General Settings

Library paths, file and folder naming, quality, scheduling, logging, backup, and maintenance options.

General settings control where Comicarr stores files, how it names them, and when background tasks run. All options are on the Settings > General page.

Library Paths

SettingTypeDefaultDescription
DESTINATION_DIRstringRoot directory for your organized comic library.
CACHE_DIRstringDirectory for temporary cache files (covers, API responses).
GRABBAG_DIRstringDirectory for one-off or miscellaneous downloads.
NEWCOM_DIRstringDirectory where newly downloaded comics land before processing.

In Docker, these paths refer to container-side mount points. Make sure the corresponding volumes are mapped in your docker-compose.yml.

File and Folder Naming

File Format

SettingTypeDefaultDescription
FILE_FORMATstring$Series $Annual $Issue ($Year)Template for renaming comic files.

Folder Format

SettingTypeDefaultDescription
FOLDER_FORMATstring$Series ($Year)Template for series directories.

Arc Folder Format

SettingTypeDefaultDescription
ARC_FOLDERFORMATstring$arc ($spanyears)Template for story arc directories.

Available Tokens

TokenDescriptionExample
$SeriesSeries nameAmazing Spider-Man
$IssueIssue number (zero-padded per ZERO_LEVEL)001
$YearPublication year2024
$AnnualResolves to Annual when the issue is an annual, empty otherwiseAnnual
$MonthlyResolves to the month name for monthly issuesJanuary
$PublisherPublisher nameMarvel
$ImprintPublisher imprintMAX Comics
$TypeSeries type (e.g. Trade Paperback, Hard-Cover)TPB
$arcStory arc name (arc folders only)Secret Wars
$spanyearsYear range the arc spans (arc folders only)2015-2016

Naming Options

SettingTypeDefaultDescription
REPLACE_SPACESboolFalseReplace spaces in filenames with REPLACE_CHAR.
REPLACE_CHARstring_Character used when REPLACE_SPACES is enabled.
ZERO_LEVELint0Number of digits to zero-pad issue numbers to. 0 disables padding.
LOWERCASE_FILENAMESboolFalseForce all filenames to lowercase.

Quality Settings

SettingTypeDefaultDescription
PREFERRED_QUALITYstringPreferred release quality when multiple results match.
MINSIZEint0Minimum file size in bytes. Releases below this are skipped.
MAXSIZEint0Maximum file size in bytes. Releases above this are skipped.
USE_MINSIZEboolFalseEnable the minimum size filter.
USE_MAXSIZEboolFalseEnable the maximum size filter.

Scheduling

All intervals are in minutes unless noted otherwise.

SettingTypeDefaultDescription
RSS_CHECKINTERVALint20Minutes between RSS feed checks.
SEARCH_INTERVALint1440Minutes between full search sweeps (default is 24 hours).
DOWNLOAD_SCAN_INTERVALint5Minutes between download client status polls.
CHECK_GITHUB_INTERVALint360Minutes between update checks against the GitHub repository.

Setting RSS_CHECKINTERVAL or SEARCH_INTERVAL too low may cause you to hit provider rate limits. The defaults are safe for most setups.

Logging

SettingTypeDefaultDescription
LOG_DIRstringDirectory for log files. Defaults to <config_dir>/logs.
MAX_LOGSIZEint10000000Maximum log file size in bytes (~10 MB).
MAX_LOGFILESint5Number of rotated log files to keep.
LOG_LEVELint1Verbosity: 0 = INFO, 1 = DEBUG, 2 = WARNING.

Backup

SettingTypeDefaultDescription
BACKUP_ON_STARTboolFalseCreate a backup of the database and config each time Comicarr starts.
BACKUP_LOCATIONstringDirectory for backup files. Defaults to <config_dir>/backups.
BACKUP_RETENTIONint4Number of backup copies to retain. Older backups are deleted automatically.

Maintenance

SettingTypeDefaultDescription
CLEANUP_CACHEboolFalsePeriodically remove stale cache files.
CLEANUP_STRAYSboolFalseRemove orphaned files that no longer belong to a monitored series.

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