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User Guide

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Jesse Slaton edited this page Mar 10, 2026 · 2 revisions

User Guide

Stillwater includes a comprehensive in-app guide at /guide that covers all features and workflows. This wiki page provides a brief overview; for detailed information, visit the guide in your running instance.

In-App Guide

Once logged in, click Guide in the navigation bar (or visit http://your-server:1973/guide) to access reference documentation on:

  • Library Structure -- directory layout expectations, one-artist-per-folder convention
  • Scanner Exclusions -- default skip list and how excluded directories appear in the UI
  • Platform Profiles -- Emby, Jellyfin, and Kodi differences in NFO format and image naming
  • Metadata Providers -- all supported providers, which need API keys, free vs. premium tiers
  • Image Management -- image types (thumb, fanart, logo, banner), supported formats, format policies
  • Server Connections -- Emby, Jellyfin, and Lidarr setup and what each connection enables
  • Rule Engine -- quality checks, enable/disable rules, violation notifications
  • NFO Files -- file contents, atomic writes, conflict detection, snapshot history

Important: Shared Library Paths

If you use both Emby and Jellyfin (or Lidarr) and they point at the same music directory, their background processes can interfere with each other. Images may revert to different versions, NFO files may get overwritten, and metadata changes may not stick. This is not a Stillwater bug -- it happens because each media server independently monitors and writes to the shared folder.

See Troubleshooting: Shared Library Paths for recommended configurations that avoid this problem.

Workflow Overview

A typical workflow after installation:

  1. Add libraries -- Point Stillwater at your music directories (or import from a connected media server)
  2. Scan -- The scanner discovers artist directories and builds your artist list
  3. Fetch metadata -- Pull biographies, genres, and other fields from configured providers
  4. Fetch images -- Download thumbnails, fanart, logos, and banners from image providers
  5. Review and edit -- Use the artist detail page to compare provider data, crop images, and fine-tune fields
  6. Write NFO -- Save metadata to NFO files that your media server reads
  7. Push -- Optionally push metadata and trigger refreshes on connected media servers
  8. Monitor -- Run rules to detect missing or incomplete data across your library

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