether they are movies or TV episodes
• Access to the drive or share where your media is stored, so you can rename files and create folders
• Basic knowledge of your file manager or operating system’s rename tools

Separate movies from TV shows first

Before you touch a single filename, sort your content by type. Plex’s scanners rely on separate top-level folders for each kind of media, and mixing movies and television episodes in the same path is the single biggest cause of bad matches. A simple structure looks like this:

• /Media/Movies
• /Media/TV Shows
• /Media/Music

When you set up a library in Plex, you point it at the main folder for that content type, such as /Movies or /TV Shows, not at a folder containing a mix of both. Get this structure right first, because no amount of correct filenames will fix mismatched content sitting in the wrong library.

Name movie files and folders

Plex strongly recommends giving each movie its own folder, since this speeds up scanning and gives you somewhere to keep posters, subtitles, or extras alongside the film. Name the folder and the file the same way, using the movie title followed by its release year in brackets.

1. Create a folder named exactly as the movie title plus its release year, for example Avatar (2009).
2. Name the video file inside that folder the same way, for example Avatar (2009).mkv.
3. Keep any subtitle files or poster images (such as poster.jpg) in the same folder if you want Plex to use your own local artwork instead of downloaded metadata.
4. If a title is being matched incorrectly, add the IMDb or TheMovieDB ID in curly braces after the year, using the format {imdb-tt0372784} or {tmdb-272}, on both the folder and file name.

If you prefer not to use individual folders, Plex does still support movie files sitting loose in the main Movies folder, named the same way (title and year). This works, but you lose the ability to store local posters or subtitles neatly with each film, and scanning tends to be slower on larger libraries.

Handling different editions of the same movie

If you keep more than one cut of a film, such as a theatrical release and a director’s cut, add an edition tag in curly braces using the format {edition-Director’s Cut}. You can include this in the filename, the folder name, or both, and it can sit alongside an IMDb or TMDb ID tag in any order. Note that this feature needs the current Plex Movie agent and a Plex Pass subscription for the server’s admin account.

Movies split across multiple files

Plex has limited support for a movie split into parts, such as a disc rip broken into pt1 and pt2. If you must keep files split, place them in the movie’s own folder and label each part with a recognised split tag such as part1, cd1, or disc1, for example The Dark Knight (2008) – pt1.mp4. All parts need to share the same file format and matching audio and subtitle tracks, and not every Plex app plays stacked files smoothly. Wherever possible, joining the parts into a single file with a video tool gives a far more reliable result than relying on split-file playback.

Name TV show files and folders

Television libraries follow the same underlying idea as movies: one clearly named folder per show, with season folders inside, and episode files that identify the season and episode number. A typical structure looks like this:

Keep the show name consistent across every season folder and episode file, and always include the season and episode numbers in the standard SxxEyy pattern so Plex’s agents can line episodes up correctly against the metadata source. As with movies, keeping each show in its own dedicated folder makes it far easier to add local posters, season artwork, or subtitle files without confusing the scanner.

If you have a lot of loosely named files to clean up, doing this by hand for a big back catalogue gets tedious fast. Many people choose to automate the process with FileBOT, which can rename and sort large batches of movies and episodes according to Plex-friendly patterns in one pass.

Tips and troubleshooting

• If a title matches the wrong movie or show, check the year first. A missing or incorrect release year is the most common cause of bad matches.
• Avoid extra text like resolution tags or release group names directly next to the title and year, since these can confuse the matching agent. Keep that information later in the filename or leave it out.
• Refresh the metadata for a single item after renaming, rather than waiting for the next full library scan, to confirm the fix worked.
• Windows sometimes hides file extensions by default, which can make it easy to accidentally rename a file to something like Avatar (2009).mkv.mkv. Turn on visible extensions before doing bulk renames.
• If posters or subtitles are not showing up, confirm the local media assets source is enabled for that library and that the files sit in the same folder as the video.

Frequently asked questions

Why does Plex keep matching the wrong movie or show?

This almost always comes down to naming or folder structure. Double-check that the release year is correct, that movies and TV shows sit in separate top-level folders, and that you haven’t left extra text jammed next to the title that could confuse the matching agent.

Do I need to put every movie in its own folder?

No, but it is the recommended approach. Individual folders scan faster on large libraries and give you a clean place to store posters, subtitles, and extras for that specific title.

Can I include an IMDb or TMDb ID in the filename?

Yes. Adding a tag such as {imdb-tt0372784} or {tmdb-272} to the folder and filename helps Plex lock onto the exact title when a plain name and year isn’t matching correctly.

What is the best way to fix a large, badly named library?

Rather than renaming files one by one, consider a batch renaming tool that follows Plex’s naming rules automatically. It saves considerable time and reduces the risk of typos that cause fresh mismatches. Once your library is renamed and scanning cleanly, it’s also worth reviewing your server setup, since a well organised library performs better when paired with a properly tuned Plex server.