Inquiry regarding leftover metadata and images for deleted media files

[agodng 1]

Hi Emby Support Team,

I am writing to ask for clarification on how Emby handles leftover metadata and image files after media content is deleted. I recently became an Emby Premiere user, and I am trying to optimize my server setup.

When I delete a movie or an audio album from my server and trigger a library scan, the item correctly disappears from my library dashboard. However, I noticed that the metadata and artwork previously downloaded from TheMovieDB and MusicBrainz remain stored inside the server folders.

I read that the system cache automatically clears after 30 days. However, I would like to know what happens to these specific orphaned files that no longer match any active media on the server. Do they accumulate indefinitely, or is there an automatic cleanup process that matches them against the current database?

My goal is to keep my server storage as clean and optimized as possible.
Thank you for assistance.

Best regards,

Agostino
 

 

[Luke 42562]

Hi, what exactly makes you think this?

[agodng 1]

Hi Luke,

Thank you for your response.

To answer your question, I did a direct test on my server that confirmed this behavior. Here are the exact steps I followed:

1. I created a music library and added 3 music albums.
2. I ran a library scan, and Emby correctly downloaded all metadata and artwork.
3. I then deleted the 3 albums from the server and triggered another library scan. The albums correctly disappeared from my Emby dashboard.

However, when I checked the server's internal storage under the metadata/musicalbums directory, the folders created for those deleted albums were still there. Specifically, I can still see folders like:

• Dark Side Of The Moon-musicbrainzalbum-ac496d60-9b3a-497c-b650-1810f0b730bf
• Invisible Touch-musicbrainzalbum-6db771de-9d7c-347f-9e55-daae1be8e55b
• Travelling Without Moving-musicbrainzalbum-7fedfd07-2cc4-407c-9130-1e8b582f1237

Inside these folders, the folder.jpg files containing the album artwork are still present and taking up space, despite the media files no longer existing on the server.

This is why I am wondering if Emby eventually runs a scheduled task to purge these orphaned metadata folders, or if they will just accumulate indefinitely.

Thank you for your help!

Best regards,

 

 

[agodng 1]

To be honest

I am a bit disappointed with the support experience so far. I purchased the Lifetime Premiere license specifically to support the developers and the project. However, the response times from the technical support team have been quite frustrating.

 

I raised this specific question only after conducting several tests on my own, and I still haven't received a clear answer to my problem. I have also encountered a few other minor bugs, but at this point, it feels like there is no use in reporting them.

 

If this were a free product, I would completely understand the delay. But when users pay for a premium license, they expect a higher level of responsiveness and support.

I truly hope you take this as constructive feedback to improve the service, and not as an insult. I am just a passionate user who wants to see this software perform at its best.

 

Best regards
Agostino

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Luke 42562]

On 5/19/2026 at 2:09 AM, agodng said:

Hi Luke,

Thank you for your response.

To answer your question, I did a direct test on my server that confirmed this behavior. Here are the exact steps I followed:

1. I created a music library and added 3 music albums.
2. I ran a library scan, and Emby correctly downloaded all metadata and artwork.
3. I then deleted the 3 albums from the server and triggered another library scan. The albums correctly disappeared from my Emby dashboard.

However, when I checked the server's internal storage under the metadata/musicalbums directory, the folders created for those deleted albums were still there. Specifically, I can still see folders like:

• Dark Side Of The Moon-musicbrainzalbum-ac496d60-9b3a-497c-b650-1810f0b730bf
• Invisible Touch-musicbrainzalbum-6db771de-9d7c-347f-9e55-daae1be8e55b
• Travelling Without Moving-musicbrainzalbum-7fedfd07-2cc4-407c-9130-1e8b582f1237

Inside these folders, the folder.jpg files containing the album artwork are still present and taking up space, despite the media files no longer existing on the server.

This is why I am wondering if Emby eventually runs a scheduled task to purge these orphaned metadata folders, or if they will just accumulate indefinitely.

Thank you for your help!

Best regards,

 

 

Hi, we are looking into this. Thanks for reporting.