tvnamer

tvnamer is a utility which uses tvdb_api to rename files from some.show.s01e03.blah.abc.avi to Some Show - [01x03] - The Episode Name.avi (by retrieving the episode name using tvdb_api)

To install

You can easily install tvnamer via easy_install

easy_install tvnamer

This installs the tvnamer command-line tool (and the tvdb_api module as a requirement)

You may need to use sudo, depending on your setup:

sudo easy_install tvnamer

Basic usage

From the command line, simply run:

tvnamer the.file.s01e01.avi

For example:

$ tvnamer scrubs.s01e01.avi
####################
# Starting tvnamer
# Processing 1 files
# ..got tvdb mirrors
# Starting to process files
####################
# Processing scrubs (season: 1, episode 1)
TVDB Search Results:
1 -> Scrubs # http://thetvdb.com/?tab=series&id=76156
Automatically selecting only result
####################
Old name: scrubs.s01e01.avi
New name: Scrubs - [01x01] - My First Day.avi
Rename?
([y]/n/a/q)

Enter y then press return and the file will be renamed to "Scrubs - [01x01] - My First Day.avi". You can also simply press return to select the default option, denoted by the surrounding []

If there are multiple shows with the same (or similar) names, you will be asked to select the correct one - "Lost" is a good example of this:

$ python tvnamer.py lost.s01e01.avi
####################
# Starting tvnamer
# Processing 1 files
# ..got tvdb mirrors
# Starting to process files
####################
# Processing lost (season: 1, episode 1)
TVDB Search Results:
1 -> Lost # http://thetvdb.com/?tab=series&id=73739
2 -> Lost in Space # http://thetvdb.com/?tab=series&id=72923
[...]
Enter choice (first number, ? for help):

To select the first result, enter 1 then return, to select the second enter 2 and so on. The link after # goes to the relevant [thetvdb.com][tvdb] page, which will contain information and images to help you select the correct series.

You can rename multiple files, or an entire directory by using the files or directories as arguments:

$ tvnamer file1.avi file2.avi etc
$ tvnamer .
$ tvnamer /path/to/my/folder/
$ tvnamer ./folder/1/ ./folder/2/

You can skip a specific file by entering n (no). If you enter a (always) tvnamer will rename the remaining files automatically. The suggested use of this is check the first few episodes are named correctly, then use a to rename the rest.

Note, tvnamer will only descend one level into directories unless the -r (or --recursive) flag is specified. For example, if you have the following directory structure:

dir1/
    file1.avi
    dir2/
        file2.avi
        file3.avi

..then running tvnamer dir1/ will only rename file1.avi, ignoring dir2/ and its contents.

If you wish to rename all files (file1, file2 and file3), you would run:

tvnamer --recursive dir1/

Advanced usage

There are various flags you can use with tvnamer, run..

tvnamer --help

..to see them, and a short description of each.

The most interesting are most likely --batch, --selectfirst and --always:

--selectfirst will select the first series the search found, but will not automatically rename any episodes.

--always will ask you select the correct series, then automatically rename all files.

--batch will not prompt you for anything. It automatically selects the first series search result, and automatically rename all files. Use carefully!