Plugin: AutoTag

[soderlund91 50]

Emby AutoTag Plugin 
https://github.com/soderlund91/AutoTag

AutoTag is a powerful plugin for Emby Server that automatically manages tags for your Movies and TV Series based on dynamic lists from Trakt and MDBList.

Stop manually tagging "Trending" or "Recommended" content. Let AutoTag keep your library in sync with the world.

Perfect for Emby 4.10+
This plugin pairs perfectly with the new Home Screen management in Emby Server v4.10.0.1+. It allows you to populate your home screen based on Tags instead of cluttering your library with temporary Collections. Using tags is a perfect way to manage and sort your media without cluttering your library.

 

Key Features

True Synchronization
- If a movie enters your Trakt list -> Tag Added.
- If a movie leaves your Trakt list -> Tag Removed
-Your library always reflects the current state of the list.
- Multiple URL/sources can use the same tag

Robust Source Support
Trakt: Supports User Lists, Watchlists, and Official Lists (Trending, Popular, Watched).
MDBList: Full support for dynamic lists.

Screenshot

 

How it works
The plugin creates a Scheduled Task in Emby called "AutoTag: Sync Tags".

• Default Schedule: Runs daily at 04:00 AM.
• Manual Run: You can run it anytime via Settings -> Scheduled Tasks -> Library.

 

Workflow:

1. Memory Check: Detects if you deleted any tags from the config and cleans them up.
2. Global Wipe: Temporarily removes the target tag from all items (ensuring fresh sync).
3. Fetch & Match: Downloads the list, matches items via IMDB/TMDB IDs.
4. Apply: Tags the matched items.

 

Install and usage

1. Download the AutoTag.dll from github: https://github.com/soderlund91/AutoTag
2. Put the AutoTag.dll in your plugin folder
3. Restart Emby server
4. Go to your Emby Dashboard. You will see AutoTag in the sidebar menu.

Settings:

1. API Keys

• Trakt Client ID: Required if you use Trakt lists. You can get one for free at Trakt API.
• MDBList API Key: Required if you use MDBList. Get one for free at MDBList.com

2. Adding Sources

Click + Add Source to create a new sync task.

 

Setting	Description
Active	Toggle to enable/disable this source without deleting it.
Tag Name	The actual tag applied to your media (e.g., weekly_trending).
Source URL	The URL to the list (see examples below).
Limit	Max number of items to tag from this list (e.g., Top 50).

Example source

Trakt:

• Trending Movies: https://trakt.tv/movies/trending
• User List: https://trakt.tv/users/username/lists/my-awesome-list
• Watched (Weekly): https://trakt.tv/movies/watched/weekly

MDBList:

• Dynamic List: https://mdblist.com/lists/user/listname/json

 

 

[soderlund91 50]

As this is a first release, expect some bugs. I have tested it on my server and it works as expected. Any feedback is welcome!  

[Luke 42077]

Thanks for sharing.

[soderlund91 50]

Update to v1.1.0.

• UI and layout update: Better handling of multiple tags, 
• Added - Dry-run toggle. Run the code without writing to database. See the results in Emby-log
• Test-button: Test your link and API keys directly from UI (no writing to Emby database).

Download .dll 
https://github.com/soderlund91/AutoTag/releases/tag/v1.1.0.0

Edited February 1 by soderlund91

[soderlund91 50]

v1.2.0
• Real-Time Tagging: New movies/series added to the library are now instantly checked against a cached lists and tagged immediately. No need to wait for the schedule or make manual runs when adding new movies or series.

Download .dll
https://github.com/soderlund91/AutoTag/releases/tag/v1.2.0.0

 

On my to do list:

• Blacklist filter - if there is one or multiple  titles in the list you don't want tagged 
• Option to also create collections

I welcome feedback and any ideas if there are some missing feature

[chander421 15]

Great plugin, thanks! Any possibility for Letterboxd as source for lists?

[soderlund91 50]

52 minutes ago, chander421 said:

Great plugin, thanks! Any possibility for Letterboxd as source for lists?

Thanks! 

A quick research tells me that their API is pretty hard obtain unfortunately. https://letterboxd.com/api-beta/

What you can do is import a list from Letterboxd into MDBList, and then add that into the plugin. 
I made a quick test and it seems to work. 

1. If you go into "My lists" at MDBList, and at the bottom you will find "Exernal List". 
2. Paste your Letterboxd url and you will now have that same list from MDBList. 

[chander421 15]

Thank you, yes, it can work that way, but external lists are limited and you have to pay (a lot) to get more...

[soderlund91 50]

14 hours ago, chander421 said:

Thank you, yes, it can work that way, but external lists are limited and you have to pay (a lot) to get more...

I'm gonna have a look if I can add other sources aswell, but that will probably be down the road a bit. At this point i think MDBList in combination with Trakt covers a lot of usecases.

And yeah, MDBList supporter cost a bit of money, but i wouldn’t say that its a lot. For 2 euros/month  you get 10 external list, and for 3 euros you get 20 external list. A coffe cost more today..  But money is different for everyone, in the end you have to figure out if its worth it for you. 
https://docs.mdblist.com/docs/supporter

Edited February 4 by soderlund91

[szymonSamsung 0]

Hi, i dont know if it is relevant but it's the first time it happened. I installed the dll file into plugins folder restarted/stopped and started server but i am not able to located AutoTag plugin anywhere to be installed neither in plugins tab nor in left panel @soderlund91. My current server version is 4.9.3.0

 

Edited February 6 by szymonSamsung

[soderlund91 50]

23 minutes ago, szymonSamsung said:

Hi, i dont know if it is relevant but it's the first time it happened. I installed the dll file into plugins folder restarted/stopped and started server but i am not able to located AutoTag plugin anywhere to be installed neither in plugins tab nor in left panel @soderlund91. My current server version is 4.9.3.0

 

I had only tested with server version 4.10+. I downgraded and got the same issue that you had. 

Here is a fix for version 4.9.3.0. (plugin v1.2.1)

 

AutoTag.dll

[soderlund91 50]

New verison 1.3.1.0

v1.3.0.0

• Blacklist: Enter items you want to exclude from the tag/list
• UI updates: Remade the tag list so you can enter multiple URL for same tag. Some other UI improvements, example better support for light Emby theme.

v1.3.1.0

• Fixed a bug with limit list not showing in settings.
•  

https://github.com/soderlund91/AutoTag/releases/tag/v1.3.1.0

This one should work with both Emby server 4.9 and 4.10

Edited February 6 by soderlund91

[soderlund91 50]

New release v1.3.2.0 

• Fail-Safe Protection: Implemented a new safety check. If the plugin fetches 0 items (due to internet downtime or API outages), the sync process now aborts immediately. This prevents your existing tags from being wiped when source lists are unreachable.
   
• IMDb Exclusive Matching: The matching logic now relies strictly on unique IMDb IDs (e.g., tt1234567).
  Why? This eliminates "ID collisions" where provider IDs (Trakt/MDBList) were mistaken for TMDB IDs, causing incorrect tagging.
  Note: While items missing an IMDb ID will be skipped, this ensures 100% tagging accuracy for your library.
   
• Improved UX: Newly added tag sources now appear at the top of the list for immediate access, eliminating the need to scroll down.
   
• Quick Start Guide: Added a built-in helper guide in the settings menu to help new users configure API keys and rules easily.

 

https://github.com/soderlund91/AutoTag/releases/tag/v1.3.2.0


Latest UI screenshots:

New entry/tag:

[rbjtech 5282]

Hi - if it's not on your list already, then it would be great to have valid date ranges when the AutoTag would work on a particular Tag source(s) as part of the daily schedule.     This can then be used for seasonal dynamic content     Hopefully it can be added into the Core, but having on this Plugin would also be a good enhancement.    Thanks!

[soderlund91 50]

New release Version 1.4.0.0.
Download .dll here: https://github.com/soderlund91/AutoTag/releases/tag/v1.4.0.0

New Features

• Advanced Scheduling: Added support for schedules per tag. You can now set a tag to only be active during specific periods (e.g., recurring annually for Christmas or Halloween) or specific days of the week.  (Thanks to @rbjtechfor the great idea!)
• Status Indicator: Added a visual indicator showing the status and timestamp of the last run.
• Live Log Viewer: You can now view the execution log directly in the plugin settings to see results from standard or dry-runs.
• Safety Lock: "Save" and "Run Now" buttons are automatically disabled while a sync is in progress to prevent data corruption.

Improvements & Fixes

• UI Overhaul/Fixes: There is now an advanced tab for each tag, here you can set blacklist and date. Tags using a date schedule are also clearly highlighted with an icon in the main list.
• Dry-Run: Fixed an issue where Dry-Run mode did not accurately simulate tag removal/adding

 

How do I update the first post? Can a mod give me permission maybe? Starting to feel a bit spammy.. 

Edited Sunday at 12:08 AM by soderlund91

[seanbuff 1313]

22 minutes ago, soderlund91 said:

How do I update the first post? Can a mod give me permission maybe?

Unfortunately the ability to edit your posts after 3 hours is based on group membership.

Your first post is quite detailed and already has a link to your Github project page so that is good. Incremental posts for new version updates is good for showing off new screens and changes, so you should continue doing that.

Let me know if there is something specific that you'd like to add to the OP. Great plugin btw!

[soderlund91 50]

Major release -  Version 2.0.0.0.
Download .dll here: https://github.com/soderlund91/AutoTag/releases/tag/v2.0.0.0

Been home sick today and got time to work on creating collections with this plugin. Since this is a major feature, I'm releasing v2.0!

New Features

• Collection managemet
  • Automated Collection Management: The plugin can now automatically create and maintain Emby Collections directly from your lists.
  • Smart Cleanup: Collections that are disabled, removed from configuration, or whose schedule has expired are automatically deleted.
  • Fail-Safe Security: Introduced a safety lock that prevents the deletion of collections/tags if external API calls (Trakt/MDBList) fail.
  • Only Collection Mode: A mode that allows you to build collections without applying tags to individual movies/series.
• Real-time UI: The interface now updates instantly with visual "badges" (icons) for active schedules and collections.
• Backup & Restore: Easily export and import your entire configuration via JSON files.

Improvements & Fixes

• UI: Settings are organized into tabs (Source, Schedule, Collection, Advanced) for better navigation. The interface now also updates instantly with visual "badges" (icons) for active schedules and collections. Some other smaller UI fixes.
• Performance: Now calculates the difference (diff) for tags and collections, only performing necessary database updates to improve speed and reduce server load. Before all tags where removed and re-written. This saves a lot of I/O. 
• Logging: Redesigned log output providing a clear summary in standard mode and detailed diff info in extended log mode.

Edited Monday at 01:06 PM by soderlund91

[feerlessleadr 173]

This is great, thanks for making. I must be a little slow though, because I cannot figure out how to get an API key on either trakt or mdblist. 

When I create an application on either site - I'm not sure what to put in for the "Redirect uri". 

Any insights?

[soderlund91 50]

2 hours ago, feerlessleadr said:

This is great, thanks for making. I must be a little slow though, because I cannot figure out how to get an API key on either trakt or mdblist. 

When I create an application on either site - I'm not sure what to put in for the "Redirect uri". 

Any insights?

It can be a bit tricky , I made a simple guide for it. When you are in the plugin-settings page, you have a small "Help" at the top. There you have links to get the API. 

In the redirect uri you can type anything you like. I use

http://localhost

Edit: FYI you dont need a API key to use public list from MDBList, it will work perfectly without

Edited Monday at 08:25 PM by soderlund91

[feerlessleadr 173]

Thank you!

[chander421 15]

Thank you so much for this great plugin, which is improving day by day! I particularly appreciate the fact that I can create a collection automatically and, above all, that I can finally blacklist certain titles in the collection (which is something that most plugins of this kind generally lack). It would be great to be able to preview the collection so that it's easier to choose whether or not to blacklist certain titles.

A few ideas for the future ^^:
- a sorting option for source tags (when you have a lot of them, it's very useful, especially alphabetically and by date created and date modified)
- covers for collections
- sorting option for collections
- description for collections
- a link to Radarr/Sonarr
- a way to create “Coming Soon” and “Anticipated Movies/Series” collections in Emby, perhaps by creating placeholders in a temporary library (a bit like Agregarr tries to do), but I'm afraid that would require a lot of work...

Thanks again!

[soderlund91 50]

4 minutes ago, chander421 said:

Thank you so much for this great plugin, which is improving day by day! I particularly appreciate the fact that I can create a collection automatically and, above all, that I can finally blacklist certain titles in the collection (which is something that most plugins of this kind generally lack). It would be great to be able to preview the collection so that it's easier to choose whether or not to blacklist certain titles.

A few ideas for the future ^^:
- a sorting option for source tags (when you have a lot of them, it's very useful, especially alphabetically and by date created and date modified)
- covers for collections
- sorting option for collections
- description for collections
- a link to Radarr/Sonarr
- a way to create “Coming Soon” and “Anticipated Movies/Series” collections in Emby, perhaps by creating placeholders in a temporary library (a bit like Agregarr tries to do), but I'm afraid that would require a lot of work...

Thanks again!

Thanks for the feedback and kind words.

A sorting option is something I’ve personally felt the need for, so that’s something I’m currently working on. I’m still home sick, so maybe I can even get it done today.

Your other ideas are all great, but I don’t want to promise too much. I can currently find some time to work on this plugin, but I’m expecting both another child and a new job soon, so time will likely be limited going forward. I feel like I’ve accomplished what I initially set out to do with this plugin — create an easy tool to maintain a living and dynamic home screen with the latest server (beta) release.

Some of your suggestions can already be accomplished manually by editing a collection’s metadata. I did consider adding an option to set a custom cover and description, but I’ve put that idea on hold since it’s fairly easy to do manually. Regarding list previews, couldn’t you just preview them directly in MDBList in the browser?

As for Radarr/Sonarr, I don’t use them myself, so that’s something I would need to look into. I do want to add support for more sources beyond just Trakt and MDBList.

To summarize, I will continue developing the plugin and add some new features, but not at the same pace as over the past few weeks. I truly appreciate all the feedback and ideas, even if not everything ends up being implemented.

[soderlund91 50]

New release -  Version 2.1.0.0.
Download .dll here: https://github.com/soderlund91/AutoTag/releases/tag/v2.1.0.0

New Features

• Tag Sorting: Added options to sort tags by Manual, Name, Status, and Latest Edited.
• Smart Save Button: The save button now detects changes and only activates when settings are modified.
• Dry Run Warning: Added a clear warning banner when Dry Run is enabled to prevent accidental runs.

Note
If you don't see the changes after updating, please refresh your page and clear the browser cache.
 

[chander421 15]

Thank you for your quick response. The plugin is already very effective; these were just a few ideas I had

Congratulations on your future new baby and job, and all my best wishes for a speedy recovery.

[sh0rty 714]

Great work! One question though: Am I able to set a poster URL for collections? If not, I propose this as a feture request @soderlund91