Getting Started

Lua Renamer allows users to rename their collection via an Lua 5.4 interface.
This renamer is fitting for users with more advanced collection renaming/organization requirements.

Limitations: The Lua environment is sandboxed such that interaction with the operating system/file system/networking is unavailable.

For support/questions join the Shoko Discord server and message mikill.

Installation

1. Download the the release appropriate for your Shoko Server version.
   • The latest release should be compatible with current Stable.
   • Pre-releases will be compatible with Shoko Daily depending on the Abstractions Version, check release notes and Shoko Server tags for compatibility.
2. Extract and place the LuaRenamer directory into the Shoko plugins directory:
   • (Windows) C:\ProgramData\ShokoServer\plugins
   • (Docker) Wherever the container location /home/shoko/.shoko/Shoko.CLI/plugins is mounted.
3. Restart Shoko Server.
4. (Recommended) Install VS Code and the Lua extension to edit your script.
5. Follow instructions in the next section to add a script.

Usage

1. Open the Server WebUI (port 8111 by default) and log in.
2. Navigate to Utilities/File Rename.
3. Click the cog wheel icon to open the renamer config panel.
4. Create a new renamer config, enter a name and select LuaRenamer from the select box. If LuaRenamer is not visible, the renamer failed to load, check the server logs.
5. Add the files (button next to the config cog wheel) you wish to rename. The rename/move preview will automatically populate with changes you make.
6. The Move checkbox chooses whether the files are renamed and moved or only renamed.
7. The config can be set to be the Default, which is used when Rename On Import and Move On Import are set in the Import Settings.
8. Once you are happy with the preview you can save the config and click Rename Files to rename/move+rename the previewed files.

Renaming on Import

If you wish to rename/move your files on import you must do two things:

1. Set Rename/Move On Import to true in Shoko settings (via WebUI or settings-server.json).
2. Ensure your renamer config is saved as the Default.

Script Authoring

Lua Renamer provides a programming interface for more versatile file structure and renaming scenarios. This section details how to author scripts and the scripting environment.

Check out This short guide if you are new to Lua.

With VS Code (Recommended)

1. VS Code + the Lua extension is recommended for script editing.
   • The script environment provides LuaCATS annotations for type linting.
2. Open the plugin's lua subfolder in VS Code via File -> Open Folder...
3. You can create a new .lua file or edit the existing default.lua
   • Editing default.lua will not modify existing renamer configs, but will be used as the initial script for new renamer configs
4. When your script is ready to test, copy the script content into the Renamer config in the WebUI. See Usage

The Environment

The lua environment is sandboxed, removing operations from standard libraries such as io, and os. See BaseEnv in LuaContext.
The script is run in a fresh environment for every file.
Only the values of output variables defined in env.lua will affect renaming/moving behaviour.

For documentation/LuaCATS definitions only:

• env.lua: The initial environment, output variable values will change renaming/moving behaviour.
• defs.lua: Table definitions available from Shoko.
• enums.lua: Enumeration definitions.

Executed at runtime:

• lualinq.lua: A modified utility library (original, docs) that adds functional query methods similar to LINQ.
• utils.lua: Additional utility functions can be defined here.

Script Settings

In addition to the filename, destination and subfolder output variables, these variables affect the result of your script.

• use_existing_anime_location If true, the renamer will attempt to keep files from the same series together, reusing the destination and subfolder of existing files. This takes precedence over the destination and subfolder set in the script. (default: false)
• replace_illegal_chars If true, replaces all illegal path characters in subfolder and file name with alternatives. See ReplaceMap in Utils.cs for defaults. Use illegal_chars_map to modify defaults. (default: false)
• remove_illegal_chars If true, removes all illegal path characters in subfolder and file name. If false, illegal characters are replaced with underscores or replaced if replace_illegal_chars is true. (default: false)
• skip_rename If true, the result of running the script is discarded when renaming. (default: false)
• skip_move If true, the result of running the script is discarded when moving. (default: false)
• illegal_chars_map Mapping of illegal characters to their replacements

Notes for File Moving

Destination

Import folders are only valid destination candidates if they exist and have either the Destination or Both Drop Type. Use of use_existing_anime_location may bypass this restriction, allowing None but not Source (see Script Settings).

Destination defaults to the nearest (to the file) valid import folder.

Destination is set via one of:

• Import folder name (string)
• Server folder path (string)
• Import folder reference (table, selected from the importfolders array or file.importfolder)

If destination set via path, it is matched to import folder path with converted directory seperators but no other special handling (neither relative path nor expansion).

Subfolder

Subfolder defaults to the anime title preferred by Shoko.

Subfolder is set via one of:

• Subfolder name (string)
• Path segments (array-table, e.g. {"parent dir name", "subdir name", "..."})

If set via a string subfolder name, directory separators within the string are ignored or replaced depending on preference.
Also see use_existing_anime_location in Script Settings

Frequently Asked Questions

Answers to common questions and usage scenarios for Lua Renamer.

How do I split my collection across import folders?

The easiest option is to set the destination by import folder name. Keep in mind the import folder must have the Destination or Both drop type. You may also specify the destination by the full path of the import folder on the server or by referencing it directly via importfolders.

if anime.restricted then
  destination = "hentai"
else
  destination = "anime"
end

How do I split my collection across subfolders?

if anime.type == AnimeType.Movie then
    subfolder = { "Anime Movies", anime.preferredname }
else
    subfolder = { "Anime", anime.preferredname }
end

How do I group my anime according to Shoko?

Adding Shoko group name to subfolder path when there are multiple series in group.

if #groups == 1 and #groups[1].animes > 1 then
  subfolder = {groups[1].name, anime.preferredname}
end
use_existing_anime_location = false -- Allows files in Destination import folders to be moved when a group previously had 1 series.

How do I move/rename my anime collection according to seasons?

AniDB, Shoko's metadata provider does not have the concept of seasons. Therefore the metadata available cannot be cleanly mapped. I recommend using Shoko Metadata for Plex or Shokofin for Jellyfin as your client instead of depending on other metadata providing plugins.

How can I hard/soft link my files instead of moving them?

Neither Shoko nor this plugin has the ability to create file links. I recommend creating any links before the file is processed by Shoko. Usually download clients have the option to run a script on download completion. You can create a script to link files to a Shoko drop source folder. Feel free to contact me if you need help with this.

Note: If you hard link your files you will need to create an import folder for each file system/volume used. You want to keep the files on the same file system.