feat(media): measure a series per episode, and let the tag outrank a borrowed id

media-tvdupes.py censuses a TV library by episode key and never by folder. 10 of
the 25 shows that looked duplicated in the 2026-11-02 census held complementary
halves (Game of Thrones Complete carries no S01 or S08, Modern Family S05 is the
only copy of season 5), so a folder-level verdict would have staged some 340 GB
of unique episodes to recover 54 GiB of true copies.

Show identity comes from the folder's [tvdbid-N] tag, from the tvshow.nfo the
metadata view exposes, or from an operator --ids map. A derived id that
contradicts a tag is dropped and reported, never unioned: Jellyfin's provider
table carries a 2026 special's id on the folder tagged [tvdbid-73838], and
unioning the two makes one show of a 2000 series and a 2026 special whose bigger
files then dominate the original's pilot. Files named by an id key only when the
server's own episode table (the --witness) names them, so a bare number is never
mistaken for an episode.

Seam: tests/media_tvdupes.bats — 12 assertions on which files land in the plan
and which the tool refuses to touch, on a synthetic library.

scripts/media-tvdupes.py

@@ -0,0 +1,473 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env python3
+"""media-tvdupes.py — find duplicate TV episodes and plan their staging, one
+EPISODE at a time.
+
+A TV library grows the same show into several folders: a tagged season box, an
+untagged packager drop, a `Complete` folder that is not complete. The folders
+look like copies of each other and are not, so the unit of comparison is the
+episode and never the folder. A file is droppable only when EVERY episode it
+carries is also held, somewhere else in the same show, by a file at least as
+large — Frank's rule: the same episode in two places keeps the larger one. A
+file that holds one episode nothing else has stays, whatever else it carries.
+
+It writes a plan and moves nothing; `scripts/media-apply.py` is the only thing
+that renames. The plan stages into a dated hold, so the pass is undoable from
+the journal and frees no space until the hold is purged.
+
+    python3 scripts/media-tvdupes.py --library /mnt/entropy/TVShows \
+        --hold /mnt/entropy/.AGENTTRASH/20261102-tv-duplicates \
+        --out /mnt/entropy/tv-dupes-plan.tsv
+    python3 scripts/media-apply.py apply --plan /mnt/entropy/tv-dupes-plan.tsv \
+        --root /mnt/entropy --journal /mnt/entropy/tv-dupes.jsonl \
+        --metadata-view /var/lib/media-meta/view --apply
+    python3 scripts/media-apply.py verify --plan /mnt/entropy/tv-dupes-plan.tsv \
+        --root /mnt/entropy --journal /mnt/entropy/tv-dupes.jsonl
+    python3 scripts/media-apply.py sweep --root /mnt/entropy \
+        --journal /mnt/entropy/tv-dupes.jsonl --apply    # empty folders only
+    scripts/media-view.sh reap                           # ghost sidecars above
+
+Then both servers have to be told: the plan moves files on the raw array, and no
+watcher crosses the metadata view — [[Media Relayout]] owns the refresh order.
+
+Guards, and why each one is here:
+
+* **Identity before geometry.** Two folders holding the same words are not the
+  same show: the 2026-11-02 census found `Avatar: The Last Airbender` (1999,
+  tvdb 74852) beside the 2024 remake (385925), `Star Trek: Voyager` beside
+  `Star Trek: The Animated Series`, and a German thriller Jellyfin had titled
+  `Millennium (2022) [tvdbid-472933]` beside `Millennium (1996)`. A folder's
+  identity is read from three places, in this order: its `[tvdbid-N]` tag, the
+  `tvshow.nfo` Jellyfin wrote — which lives in the metadata view, not on the
+  array, and is what `--meta` reads — and a `folder<TAB>id` map passed with
+  `--ids`. The tag outranks the derived layers: an id that contradicts a folder's
+  own tag is reported and ignored, never unioned — measured 2026-11-02, Jellyfin's
+  provider table carried a 2026 special's id on a folder tagged `[tvdbid-73838]`,
+  and unioning them makes one show of the 2000 series and the special, whose bigger
+  files then dominate the original's pilot. Two folders are one show when they share
+  an id, or when neither has one and name and year both agree. Two disjoint id sets
+  is an absolute stop: the pair is reported as a conflict and nothing under either is
+  staged. Same name with nothing to decide on is reported unresolved — the fix is the
+  tag, not a guess.
+* **A folder-level verdict destroys content.** 10 of the 25 shows that looked
+  duplicated held COMPLEMENTARY halves: `Game of Thrones Complete` carries no
+  S01 and no S08, `Modern Family S05` is the only copy of season 5, `Loiter
+  Squad Uncensored` is the only copy of season 1. Judged per folder, 20 shows
+  and some 340 GB of unique episodes would have been staged; judged per episode
+  the true figure was a sixth of that.
+* **A bare number is never an episode.** `256491.mp4` may be an episode id, a
+  poster, or a season, so a name that states no `SxxEyy` / `1x04` marker is
+  unkeyed: never staged, and counted in the report. A media server's own episode
+  table does know those files — pass it with `--witness` and its rows key
+  whatever the server has matched.
+* **The audit re-reads the disk.** Sizes and the survivor's existence are
+  checked again when the plan is written, because the census is a snapshot: a
+  file that grew, vanished, or landed in the hold in between must fail the plan,
+  not surprise the executor.
+* **A sidecar that shares an episode's stem follows it.** Subtitles and `.nfo`
+  left at the old coordinates are ghost bait for `media-view.sh reap`.
+* A multi-episode file (`S01E01-02`) is dominated only when every episode in its
+  range is held elsewhere — and it competes for the survivor seat on each of
+  them, because the byte law compares files. A pack that states its range in
+  the name is a name both media servers parse the same way, so the pack winning
+  against two single-episode rips is the law applied, not a misread.
+"""
+import argparse
+import collections
+import importlib.util
+import json
+import os
+import re
+import sys
+
+ENGINE = os.path.join(os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(__file__)), "media-titles.py")
+_spec = importlib.util.spec_from_file_location("eng", ENGINE)
+eng = importlib.util.module_from_spec(_spec)
+_spec.loader.exec_module(eng)
+
+# The executor's definition of a media file, plus the two the title engine omits:
+# an audit that disagrees with media-apply.py is a plan that dies at its
+# preflight instead of at the census.
+VIDEO = tuple(sorted(set(eng.VIDEO_SUFFIX) | {".ts", ".wmv"}))
+TAG_RE = re.compile(r"\[\s*tvdbid[\s._-]*(\d+)\s*\]", re.I)
+YEAR_RE = re.compile(r"[(\[]\s*((?:19|20)\d\d)\s*[)\]]")
+SEASON_EP = re.compile(r"(?i)\bs(?:eason)?[\s._-]*(\d{1,2})[\s._-]*e(?:p(?:isode)?)?"
+                       r"[\s._-]*(\d{1,3})(?:[\s._-]*(?:-|to|\+)[\s._-]*e?"
+                       r"[\s._-]*(\d{1,3}))?")
+NXN = re.compile(r"(?i)(?<!\d)(\d{1,2})x(\d{1,3})(?!\d)")
+
+
+def parse_args():
+    ap = argparse.ArgumentParser(description=__doc__.splitlines()[0])
+    ap.add_argument("--library", default="/mnt/entropy/TVShows",
+                    help="the TV library to census (never written)")
+    ap.add_argument("--hold", required=True,
+                    help="dated trash the plan stages into, e.g. "
+                         "/mnt/entropy/.AGENTTRASH/20261102-tv-duplicates")
+    ap.add_argument("--out", default=None,
+                    help="plan TSV for scripts/media-apply.py (default: "
+                         "tv-dupes-plan.tsv beside --library)")
+    ap.add_argument("--witness", default=None,
+                    help="TSV of path<TAB>season<TAB>episode out of a media "
+                         "server's episode table; keys files whose names carry"
+                         " no marker")
+    ap.add_argument("--meta", default=None,
+                    help="the merged metadata view (on the host "
+                         "/var/lib/media-meta/view): tvshow.nfo lives in the"
+                         " upper layer, so this is where an untagged folder's"
+                         " tvdb id is readable")
+    ap.add_argument("--ids", default=None,
+                    help="TSV of folder<TAB>tvdbid, one line per folder, for"
+                         " identity a lookup settled and the folder name does"
+                         " not state")
+    ap.add_argument("--json", default=None,
+                    help="also dump the analysis as JSON")
+    return ap.parse_args()
+
+
+ARGS = parse_args()
+
+
+def episode_keys(name):
+    """Every (season, episode) an episode name states.
+
+    `S01E03`, `Season 1 E3`, `1x04`, and a range `S01E01-02`, which expands so a
+    two-in-one file is only droppable when both halves are held elsewhere. A
+    bare number states nothing and yields nothing."""
+    keys = set()
+    for m in SEASON_EP.finditer(name):
+        s, first = int(m.group(1)), int(m.group(2))
+        keys.add((s, first))
+        if m.group(3):
+            keys.update((s, e) for e in range(first + 1, int(m.group(3)) + 1))
+    keys.update((int(m.group(1)), int(m.group(2))) for m in NXN.finditer(name))
+    return keys
+
+
+def folder_identity(folder):
+    """(fold_sep name, year, tvdb ids) for a top-level show folder.
+
+    Tag and year come in both orders — `Name (2008) [tvdbid-84859]` and `Name
+    [tvdbid-84859] (2008)` are both in the library — so neither is assumed to
+    sit at the end, and both are cut out of the name folders compare on."""
+    ids = frozenset(int(x) for x in TAG_RE.findall(folder))
+    year = None
+    for _ in range(3):
+        y = YEAR_RE.search(folder)
+        if not y:
+            break
+        year = year or y.group(1)
+        folder = TAG_RE.sub(" ", f"{folder[:y.start()]} {folder[y.end():]}")
+    return eng.fold_sep(TAG_RE.sub(" ", folder)), year, ids
+
+
+def nfo_id(path):
+    """The tvdb id a `tvshow.nfo` states, or None.
+
+    Three shapes are in the library: Jellyfin's `<uniqueid type="tvdb">`, Kodi's
+    `<tvdbid>`, and a packager's `<id>` + `<id_type>` pair; some carry the id
+    only in the title line as `[tvdbid-N]`."""
+    try:
+        with open(path, encoding="utf-8", errors="replace") as fh:
+            text = fh.read(16384)
+    except OSError:
+        return None
+    for rx in (r"<tvdbid\s*>\s*(\d+)\s*<",
+               r"<uniqueid[^>]*type\s*=\s*[\"']?tvdb[^>]*>\s*(\d+)\s*<",
+               r"<id\s*>\s*(\d+)\s*</id>\s*<id_type>\s*(?:tvdb|thedotdb)",
+               r"\[\s*tvdbid[\s._-]*(\d+)\s*\]"):
+        m = re.search(rx, text, re.I)
+        if m:
+            return int(m.group(1))
+    return None
+
+
+def collect_ids(library, meta, ids_file):
+    """top-level folder -> {tvdb ids} from the nfo layer and an operator map.
+
+    `meta` is the merged metadata view: Jellyfin's sidecars live in the upper
+    layer, so a folder's `tvshow.nfo` is not on the raw array. Reading the id
+    from there is what makes an untagged packager folder identifiable at all —
+    without it the pair stays unresolved and nothing under it is staged."""
+    out = collections.defaultdict(set)
+    if meta:
+        try:
+            tops = sorted(os.listdir(library))
+        except OSError:
+            tops = []
+        for folder in tops:
+            i = nfo_id(os.path.join(meta, folder, "tvshow.nfo"))
+            if i:
+                out[folder].add(i)
+    if ids_file:
+        with open(ids_file, encoding="utf-8", errors="replace") as fh:
+            for line in fh:
+                cols = line.rstrip("\n").split("\t")
+                if len(cols) < 2 or not cols[1].strip().isdigit():
+                    continue
+                out[cols[0]].add(int(cols[1].strip()))
+    return out
+
+
+def witness_rows(path):
+    """absolute path -> {(season, episode)} from a media server's episode table."""
+    out = collections.defaultdict(set)
+    if not path:
+        return out
+    with open(path, encoding="utf-8", errors="replace") as fh:
+        for line in fh:
+            cols = line.rstrip("\n").split("\t")
+            if len(cols) < 3 or not cols[0].startswith("/"):
+                continue
+            try:
+                out[os.path.abspath(cols[0])].add((int(cols[1]), int(cols[2])))
+            except ValueError:
+                continue
+    return out
+
+
+def sidecars(path):
+    """The files beside PATH carrying its exact stem — subtitles, nfo, artwork."""
+    folder, stem = os.path.split(path)
+    stem = os.path.splitext(stem)[0]
+    out = []
+    try:
+        entries = sorted(os.listdir(folder))
+    except OSError:
+        return out
+    for e in entries:
+        p = os.path.join(folder, e)
+        if p == path or os.path.islink(p) or not os.path.isfile(p):
+            continue
+        if os.path.splitext(e)[0] == stem:
+            out.append(p)
+    return out
+
+
+def scan(library, hold, witness):
+    """Every video file under LIBRARY: relative path, size, episode keys.
+
+    A file keys from the witness when it has a row (a server matched it), and
+    from its own name otherwise; with neither it is unkeyed."""
+    files = []
+    for dirpath, dirnames, filenames in os.walk(library):
+        dirnames[:] = sorted(d for d in dirnames
+                             if not d.startswith(".") and d != "@eaDir"
+                             and os.path.abspath(os.path.join(dirpath, d)) != hold)
+        for f in sorted(filenames):
+            p = os.path.join(dirpath, f)
+            if os.path.islink(p) or not f.lower().endswith(VIDEO):
+                continue
+            try:
+                size = os.path.getsize(p)
+            except OSError:
+                continue
+            files.append({"path": os.path.abspath(p),
+                          "rel": os.path.relpath(os.path.abspath(p), library),
+                          "size": size,
+                          "keys": set(witness.get(os.path.abspath(p))
+                                      or episode_keys(os.path.splitext(f)[0]))})
+    return files
+
+
+def show_groups(folders, extra_ids):
+    """(show groups, conflicts, unresolved, disagreements) over top-level folders.
+
+    A folder's id is its `[tvdbid-N]` tag; the nfo layer and `--ids` fill a folder
+    only when it carries no tag. The rule, in order of trust: an id in common makes
+    one show; two disjoint id sets are two shows, reported as a conflict and never
+    merged; no id on either side merges only on name AND year (the 1999 miniseries
+    and the 2015 series are not one show); one side ided and the other bare is
+    unresolved, because the fix is the tag.
+
+    The derived layers never overrule a tag. Measured 2026-11-02: Jellyfin's
+    provider table carried a 2026 special's tvdb id on the folder tagged
+    `[tvdbid-73838]`, and unioning the two made one show of the 2000 series and the
+    special — whose bigger files then dominate the original's pilot. A contradiction
+    is reported instead, because the tag is the operator's word and the provider
+    table is a guess that can be wrong.
+    """
+    names = {f: folder_identity(f) for f in folders}
+    tags = {f: set(names[f][2]) for f in folders}
+    derived = {f: set(extra_ids.get(f, ())) for f in folders}
+    disagree = {f: (sorted(tags[f]), sorted(derived[f] - tags[f]))
+                for f in folders if tags[f] and derived[f] - tags[f]}
+    ids = {f: (tags[f] or derived[f]) for f in folders}
+    parent = {f: f for f in folders}
+
+    def find(f):
+        while parent[f] != f:
+            parent[f] = parent[parent[f]]
+            f = parent[f]
+        return f
+
+    conflicts, unresolved = [], []
+    order = sorted(folders)
+    for i, a in enumerate(order):
+        for b in order[i + 1:]:
+            na, ya, _ia = names[a]
+            nb, yb, _ib = names[b]
+            if na != nb:
+                continue
+            ia, ib = ids[a], ids[b]
+            if ia & ib:
+                parent[find(b)] = find(a)
+            elif ia and ib:
+                conflicts.append((a, b, f"tvdb {sorted(ia)} vs {sorted(ib)}"))
+            elif not ia and not ib and ya and ya == yb:
+                parent[find(b)] = find(a)
+            elif not ia and not ib:
+                conflicts.append((a, b,
+                                  f"same name, years {ya or '?'} vs {yb or '?'}"))
+            else:
+                unresolved.append((a, b, "one folder carries a tvdb id,"
+                                         " the other none"))
+    groups = collections.defaultdict(list)
+    for f in order:
+        groups[find(f)].append(f)
+    return sorted(groups.values()), conflicts, unresolved, disagree
+
+
+def rank(rec):
+    """Survivor order: biggest, then shortest path, then lexicographic.
+
+    A strict total order per key means a key's winner is never itself dominated,
+    so no chain of staging can cycle and exactly one copy of a byte-identical
+    pair is staged."""
+    return (-rec["size"], len(rec["path"]), rec["path"])
+
+
+def main():
+    library = os.path.abspath(ARGS.library)
+    hold = os.path.abspath(ARGS.hold)
+    out = ARGS.out or os.path.join(os.path.dirname(library), "tv-dupes-plan.tsv")
+    if not os.path.isdir(library):
+        sys.exit(f"refused: {library} is not a directory")
+    if hold == library or hold.startswith(library + os.sep):
+        sys.exit(f"refused: --hold {hold} sits inside the library; a hold the"
+                 " census walks is a plan that eats its own output")
+
+    files = scan(library, hold, witness_rows(ARGS.witness))
+    folders = sorted({r["rel"].split(os.sep)[0] for r in files})
+    ids = collect_ids(library, ARGS.meta, ARGS.ids)
+    groups, conflicts, unresolved, disagree = show_groups(folders, ids)
+
+    by_show = collections.defaultdict(list)
+    for members in groups:
+        for r in files:
+            if r["rel"].split(os.sep)[0] in members:
+                by_show[members[0]].append(r)
+
+    rows, audits, report, shows_json = [], [], [], []
+    for show in sorted(by_show):
+        recs = by_show[show]
+        holders = collections.defaultdict(list)
+        for r in recs:
+            for k in r["keys"]:
+                holders[k].append(r)
+        winner = {k: min(v, key=rank) for k, v in holders.items()}
+        dominated = [r for r in recs if r["keys"]
+                     and all(winner[k] is not r for k in r["keys"])]
+        if not dominated:
+            continue
+        dup_keys = sorted({k for r in dominated for k in r["keys"]})
+        sole = sum(1 for v in holders.values() if len(v) == 1)
+        staged_folders = {os.path.dirname(r["rel"]) for r in dominated}
+        for r in dominated:
+            for k in r["keys"]:
+                t = winner[k]
+                try:
+                    now_src = os.path.getsize(r["path"])
+                    now_twin = os.path.getsize(t["path"])
+                except OSError:
+                    audits.append(f"gone since the census: {r['rel']}"
+                                  f" or its survivor {t['rel']}")
+                    break
+                if now_twin < now_src:
+                    audits.append(f"survivor smaller on disk: {r['rel']}"
+                                  f" {now_src} > {t['rel']} {now_twin}")
+        for r in dominated:
+            dst = os.path.join(hold, r["rel"])
+            rows.append((r["path"], dst))
+            for side in sidecars(r["path"]):
+                rows.append((side, os.path.join(hold, os.path.relpath(side, library))))
+        shows_json.append({"show": show, "files": len(dominated),
+                           "bytes": sum(r["size"] for r in dominated),
+                           "episodes": len(dup_keys),
+                           "sole-episode files left": sole,
+                           "folders": sorted(staged_folders)})
+        n_ep, n_folder = len(dup_keys), len(staged_folders)
+        report.append(
+            f"{show}: stage {len(dominated)} files"
+            f" ({sum(r['size'] for r in dominated) / 2**30:.1f} GiB) — {n_ep}"
+            f" episode{n_ep != 1 and 's' or ''} held twice or more; {sole}"
+            f" episode{sole != 1 and 's' or ''} exist in one copy only, so"
+            f" {n_folder} folder{n_folder != 1 and 's' or ''} keep their files")
+
+    rows = sorted(set(rows))
+    dests = set()
+    for src, dst in rows:
+        if dst in dests:
+            audits.append(f"destination twice: {dst}")
+        dests.add(dst)
+        if os.path.exists(dst):
+            audits.append(f"hold target occupied: {dst}")
+        if not os.path.isfile(src):
+            audits.append(f"source missing: {src}")
+
+    unkeyed = collections.Counter(os.path.dirname(r["rel"]) for r in files
+                                  if not r["keys"])
+    if ARGS.json:
+        with open(ARGS.json, "w") as fh:
+            json.dump({"shows": shows_json,
+                       "conflicts": [list(c) for c in conflicts],
+                       "unresolved": [list(u) for u in unresolved],
+                       "disagreement": {f: [t, d] for f, (t, d) in disagree.items()},
+                       "unkeyed": dict(unkeyed)}, fh, indent=1)
+
+    for line in report:
+        print(line)
+    for a, b, why in conflicts:
+        print(f"CONFLICT (never merged): {a} | {b} — {why}")
+    for a, b, why in unresolved:
+        print(f"UNRESOLVED (tag it, then re-run): {a} | {b} — {why}")
+    for f, (tagged, extra) in sorted(disagree.items()):
+        print(f"DISAGREE (the tag wins): {f} — tag tvdb {tagged},"
+              f" derived tvdb {extra}")
+    if unkeyed:
+        print(f"unkeyed, never staged: {sum(unkeyed.values())} files in"
+              f" {len(unkeyed)} folders name no SxxEyy and have no --witness row;"
+              " most: " + ", ".join(f"{d} ({n})" for d, n in unkeyed.most_common(5)))
+
+    # The gate runs before the plan is written: a plan file that exists is a plan
+    # somebody will point the executor at, so a failed audit leaves no artifact.
+    if audits:
+        print(f"AUDIT FAILED ({len(audits)})", file=sys.stderr)
+        for a in audits[:10]:
+            print(f"  {a}", file=sys.stderr)
+        print(f"refused: no plan written to {out}", file=sys.stderr)
+        return 1
+
+    mkdirs = sorted({os.path.dirname(dst) for _s, dst in rows},
+                    key=lambda p: (p.count(os.sep), p))
+    with open(out, "w") as fh:
+        fh.write("action\tsrc\tdst\tkind\n")
+        for d in mkdirs:
+            fh.write(f"mkdir\t\t{d}\tdir\n")
+        for src, dst in rows:
+            fh.write(f"move\t{src}\t{dst}\ttvdup\n")
+
+    held = sum(os.path.getsize(s) for s, _d in rows if os.path.isfile(s))
+    print(f"plan: {len(rows)} moves ({held / 2**30:.1f} GiB) into"
+          f" {len(mkdirs)} hold folders -> {out}")
+    print("audit: every staged file has a survivor in the same show holding each of"
+          " its episodes at >= its size on disk, one destination each")
+    if rows:
+        root = os.path.dirname(library)
+        print(f"next: python3 scripts/media-apply.py apply --plan {out} --root"
+              f" {root} --journal {os.path.join(root, 'tv-dupes.jsonl')}"
+              " --metadata-view /var/lib/media-meta/view   (dry run; add --apply)")
+    return 0
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    raise SystemExit(main())

serverAppConfigs-docs/Dankserver/Media Duplicate Prune.md

@@ -1,9 +1,9 @@
 ---
 type: reference
 title: Media Duplicate Prune
-description: "Find and hold duplicate films on the entropy array: the hash ladder, the keep rules, the guards, the purge."
+description: "Find and hold duplicate films and series on the array: the screen, per-episode rule, guards, purge."
 tags: [dankserver, media-server, storage, procedure]
-timestamp: 2026-11-01T01:00:00Z
+timestamp: 2026-11-02T01:00:00Z
 ---
 
 # Media Duplicate Prune
@@ -13,6 +13,10 @@ downloaded again, or the same film grabbed a second time at another quality —
 [[Entropy Volume]] is permanently full, so both are worth finding. They need
 different rules, and neither is decided by name similarity alone.
 
+A series duplicates differently again: one show spread over several folders, so
+neither the file nor the folder is the unit — see *A series is measured per
+episode*.
+
 `/mnt/entropy/media-park` was a third kind: a parking lot that held whole shows
 and films nothing served. It is gone; its contents went to `NeedsProcessing`.
 
@@ -24,6 +28,7 @@ and films nothing served. It is gone; its contents went to `NeedsProcessing`.
 | Same work, worse encode | same title, same year, every runtime within 5 % | keep the largest — Frank's rule |
 | Different cut | same title and year, runtimes more than 5 % apart | **never touched**: an extended and a theatrical version are different products |
 | Same words, different film | title matches, year or duration does not | never grouped — this is the false-merge class that would destroy a unique file |
+| Series split across folders | same show by tvdb id, then the episode `(S,E)` — never the folder name | keep the largest carrier of each episode (`scripts/media-tvdupes.py`) |
 
 ## The screen
 
@@ -51,6 +56,84 @@ folder; then the largest. For the same-work class the largest is the answer, and
 the canonical-name rule only breaks a tie — without it a `Film - 1080p.mkv` can
 outlive `Film.mkv` for no reason but a space sorting before a dot.
 
+## A series is measured per episode
+
+`scripts/media-tvdupes.py` censuses a TV library and writes a staging plan in the
+executor's own format; it never moves anything itself.
+
+```bash
+python3 scripts/media-tvdupes.py --library /mnt/entropy/TVShows \
+    --hold /mnt/entropy/.AGENTTRASH/<date>-tv-duplicates \
+    --meta /var/lib/media-meta/view/TVShows --witness witness.tsv \
+    --ids /mnt/entropy/tv-tvdb-ids.tsv \
+    --out /mnt/entropy/tv-dupes-plan.tsv --json /tmp/tv-groups.json
+# then media-apply.py apply / verify / sweep / rollback, exactly as for a film prune
+```
+
+- **Identity before geometry.** A folder's tvdb id is read from its `[tvdbid-N]`
+  name tag, from the `tvshow.nfo` the [[Media Metadata View]] exposes (`--meta`),
+  and from a `folder<TAB>id` map (`--ids`). Build that map from Jellyfin's own
+  match, not a lookup: `BaseItems` (`Type like '%TV.Series'`) joined to
+  `BaseItemProviders` where `ProviderId = 'Tvdb'`, the `/data/TVShows/` prefix
+  stripped to the bare top-level folder name — 616 folders, none carrying two
+  ids, written to `/mnt/entropy/tv-tvdb-ids.tsv`. Two folders with disjoint ids
+  are two shows however alike they read — *Avatar: The Last Airbender* (1999)
+  beside the 2024 remake, *Millennium* (1996) beside a German thriller Jellyfin
+  had also titled *Millennium* — and a pair whose identity cannot be proven is
+  reported `UNRESOLVED` and left alone. The fix is the tag, never a guess.
+- **A tag outranks every derived id.** The `--ids` map and the `tvshow.nfo` layer
+  fill an untagged folder and are **dropped** when they contradict its own
+  `[tvdbid-N]`, which the report prints as `DISAGREE`. Measured the same day: the
+  provider table carries a 2026 special's id on `Malcolm in the Middle (2000)
+  [tvdbid-73838]`; unioned, those folders are one show and the special's bigger
+  files dominate the original's S01E01–E04 — 3.2 GiB of the 2000 series bound for
+  the hold as "worse copies". The pass that staged 54 GiB ran with no `--ids`, so no
+  staged file rests on a borrowed id.
+- **A folder-level verdict destroys content.** Of 25 structural candidates in the
+  2026-11-02 census, **10 were complementary halves**: *Game of Thrones: The
+  Complete Series* holds no S01 and no S08, `Modern Family S05` is the only copy of
+  season 5, *Loiter Squad Uncensored* the only copy of season 1. Judged per folder
+  the pass would have staged about 340 GB of unique episodes; judged per episode it
+  staged 54 GiB of true copies.
+- **A file is droppable only when every episode it carries is held elsewhere in the
+  same show at >= its size** (Frank's rule, applied per episode). A byte-identical
+  pair ties and the tie breaks by path so exactly one copy stages; a file holding
+  one unique episode stays whatever else it carries.
+- **A bare number is never an episode.** `256383.mp4` may be an episode id, a
+  poster or a whole season, so key-less names are never staged and are counted in
+  the report (4,036 after the 2026-11-02 pass, almost all genuine bonus material).
+ Where a packager named files by id, Jellyfin's own table is the witness: a
+ `path<TAB>season<TAB>episode` TSV from `BaseItems` where `Type like '%TV.Episode'`
+ and both index numbers are set, read `mode=ro&immutable=1`, its `/data` prefix
+ rewritten to the raw array path. Jellyfin 12 keeps `Path`, `ParentIndexNumber` and
+`IndexNumber` on `BaseItems` and stores the full CLR type name — confirm with
+`pragma table_info` before trusting the query, because an empty witness silently
+falls back to name parsing.
+  Seven clips in the library are still named only by number, and where Jellyfin
+  was asked its own `Name` for them is the number too, so no database holds a
+  better title — that residue is naming, not a task.
+- **A pack states a range and competes on all of it.** `S01E01-02` is droppable only
+  when both halves are held elsewhere, and it wins the survivor seat for both when
+  it is the largest carrier: the byte law compares files, and a name both servers
+  parse as a range stays indexed as two episodes.
+- **A sidecar that shares the doomed copy's stem goes with it** — subtitles, `.nfo`,
+  artwork keyed on the stem — so a staged duplicate leaves no orphan beside the
+  survivor. The 2026-11-02 hold is 220 media files and nothing else: the dominated
+  copies were bare rips, and counting a hold's non-media files is the census that
+  tells you which case you are in.
+- **The audit gates the plan file.** Every survivor is re-statted and every
+  destination re-checked before `--out` is written; on failure the report prints
+  `AUDIT FAILED` and writes no plan, so there is nothing to hand the executor.
+- **Two folders that look duplicated and share zero episode keys are complementary,
+  not duplicated.** That is how the two pairs the census still refuses to merge were
+  settled without touching them: *Star Wars - The Clone Wars* (12 files, 1.3 GiB)
+  beside *Star Wars The Clone Wars* (121 files, 214 GiB), and the *Batman: The
+  Animated Series* leftovers (3 files) beside the tagged folder (85) — `shared
+  episode keys: 0` in both cases, so a tag would have freed nothing and cost a
+  rename with library consequences. Re-running the whole census with the id map over
+  all 753 top-level folders (606 already tagged) staged **0 files**: the library is
+  duplicate-free to the limit of provable identity, and what remains is naming.
+
 ## Guards
 
 Each of these is a file that would have been destroyed without it:
@@ -97,6 +180,14 @@ keeper is missing — either one drops the whole group rather than half-applying
 - The 2026-11-01 pass held 226 files (~1.1 TiB) in
   `/mnt/entropy/.AGENTTRASH/20261101-duplicate-prune`, journals
   `dup-prune-exact.jsonl` and `dup-prune-similar.jsonl`. Purge pending Frank's word.
+- The 2026-11-02 TV pass holds 220 files (54 GiB) in
+  `/mnt/entropy/.AGENTTRASH/20261102-tv-duplicates` — plan `tv-dupes-plan.tsv`,
+  journal `tv-dupes.jsonl`, 220 moves / 16 hold folders / 7 husks swept — and the
+  same day's TVShows detritus pass holds 109 files (552 KiB) in
+  `/mnt/entropy/.AGENTTRASH/20261102-tvshows-detritus` with plan
+  `tvshows-detritus-plan.tsv` and journal `tvshows-detritus.jsonl`. Both purges
+  pending Frank's word, beside the 2026-11-01 hold above. All four journals and
+  plans live at the `entropy` root, not `/tmp`.
 - **Re-verify each survivor by size, not by the recorded path, before purging.**
   Detection artifacts and plans key on paths, and a folder renamed by an
   interactive session ([[Entropy Volume]], *Write doors*) makes its keeper look
@@ -117,7 +208,9 @@ stop plex && systemctl --user mask plex`) so its metadata fetches cannot stack o
 live Jellyfin scan, and because a masked unit stays stopped through a reboot —
 `unmask` before starting it. The 2026-11-01 morning ran it once Jellyfin reached
 `Idle`: one accepted `refresh` on the Movies section cleared every row that named a
-held path.
+held path. The 2026-11-02 TV pass did the same on the TV Shows section (key 3): one
+accepted refresh, then `media-verify.py` against that journal reads `landed: 0`,
+`still at src: 0`, `REAL: 0` on **both** servers — the correct end state for a prune.
 
 The same evening's detritus pass is a second, separate hold: 423 files (12 MiB) in
 `/mnt/entropy/.AGENTTRASH/20261101-detritus-sweep`, plan `detritus-sweep-plan.tsv`,
@@ -128,6 +221,10 @@ subtitle folders (428 of them, 6 GiB) and ripped Blu-ray streams — `.sup` PGS,
 `.thd`/`.eac3`/`.dts` audio, `.cci` captions, 25 GiB — are not trash, and an
 extension the census does not recognise is a reason to stop, not to sweep.
 
+A folder holding a `.plexmatch` is held back even when its subtree looks empty: that
+file is a manual match — a human decision about what the folder is — and detritus
+rules do not overrule one.
+
 `scripts/media-verify.py` reads differently for a prune than for a relayout:
 `landed: 0` is the **correct** end state (no server may index the hold), so the
 verdict is `still at src: 0` with `REAL: 0`, and the rows that simply vanished

serverAppConfigs-docs/Dankserver/Media Relayout.md

@@ -138,7 +138,7 @@ HTTPD close without a single byte; and the same HTTPD drops requests that carry
 no `Accept` and client-identifier header (see the scan block above for the form
 that works).
 
-A duplicate prune is the same census and the same proof, with its own keep rules: [[Media Duplicate Prune]].
+A duplicate prune is the same census and the same proof, with its own keep rules — films by title and duration, a series per episode: [[Media Duplicate Prune]].
 
 ## TV in the movie library
 

serverAppConfigs-docs/index.md

@@ -52,7 +52,7 @@ is a locator: one row, one clause, no numbers.
 | [[Jellyfin]] | Jellyfin on Dankserver: quadlet unit, overlay metadata view, provider keys, ports, access, transcode status. |
 | [[mariadb]] | The MariaDB backend for RomM: quadlet unit, network alias, env-file secret handling, and the backup path. |
 | [[Media Audiobook Relayout]] | Re-filing /mnt/entropy/Audiobooks by Plex's chapter rows: narrator shelves, no renumbering, the refusals. |
-| [[Media Duplicate Prune]] | Find and hold duplicate films on the entropy array: the hash ladder, the keep rules, the guards, the purge. |
+| [[Media Duplicate Prune]] | Find and hold duplicate films and series on the array: the screen, per-episode rule, guards, purge. |
 | [[Media Metadata View]] | The SSD-backed overlay the two media servers read and write: shape, guards, commands, laws, rollback. |
 | [[Media Music Relayout]] | Re-filing /mnt/entropy/Music by Jellyfin's tag rows: the census, the album key, the refusals. |
 | [[Media Relayout]] | Census, plan and apply the movie, TV, music and audiobook libraries: the gates, the refusals, the rollback. |

tests/media_tvdupes.bats

@@ -0,0 +1,215 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bats
+# Seam: scripts/media-tvdupes.py — the episode-level duplicate census for the TV
+# library.
+#
+# The failure this seam exists to prevent is the one that almost cost real
+# content: two folders of one show look like copies, and a folder-level "keep
+# the bigger folder" deletes the half of the series only the smaller folder
+# holds (the 2026-11-02 census found 10 such complementary pairs). So every
+# assertion here is about WHICH files land in the plan and WHICH the tool
+# refuses to touch — never about its internals. Everything runs on a synthetic
+# library in the test's own tmpdir: no media server, no network, no array.
+
+load helpers
+
+TOOL="$REPO_ROOT/scripts/media-tvdupes.py"
+
+# at PATH SIZE — a file of deterministic bytes.
+at() { mkdir -p "$(dirname "$1")"; head -c "$2" /dev/zero > "$1"; }
+
+# sources FILE — the sources the plan moves, one per line.
+sources() { awk -F'\t' '$1=="move"{print $2}' "$1"; }
+
+# destinations FILE — where the plan puts them.
+destinations() { awk -F'\t' '$1=="move"{print $3}' "$1"; }
+
+# plan_moves FILE — how many files the plan stages.
+plan_moves() {
+    [ -f "$1" ] || { echo 0; return; }
+    awk -F'\t' '$1=="move"' "$1" | wc -l
+}
+
+setup() {
+    LIB="$BATS_TEST_TMPDIR/TVShows"
+    HOLD="$BATS_TEST_TMPDIR/.AGENTTRASH/20991231-tv-duplicates"
+    PLAN="$BATS_TEST_TMPDIR/plan.tsv"
+    mkdir -p "$LIB" "$HOLD"
+}
+
+@test "the smaller copy of an episode is staged and the larger stays put" {
+    at "$LIB/Doc Who (2005) [tvdbid-78804]/Season 01/Doc Who - S01E01 - Pilot.mkv" 4000
+    at "$LIB/Doc Who (2005) [tvdbid-78804]/Season 01/backup/Doc.Who.S01E01.720p.mkv" 1200
+
+    run python3 "$TOOL" --library "$LIB" --hold "$HOLD" --out "$PLAN"
+    [ "$status" -eq 0 ]
+    [ "$(plan_moves "$PLAN")" -eq 1 ]
+    run sources "$PLAN"
+    [[ "$output" == *"backup/Doc.Who.S01E01.720p.mkv"* ]]
+    [[ "$output" != *"Pilot.mkv"* ]]
+    run destinations "$PLAN"
+    [[ "$output" == "$HOLD/"* ]]
+}
+
+@test "an equal-size pair stages exactly one copy" {
+    at "$LIB/Equal (2001) [tvdbid-11]/Season 01/Equal - S01E01.mkv" 2500
+    at "$LIB/Equal (2001) [tvdbid-11]/Rip/Equal - S01E01.mkv" 2500
+
+    run python3 "$TOOL" --library "$LIB" --hold "$HOLD" --out "$PLAN"
+    [ "$status" -eq 0 ]
+    [ "$(plan_moves "$PLAN")" -eq 1 ]
+}
+
+@test "a file holding one episode nothing else has is never staged" {
+    # The shape that defeats a folder-level verdict: Season 02 exists only here,
+    # so the folder that looks like a leftover is the only copy of an episode.
+    at "$LIB/King (2010) [tvdbid-21]/Season 01/King - S01E01 - One.mkv" 3000
+    at "$LIB/King (2010) [tvdbid-21]/Season 01/backup/King - S01E01 - One.mkv" 900
+    at "$LIB/King (2010) [tvdbid-21]/Season 02/King - S02E01 - Two.mkv" 800
+
+    run python3 "$TOOL" --library "$LIB" --hold "$HOLD" --out "$PLAN"
+    [ "$status" -eq 0 ]
+    run sources "$PLAN"
+    [[ "$output" != *"S02E01"* ]]
+    [[ "$output" == *"backup/King - S01E01 - One.mkv"* ]]
+}
+
+@test "a two-in-one pack competes for every episode in its range" {
+    at "$LIB/Range (2012) [tvdbid-31]/Season 01/Range - S01E01.mkv" 1500
+    at "$LIB/Range (2012) [tvdbid-31]/Season 01/Range - S01E02.mkv" 1500
+    at "$LIB/Range (2012) [tvdbid-31]/Packs/Range - S01E01-02.mkv" 2400
+
+    # The pack is the biggest carrier of BOTH episodes, so the two rips go.
+    run python3 "$TOOL" --library "$LIB" --hold "$HOLD" --out "$PLAN"
+    [ "$(plan_moves "$PLAN")" -eq 2 ]
+    run sources "$PLAN"
+    [[ "$output" == *"Season 01/Range - S01E01.mkv"* ]]
+    [[ "$output" != *"Packs/Range - S01E01-02.mkv"* ]]
+
+    # Make the season file the bigger carrier of E02 and the pack becomes the
+    # only carrier of E01: it stays, however small it is.
+    rm "$LIB/Range (2012) [tvdbid-31]/Season 01/Range - S01E01.mkv"
+    rm "$LIB/Range (2012) [tvdbid-31]/Season 01/Range - S01E02.mkv"
+    at "$LIB/Range (2012) [tvdbid-31]/Season 01/Range - S01E02.mkv" 9000
+    run python3 "$TOOL" --library "$LIB" --hold "$HOLD" --out "$PLAN"
+    [ "$(plan_moves "$PLAN")" -eq 0 ]
+}
+
+@test "two tvdb ids on the same words are never merged" {
+    at "$LIB/Avatar The Last Airbender (2024) [tvdbid-385925]/Season 01/Avatar - S01E01.mkv" 9000
+    at "$LIB/Avatar The Last Airbender (1999) [tvdbid-74852]/Season 01/Avatar - S01E01.mkv" 500
+
+    run python3 "$TOOL" --library "$LIB" --hold "$HOLD" --out "$PLAN"
+    [ "$status" -eq 0 ]
+    [ "$(plan_moves "$PLAN")" -eq 0 ]
+    [[ "$output" == *CONFLICT* ]]
+    [[ "$output" == *"tvdb [74852] vs [385925]"* ]]
+}
+
+@test "a derived id that contradicts the folder's own tag never merges them" {
+    # Measured 2026-11-02: Jellyfin's provider table carried a 2026 special's tvdb
+    # id on the folder tagged [tvdbid-73838]. Unioning the two makes one show of a
+    # 2000 series and a 2026 special, and the special's bigger files dominate the
+    # original's pilot. The tag is the operator's word; the nfo and `--ids` layers
+    # fill an untagged folder and never overrule a tagged one.
+    at "$LIB/Middle (2000) [tvdbid-73838]/Season 01/Middle - S01E01 - Pilot.mkv" 800
+    at "$LIB/Middle (2026) [tvdbid-457779]/Season 01/Middle - S01E01 - Episode 1.mkv" 1100
+    IDS="$BATS_TEST_TMPDIR/ids.tsv"
+    printf '%s\t%s\n' "Middle (2000) [tvdbid-73838]" 457779 > "$IDS"
+
+    run python3 "$TOOL" --library "$LIB" --hold "$HOLD" --out "$PLAN" --ids "$IDS"
+    [ "$status" -eq 0 ]
+    [ "$(plan_moves "$PLAN")" -eq 0 ]
+    [[ "$output" == *"DISAGREE"* ]]
+    [[ "$output" == *"tag tvdb [73838]"* ]]
+    [[ "$output" == *"derived tvdb [457779]"* ]]
+}
+
+@test "an untagged drop is identified by the tvshow.nfo in the metadata view" {
+    at "$LIB/Clone Wars/Season 01/Clone Wars - S01E01.mkv" 1200
+    at "$LIB/Clone Wars (2008) [tvdbid-84859]/Season 01/Clone Wars - S01E01.mkv" 4000
+    VIEW="$BATS_TEST_TMPDIR/view"
+    mkdir -p "$VIEW/Clone Wars"
+    printf '%s\n' '<tvshow><title>Clone Wars</title>' \
+                  '<uniqueid type="tvdb" default="true">84859</uniqueid></tvshow>' \
+        > "$VIEW/Clone Wars/tvshow.nfo"
+
+    run python3 "$TOOL" --library "$LIB" --hold "$HOLD" --out "$PLAN" --meta "$VIEW"
+    [ "$status" -eq 0 ]
+    [ "$(plan_moves "$PLAN")" -eq 1 ]
+    run sources "$PLAN"
+    [[ "$output" == *"Clone Wars/Season 01/Clone Wars - S01E01.mkv"* ]]
+
+    # Without the nfo layer nothing identifies the drop, so nothing moves.
+    run python3 "$TOOL" --library "$LIB" --hold "$HOLD" \
+        --out "$BATS_TEST_TMPDIR/no-meta.tsv"
+    [ "$status" -eq 0 ]
+    [[ "$output" == *UNRESOLVED* ]]
+    [ "$(plan_moves "$BATS_TEST_TMPDIR/no-meta.tsv")" -eq 0 ]
+}
+
+@test "a file named by an id is keyed only when the witness names it" {
+    BIG="$LIB/Edd (1999) [tvdbid-75897]/Season 01/Edd - S01E01 - Down the Line.mkv"
+    SMALL="$LIB/Edd (1999) [tvdbid-75897]/Season 01/104348.mkv"
+    at "$BIG" 2100
+    at "$SMALL" 700
+    WIT="$BATS_TEST_TMPDIR/witness.tsv"
+    printf '%s\t1\t1\n' "$SMALL" > "$WIT"
+
+    run python3 "$TOOL" --library "$LIB" --hold "$HOLD" --out "$PLAN"
+    [ "$(plan_moves "$PLAN")" -eq 0 ]
+    [[ "$output" == *"unkeyed, never staged: 1 files"* ]]
+
+    run python3 "$TOOL" --library "$LIB" --hold "$HOLD" --out "$PLAN" --witness "$WIT"
+    [ "$(plan_moves "$PLAN")" -eq 1 ]
+    run sources "$PLAN"
+    [[ "$output" == *104348.mkv* ]]
+}
+
+@test "the sidecars of a staged episode are staged with it" {
+    at "$LIB/Side (2003) [tvdbid-41]/Season 01/Side - S01E01 - First.mkv" 3000
+    at "$LIB/Side (2003) [tvdbid-41]/Rip/Side - S01E01 - First.mkv" 1000
+    at "$LIB/Side (2003) [tvdbid-41]/Rip/Side - S01E01 - First.srt" 400
+    at "$LIB/Side (2003) [tvdbid-41]/Season 01/Side - S01E01 - First.srt" 450
+
+    run python3 "$TOOL" --library "$LIB" --hold "$HOLD" --out "$PLAN"
+    [ "$(plan_moves "$PLAN")" -eq 2 ]
+    run sources "$PLAN"
+    [[ "$output" == *"Rip/Side - S01E01 - First.srt"* ]]
+    [[ "$output" != *"Season 01/Side - S01E01 - First.srt"* ]]
+}
+
+@test "a hold inside the library is refused" {
+    at "$LIB/Hostage (2007) [tvdbid-51]/Season 01/Hostage - S01E01.mkv" 100
+    run python3 "$TOOL" --library "$LIB" --hold "$LIB/.AGENTTRASH/hold" \
+        --out "$PLAN"
+    [ "$status" -ne 0 ]
+    [[ "$output" == *"--hold"* ]]
+}
+
+@test "a plan whose hold target is occupied is refused, plan and all" {
+    at "$LIB/Gone (2009) [tvdbid-61]/Season 01/Gone - S01E01.mkv" 1000
+    at "$LIB/Gone (2009) [tvdbid-61]/Rip/Gone - S01E01.mkv" 400
+
+    run python3 "$TOOL" --library "$LIB" --hold "$HOLD" --out "$PLAN"
+    [ "$(plan_moves "$PLAN")" -eq 1 ]
+
+    # The hold already holds one of the destinations: the executor would refuse
+    # it, so a plan that cannot run must not be handed over at all.
+    mkdir -p "$HOLD/Gone (2009) [tvdbid-61]/Rip"
+    at "$HOLD/Gone (2009) [tvdbid-61]/Rip/Gone - S01E01.mkv" 400
+    rm "$PLAN"
+    run python3 "$TOOL" --library "$LIB" --hold "$HOLD" --out "$PLAN"
+    [ "$status" -eq 1 ]
+    [[ "$output" == *"hold target occupied"* ]]
+    [ ! -e "$PLAN" ]
+}
+
+@test "a library with nothing duplicated writes an empty plan" {
+    at "$LIB/Unique (2015) [tvdbid-71]/Season 01/Unique - S01E01.mkv" 1000
+    at "$LIB/Other Show (2016) [tvdbid-72]/Season 01/Other Show - S01E01.mkv" 1000
+
+    run python3 "$TOOL" --library "$LIB" --hold "$HOLD" --out "$PLAN"
+    [ "$status" -eq 0 ]
+    [ "$(plan_moves "$PLAN")" -eq 0 ]
+    [[ "$output" == *"plan: 0 moves"* ]]
+}