Getting started · Chapter 9

The first title.

Now nexcrate has everything it needs: a version with a profile and a folder, an indexer, a download client. This chapter walks the whole way once with one movie: add it, read the search, download, file. After that you know how every further title runs, even when automatic search later takes over the work.

Adding a movie

1. Add

   In the “Library” choose “Add” at the top and then “Search for a movie”. For series it says “Search a series”.

2. Search for the title

   Type the title. nexcrate looks it up on TMDB. With the year you find it more exactly, and hits that are already in the library are marked “In library”.

3. Tick the versions

   After the hit nexcrate asks: “Which versions do you want?” Tick what you want and choose “Add 1 version” or “Add 2 versions”. You add further versions later on the title's page. For a series you also set for each version which episodes it monitors.

The title now shows as “Wanted” in the library, with a poster tile and the state of each version. If your movies already lie in folders on the disk without another program knowing them, choose “Read folders” instead. nexcrate suggests a title for every folder, and you confirm which movie is which.

Reading the search

Open the title. At the top is the button “Search”. nexcrate asks every indexer that is switched on, checks every release against the profile of every version and shows what it would take. That takes three minutes at the most, and nothing is downloaded yet.

For every version there is an answer, with a reason:

• “Would take”. The release fits the profile and comes first in the order. If there is a file already, it also says that it would be better than the existing one.
• “Keeps the existing file”. No fitting release would be better than the file that is there.
• “Nothing fits”. Below it are “The most common reasons”, for instance how many releases are in a quality the profile does not allow, are too small or have too few points.
• “No profile”. The version has none yet. Without a profile nexcrate cannot judge any release, and a button takes you to “Set up profile”.

Charade · Search

Below that are all the releases found, with “Indexer”, “Quality”, “Size”, “Age” and “Seeders or grabs”. Each one says for every version whether it fits and why not. “Show matching rules” opens up which custom formats applied to a release and how many points they gave.

Downloading a release

At the release you want, choose “Download”. There are two ways to the same goal:

• By hand. “Download” at a release hands it to your download client at once, even when automatic search would have a waiting time. If the release does not fit the profile, nexcrate asks “Download anyway?”. You also have to confirm for releases on the blocklist or when the title in the name does not fit the movie.
• Automatically. “Search automatically now” in the card “Automatic search” searches all indexers right away and downloads the best fitting release. When nexcrate otherwise searches by itself is in the chapter Automatic search.

If downloading does not work, nexcrate says why and leads you there: “… has no profile yet”, “… has no default folder yet”, “No download client for Usenet is switched on”. The links next to it are “Go to versions”, “Choose default folder” and “Go to download clients”. If a download for the version is already on its way, a second one works only once it is filed away or removed.

Watching and filing

After you start the download it says “Downloading”, and you follow the progress under “Downloads”. The list refreshes every 5 seconds. At the top you choose the tab “Active” for what is downloading right now, “Problems” for what needs you, “Waiting” for releases waiting out their waiting time, “History” for what is done and “Blocklist” for blocked releases.

When the download is finished, nexcrate files the file. It checks that the title fits and the video is whole, names the file by the naming of the version and puts it into that version's default folder. Torrents get a hardlink there and keep being shared. Next to the file nexcrate writes a small file release.nex, which it can use to read the library back in without guessing, and your media server hears about the folder. The title then shows as “Available” in the library, and the “History” says what happened.

When a card needs you

If nexcrate cannot go on by itself, the download is under “Downloads › Problems”. The page keeps two things apart there: “Needs you” holds cards where nexcrate cannot go on without you. Each says what is going on and offers the next step. “Hints” is what nexcrate takes care of itself or what is already dealt with.

The most common reasons you will see at the start:

• nexcrate cannot find the files. “The download is done, but nexcrate cannot find the files under the path … reports.” That is almost always a path mapping, see Download clients.
• Not enough space. “Free up some space and then try again.”
• No video file, packed or encrypted files. If there is no video at all, the release is probably incomplete. nexcrate unpacks archives itself, one level deep. If only packed files are left, the card names the reason: a part is missing, or the archive is damaged, nested or too large. For an archive with a password nexcrate blocks the release, and you remove the download and take another one.
• Several videos of similar size. “Choose the video to file.”

The cards offer the fitting buttons, for example “Try again”, “Remove” or “Remove and block”. The chapter Downloads goes through all the cards.