Settings

From the left-hand navigation menu, Global Settings can be accessed and set.

Settings listed here are the global defaults for TitleCardMaker, but many can be overwritten within an Episode, Series, or Template. If a specific setting can be overwritten, then some variation of this badge will be displayed next to the Setting (here, not within the UI).

Episode, Series, Template

With the above meaning it can be overwritten per-Episode, per-Series, and per-Template.

Recommended Settings

TitleCardMaker's default settings are typically the recommended settings for a vast majority of users. Specifics about each setting are detailed below.

Recommended Settings

DockerNon-Docker

Setting	Recommended Value
Card Directory	/config/cards/
Source Directory	/config/source/
Delete Series Source Images
Episode Data Source	Sonarr
Image Source Priority	`TMDb` `Plex` `Emby` `Jellyfin`²
Enable Specials
Delete Missing Episodes
Default Card Type	Personal Preference
Excluded Card Types	Personal Preference
Watched Episode Style	Unique
Unwatched Episode Style	Personal Preference
Default Templates	Blank
Card Dimensions	3200x1800³
Card Quality	95
Card Extension	.jpg
Filename Format	{series_full_name} - S{season_number:02}E{episode_number:02}
Specials Folder Format	Specials
Season Folder Format	Season
Multi-Library File Naming

Setting	Recommended Value
Card Directory	./config/cards/
Source Directory	./config/source/
Delete Series Source Images
Episode Data Source	Sonarr
Image Source Priority	`TMDb` `Plex` `Emby` `Jellyfin`²
Enable Specials
Delete Missing Episodes
Default Card Type	Personal Preference
Excluded Card Types	Personal Preference
Watched Episode Style	Unique
Unwatched Episode Style	Personal Preference
Default Templates	Blank
Card Dimensions	3200x1800³
Card Quality	95
Card Extension	.jpg
Filename Format	{series_full_name} - S{season_number:02}E{episode_number:02}
Specials Folder Format	Specials
Season Folder Format	Season
Multi-Library File Naming

Series and Episode Data

Episode Data Source

Series, Template

So that Episode data (e.g. numbers, titles, airdates, etc.) does not have to be manually entered, TitleCardMaker needs to source Episode data from some external source. Any enabled Connection can be used as an Episode Data source - however, there are some differences between each.

Differences in Episode Data Sources

Episode Data Source	Only Provides Data for Downloaded Episodes	Relative Speed
Emby		Average
Jellyfin		Average
Plex		Average
Sonarr	¹	Fast
TMDb		Fast
TVDb		Fast

The speed of your Media Server and Sonarr as an Episode data source will vary wildy with both the number of Episodes for a given Series, as well as the overall size of your database.

Image Source Priority

Similar to the Episode Data Source option, this setting controls where TitleCardMaker should gather images (this includes source images, logos, and posters) from. Unlike the Episode data source, multiple sources can be specified here, and the selected order does matter.

TitleCardMaker, while searching for images, will try the listed sources in order until a source image is found.

Recommended Setting

For a vast majority of users, specifying TMDb and then your Media Servers (so TMDb Plex, etc.) is recommended. This is because TMDb has a much wider variety of image availability, and is typically much higher quality than the auto-scraped images from your Media Server.

Enable Specials

Series, Template

Whether to ignore Episodes from Season 0 by default.

Many Series have "bonus" content like behind the scenes, featurettes, shorts, commercials, etc. listed under Season 0 as Specials. If you would like TCM to ignore these when grabbing Episode data from you specified Episode data source, then uncheck this setting.

Manually Adding Specials

Even if this setting is disabled (so Specials are ignored), Episodes can still be added manually.

Delete Missing Episodes

Whether to delete Episodes (from TCM) which are not present in the assigned Episode Data Source. When an Episode is deleted, the associated Title Card file is also deleted.

Delete Un-Synced Series

Whether to delete any Series which are no longer actively Synced to TCM. If enabled, TCM will remove any Series and Title Cards (including those which are manually added not via Syncing) which do not appear in any Sync source. It will not unload any Cards which have been loaded into your server(s).

Potentially Destructive Setting

Be careful when enabling this setting as TCM may delete all or many of your Series if you have not properly set up your Syncs, especially if you are actively adding/removing Syncs.

Source Image Deletion

Whether to delete Source Images when a Series is deleted from TitleCardMaker.

If enabled, any Series that are deleted (manually or automatically) will have their entire source directory cleared - including Source Images, posters, logos, mask files, and backdrop art.

Title Cards

Default Card Type

Episode, Series, Template

The global default card type for all Title Cards. Any instances where the card type is left unspecified will use this card type.

Missing Card Types?

Excluded card types are not shown in this dropdown.

Excluded Card Types

Any number of card types to exclude from any card type dropdowns. This is purely a cosmetic selector, and is intended to make finding your desired card easier if you find there are specific types you intend to never use.

Watched and Unwatched Episode Styles

Episode, Series, Template

The default style for all Episodes that are watched or unwatched in their indicated Media Server. For Episodes whose watched statuses cannot be determined (likely the Episode is not available in your Media Server), the unwatched styling is used.

For a visual example of each available style, click the icon next to either dropdown.

Relevant User

The watched statuses for Emby and Jellyfin can be adjusted in the Connection configuration, but the watched statuses of a Plex Media Server will always come from the server admin.

Default Templates

An ordered list of Templates which should be applied to all Series and Episodes in TCM which do not already have any Templates assigned.

Setting this is generally not recommended for most users, and simply assigning a Template as part of a Sync is generally preferable. However, more complex behavior can be achieved through the use of Template Filters to selectively apply Templates to large parts of your library.

Example Global Template Filters

I personally use three global Templates to selectively apply the Anime card type to my Anime library, and hide the season text of all series' which only have one season. This is accomplished with the following Templates:

A "Seasonless Anime" Template which sets the card type to Anime, hides season text, and has two filters:
1. Number of Seasons equals 1
2. Series Library Names contains Anime
A "Seasonless Anime" Template which sets the card type to Anime and only has one filter:
1. Series Library Names contains Anime
A "Seasonless Non-Anime" Template which has no assigned card type (so the Series defaults to the global setting), and has one filter:
1. Number of Seasons equals 1

This effectively allows me to have two "default" card types based on the assigned library of the Series, and automatically hides or shows the season text for Series with only one season.

Global Extras

Episode, Series, Template

Each card type has a list of supported extra settings which can customize particular aspects of Title Cards of that type. The Global Extras setting allows you to change the default setting for a specific card type across your entire server.

Any extra of the same name specified for a specific Episode, Series, or Template will overwrite these. However, extras with the same name across different card types will not be shared - i.e. the Episode Text Font Size extra of the Negative Space card will not affect the Episode Text Font Size extra of the Score card (even though they have the same name).

Global Fonts

Episode, Series, Template

The standard Font characteristics of each card type can be adjusted with the Global Fonts setting. Each card type can be assigned any named Font you have added to TCM.

Font Customization Requirements

You do not have to provide all the Font settings in that Font. For example, you can change only the default font size of the Music card type, while leaving all other settings (kerning, spacing, etc.) as the default - that is supported.

Global Blur Profiles

Each card type in TCM has a default blur "profile" which is used when a blurred style is being utilized. This profile has the effect of changing how blurry a Card appears, but the default profile can be changed for each Card.

Effects of Various Blur Profiles

ImageMagick

Card Dimensions

The output dimensions of all created Title Cards. This can be reduced to decrease the filesize (and therefore quality) of your Title Card assets, or increased for the opposite effect.

16:9 Aspect Ratio

TCM will not stop you from setting a non-standard (non-16:9) aspect ratio, however, your created Title Cards may be cropped when loaded into your Media Server(s).

Card Quality

Applicability

This setting is only applicable when using a Card Extension of jpg, jpeg, or png.

The compression level to apply when creating Title Cards. The minimum quality, 1, will result in extremely low quality (highly compressed) Cards; and the highest quality, 100, will result in the best quality (but least-compressed) Cards. The recommended value is between 85 and 95.

Advanced Details

This setting is not exactly linear in the effective quality or reduced file sizes. This means changing the quality from 90 to 45 will not necessarily result in a 50% reduction in filesize or image quality.

For more details, read the applicable ImageMagick documentation.

ImageMagick Executable

The filepath to the ImageMagick executable (usually magick.exe) which will be used to run all ImageMagick commands. This is required for some Windows users if the convert command is not properly added to your system PATH - this usually manifests as all Title Cards failing to be created.

Root Folders

The root folders listed here serve as the primary asset directories for both Title Card and Source images. If using Docker, it is important that both of these directories are accessible outside of the Container in order to prevent data loss.

Card Directory

Series

The root folder for all Title Cards created by TitleCardMaker. Within this directory, each Series added to TitleCardMaker will have a subfolder created for it, under which cards will be created.

Example

DockerNon-Docker

For Docker setups, the recommended settings for this is /config/cards. In this instance, if the Series Breaking Bad were added to TitleCardMaker, I'd expect to find all associated Title Cards under the /config/cards/Breaking Bad (2008)/ directory.

When installed locally, this setting can be whatever is most-convenient. It is very common to specify a cards directory within your local installation directory, e.g. ./config/cards/. However, this is not required. In this instance, if the Series Breaking Bad were added to TitleCardMaker, I'd expect to find all associated Title Cards under the ./config/cards/Breaking Bad (2008)/ directory.

This directory does not need to align with your Media folders (where your media files are kept), as TCM loads the Title Cards directly into your Media Server, bypassing any "local media" matching.

Source Directory

The root folder for all Source Images downloaded and used by TitleCardMaker. Within this directory, each Series added to TitleCardMaker will have a subfolder created for it, under which Source Images (and logos) will be added.

What's a Source Image?

A Source Images is the (typically) textless input images which text or effects are added on top of (by TCM) to create a Title Card.

Example

DockerNon-Docker

For Docker setups, the recommended settings for this is /config/source. In this instance, if the Series Breaking Bad were added to TitleCardMaker, I'd expect to find all associated source images (and logos) under the /config/source/Breaking Bad (2008)/ directory.

When installed locally, this setting can be whatever is most- convenient. It is very common to specify a source directory within your local installation directory, e.g. ./config/source/. However, this is not required. In this instance, if the Series Breaking Bad were added to TitleCardMaker, I'd expect to find all associated source images (and logos) under the ./config/source/ Breaking Bad (2008)/ directory.

File Naming

Filename Format

Series

The format / naming convention of how to name the Title Card files. This is a format, and will be applied to each individual Title Card. This format can contain variable data (wrapped in {} curly braces) that is evaluated for each Title Card.

A complete list of the available variables is listed here.

Example Formats

{series_full_name} - S{season_number:02}E{episode_number:02}

Will produce files named like Breaking Bad (2008) - S01E01.

{series_name} [{series_imdb_id}] - S{season_number}E{episode_number} - {title}

Will produce files named like Breaking Bad [tt0903747] - S1E1 - Pilot.

TRaSH Naming Convention

If you follow the TRaSH recommended naming scheme, you can use the following setting:

{series_full_name} - S{season_number:02}E{episode_number:02} - {title}

It is important to note that this can produce extremely long file names - sometimes too long for the operating system - if the Episode titles are exceedingly long. TCM will automatically truncate all file names at 254 characters.

Card Extension

Image extension for all created Title Cards. Below is a table summarizing the differences in each type (with regards to TCM):

Image Extension Differences

Format	Compression Category	Relative Filesize
`jpg` / `jpeg`	Lossy	100%
`png`	Lossless	230%
`tiff`	Lossless	300%
`gif`	Lossless	90%
`webp`	Lossless / Lossy	70%

Note about Transparency

Only a select few card types can take advantage of transparency. These are typically types that allow use of a background color instead of an image - e.g. the Roman Numeral and Logo cards.

My personal recommendation is to use the webp image extension because of the file size savings and support for transparency. The reason this is not the default is because of the ubiquity of JPEG images.

Specials Folder Format

The format / naming convention for the subfolder of all Title Cards associated with Specials (season 0). This format can contain variable data, see a complete list of the available variables is listed here.

Hidden Season Subfolder

If you would like to completely remove the subfolder - i.e. write these Title Cards directory at the Title Card directory for the Series - then specify the format as:

{}

Season Folder Format

The format / naming convention for the subfolder of all Title Cards associated with all non-Specials (anything other than season 0). This format can contain variable data, see a complete list of the available variables is listed here.

Hidden Season Subfolder

If you would like to completely remove the subfolder - i.e. write these Title Cards directory at the Title Card directory for the Series - then specify the format as:

{}

Multi-Library File Naming

Warning

Erroneously enabling this setting can result in TitleCardMaker deleting and remaking duplicates of all your Title Cards. Please read the following descripion and the in-UI help text very thoroughly.

Whether to add a unique Library-specific "identifier" to the filenames of all Title Cards. This is separate from your Filename Format setting.

This setting should only be enabled by users who have more than one Media Server and would like to utilize watched status specific styling.

Once enabled, TitleCardMaker will keep separate Title Card files created for each Library assigned to a Series.

Example

The following example showcases a use of this setting in a Series with three libraries alongside Templates which utilize watched-status Filters to create completely different Title Cards for each library.

The first two columns are for libraries in which the Episode is watched, and in the third column that Episode has not been watched.

Web Interface

Home Page Size

How many Series to display on the home screen. Larger values will result in longer load times. Must be between 1 and 250.

Episode Data Table Page Size

How many Episodes per page to display in Episode data tables. These are the tables accessed on a Series page in the Episode Data tab. Must be at least 1.

Source Image Preview Page Dimensions

How many Source Image previews to display per page. These are displayed on a Series page in the Files tab. This is entered as the number of rows and columns - e.g. 3x4 is 3 rows of 4 columns each. Must be between 1 and 100 items per page.

Title Card Preview Page Dimensions

How many Title Card previews to display per page. These are displayed on a Series page in the Files tab. This is entered as the number of rows and columns - e.g. 2x3 is 2 rows of 3 columns each. Must be between 1 and 100 items per page.

Home Page Table Display

The home page can be displayed in two ways: as a table, or as a series of posters. The tabular view is recommended because it contains more information, allows you to perform bulk actions on multiple Series at once, easily edit specific Series data, and is generally faster. An example of the two is shown below.

Tabular ViewPoster View

This setting can also be toggled on the home page itself.

Simplified Episode Data Tables

Whether to hide Advanced (uncommonly edited) columns from Episode data tables. This is purely a visual toggle inted to make navigation easier, and any existing customizations, whether they were entered beforehand or are imported from a Blueprint are still applied.

Stylize Unmonitored Series Posters

Whether to apply different styling to the posters of unmonitored Series on the home screen. This is to make differentiating between the two easier when navigating the home screen.

Stylized posters have a blurred grayscale effect applied.

Color Impaired Mode

Accessibility feature to utilize an alternate coloring which makes certain color combinations more distinguishable for those with color impairments.

Accessibility Feedback

If you have feedback or suggestions on improving the accessibility of the project, please reach out on the Discord or GitHub.

Reduced Animations

Whether to disable various animations within the UI. This can be for improved site performance or accessibility.

This does not disable all animations, just the more "egregious" ones like the home-page Series loading.

Interactive Title Cards

Whether to enable the click/right-click functionality of Title Cards in the UI. This only applies to the Card images displayed on the Files tab of the Series page.

If enabled, clicking the image will instruct TCM to re-create the Title Card if the card configuration has changed; while right-clicking will instruct TCM to delete and re-create the Title Card (even if no changes occurred).

Display Live Log Messages

Whether to display real-time log messages within the UI. If enabled, TCM will open a Websocket which displays real-time log messages in the lower right corner of the UI.

The minimum "level" of messages which are displayed can be adjusted with the appropriate environment variable.

This can be toggled on/off. ↩
Only include the Connections which you are personally using. ↩↩
Feel free to reduce this to some ratio of 16:9 (e.g. 1600:900) if you want to save storage space (at the minor cost of image fidelity). Increasing this is not recommended. ↩↩