Question About "Replace all Metadata" behavior

[baaahb 2]

TLDR: Does "replace all metadata" create a second copy of metadata in the metadata folder I have designated if I also have metadata stored in the folders along side the media files?

I've been cleaning up my media folder.  I've been using emby since 2020 and when I started (before I really understood the details and/or options that were available to me) I was storing metadata in the same folder as the media.  I'd like to have 100% of the metadata in the metadata folder (on a fast SSD) I have provided rather than within the media folders.  When I realized I could do this I just manually deleted all the metadata in my movie folders and just had emby rebuild the whole thing from scratch.  I'm totally fine rebuilding from scratch, but I'm curious if I run "replace all metadata" prior to deleting the files next to the media if it will create a second set of metadata that will exist prior to me deleting the "old" metadata, mostly to avoid any period of time where I have shows without any metadata showing at all.

I have about 250 series, I'm not sure about the total episodes.

I added the metadata folder a while back, so I'm currently in a situation where only some shows have any metadata stored along side the files themselves.

I'm on linux running Emby in docker and the media is on an unraid server - if that matters at all.

Thank you for your help!  Hopefully my question is clear.  Let me know if you have any questions.

[Luke 42081]

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TLDR: Does "replace all metadata" create a second copy of metadata in the metadata folder I have designated if I also have metadata stored in the folders along side the media files?

HI, no, there's never a second copy. There might be some files in media folders, others in the server's metadata folder, but never duplication.

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I'm totally fine rebuilding from scratch, but I'm curious if I run "replace all metadata" prior to deleting the files next to the media if it will create a second set of metadata that will exist prior to me deleting the "old" metadata, mostly to avoid any period of time where I have shows without any metadata showing at all.

No and this might not have the impact you're hoping for. What this will do is possibly download new images that you don't already have and these will get saved according to the new settings. But it won't delete any images you currently have, unless you also check the box to replace existing images. The only problem with that is the new ones may or may not be the same as the old ones, and you may or may not like that.

[baaahb 2]

Thank you for the reply.  So if I'm understanding this correctly the solution to fixing my current situation is to just delete all metadata that exists next to the media files, and let Emby download / rebuild in the metadata folder?  I'm not picky about the artwork, so I don't care about any particular images.

[baaahb 2]

I deleted all jpg,png,nfo,etc. files from all the folders and subfolders and asked Emby to refresh the metadata in the folder and it's doing exactly what I want.  Looks like only about 20% of my series had metadata in the "wrong" place.  Thank you!  Emby rocks.

[Luke 42081]

Thanks for following up.