External sorting tools

NOTE While SABnzbd supports a number of ways to rename files, external tools (like Sonarr, Radarr, etc.) allow for much more extensive automated download management. These tools can automatically search, add and handle renaming in almost every possible way!

Overview of available Automation Extensions for SABnzbd.

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Sorting

Sorting replaces any pattern keys in the sort string (such as %sn for the show or movie name) with real values, before creating the directory structure and renaming files. The sort string as well as the affected categories and job types can be set for every sorter. Sorters are tried in order of appearance, and can be reordered by dragging and dropping in the web interface. The first active sorter that meets both selection criteria (affected category and job type) is applied.

The job name serves as the primary source of information for the sorting. The more standard the naming, the better your chances of a job getting properly recognized, assigned the right job type, and correctly sorted. Additional information may be sourced from metadata embedded in the NZB.

NOTE If Sorting is active for a specific job, the "Deobfuscate final filenames" feature will not be applied.

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Basic settings

Enabled	Enable or disable a configured sorter.
Name	Set the name of the sorter.
Sort String	The sorting expression with pattern keys, constructing a path of your choice. If the sort string ends in a pattern that indicates a file name (.%ext or %fn), its last part will be used for renaming files; otherwise, the constructed path will be created as a directory and the downloaded files moved there without renaming. See the presets and the sort string examples section below for examples.
Affected Job Types Advanced	The job type(s) this sorter should apply to. Use Ctrl or Shift to select multiple options.
Affected Categories	One or more categories this sorter should apply to. Use Ctrl or Shift to select multiple options.
Minimum Filesize Advanced	The minimum file size that at least one file in a job must meet for the sorter to kick in.
Multi-part Label Advanced	Label to apply to sequences of files (such as CD1, CD2, ...). Rarely used nowadays; previously defaulted to CD%1 for movie sorting, where pattern key %1 is the sequence number.

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Pattern Keys

Meaning	Pattern	Result
Show or Movie Name	%sn	Show or Movie Name (case-adjusted)
	%s.n	Show.or.Movie.Name (case-adjusted)
	%s_n	Show_or_Movie_Name (case-adjusted)
Show or Movie Name	%sN	Show or Movie Name
	%s.N	Show.or.Movie.Name
	%s_N	Show_or_Movie_Name
	%title	Show or Movie Name
	%.title	Show.or.Movie.Name
	%_title	Show.or.Movie_Name
Resolution	%r	1080p
Year	%y	2021
Decade	%decade	20
	%0decade	2020
Season Number	%s	1
	%0s	01
Episode Number	%e	5
	%0e	05
Episode Name	%en	Episode Name
	%e.n	Episode.Name
	%e_n	Episode_Name
File Extension	%ext	mkv
Original File Name	%fn	file name
Original Job Name	%dn	folder name
Lower Case	{TEXT}	text (in case of folders, apply to each part separately: {%sn}/{%dn.%ext})

Behind the scenes, the GuessIt module does much of the sorting-related guess work. In addition to the commonly-used features above that get their own pattern keys, the full suite of GuessIt properties is exposed. The available properties depend on the installed GuessIt version and are listed in the web interface under the pattern key.

GuessIt Property Advanced	%GI<property>	GuessIt Property
	%G.I<property>	GuessIt.Property
	%G_I<property>	GuessIt_Property
For example:	%GI<audio_codec>	DTS

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Job names

Series naming

Common, well recognized formats for season and episode numbers include 1x01 (SeriesxEpisode) or S01E01 (SseriesEepisode).

For example:
Show Name - 1x01 - Episode Name.nzb
Show.Name.S01E01.Episode.Name.nzb
Show Name.1x01.nzb

Season packs

The sorting includes support for season packs. Episode numbers are detected from the names of the downloaded files; all other information is based on the job name or metadata. To qualify for season pack handling, a job must be detected as type tv, its name must indicate a single season and either multiple episodes, or no episodes at all.

Examples of job names that would be recognised as season packs include:
Show Name S02E04-05-06 Resolution-Group.nzb
Show.Name.S04.Resolution.Source.Codec-Group.nzb
Show Name S03E02E05E66.nzb
Show Name 4x01-02.nzb

Season pack handling is automatically activated for qualifying jobs, unless it has been disabled globally via the Special enable_season_sorting setting.

Date naming

Most standard date formats are recognized, including MM-DD-YYYY, MM.DD.YYYY and YYYY-MM-DD/YYYY.MM.DD.

For example:
Show.Name.25.12.2022.HDTV-RLS.nzb

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Sort String examples

General examples

Job Name as File Name:
%dn.%ext
Example: Job Name.mkv

Series examples

1x01 Season Folder:
%sn/Season %s/%sn - %sx%0e - %en.%ext
Example: Show Name/Season 1/Show Name - 1x05 - Episode Name.mkv

S01E01 Season Folder:
%sn/Season %s/%sn - S%0sE%0e - %en.%ext
Example: Show Name/Season 1/Show Name - S01E05 - Episode Name.mkv

1x01 Individual Episode Folder:
%sn/%sx%0e - %en/%sn - %sx%0e - %en.%ext
Example: Show Name/1x05 - Episode Name/Show Name - 1x05 - Episode Name.mkv

S01E01 Individual Episode Folder:
%sn/S%0sE%0e - %en/%sn - S%0sE%0e - %en.%ext
Example: Show Name/S01E05 - Episode Name/Show Name - S01E05 - Episode Name.mkv

Show name and season directories without file renaming:
%sn/Season %s
Example: Show Name/Season 1/old file name.avi

Movie examples

In folders:
%title (%y)/%title (%y).%ext with multipart label CD%1
Example: Movie Name (2000)/Movie Name (2000) CD1.mkv

No folders:
%title (%y).%ext
Example: Movie Name (2000).mkv

Date examples

Decades 1:
%0decade/%title (%y).%ext
Example: 2000/Movie Name (2000).mkv

Decades 2:
%decade/%title (%y).%ext
Example: 00/Movie Name (2000).mkv

Show Name folder:
%t/%t - %y-%0m-%0d - %desc.%ext
Example: Show Name/Show Name - 2009-01-02 - Episode Name.mkv

Year-Month folders:
%y-%0m/%t - %y-%0m-%0d - %desc.%ext
Example: 2009-01/Show Name - 2009-01-02 - Episode Name.mkv

Daily folders:
%y-%0m-%0d/%t - %y-%0m-%0d - %desc.%ext
Example: 2009-01-02/Show Name - 2009-01-02 - Episode Name.mkv