Importing

Import an existing library with Library Scan, or auto-match dropped files via the Import Inbox.

The Import page (in the sidebar under Management) is split into two workflows:

Library Scan points Comicarr at directories you already have on disk and imports what it finds.
Import Inbox watches a folder you drop files into and auto-matches them against your library.

Files that cannot be matched automatically appear in a third Pending Review section where you can match, ignore, or delete them in bulk.

Library Scan

Use Library Scan to bring an existing collection into Comicarr. It walks your comic and manga directories, identifies series, and lets you choose which ones to import.

Point Comicarr at your directories

Under [Import], set COMIC_DIR to your comic root and MANGA_DIR to your manga root if applicable. Library Scan reads both directories side-by-side.

Open Import → Scan existing directories and start the scan. Progress is reported live. Comicarr reads embedded metadata (if IMP_METADATA is enabled) and parses filenames to identify series. Comic scans use ComicVine and require its API key. Manga scans use MyAnimeList when enabled with a client ID, or MangaDex otherwise.

Review and import

Matched series are grouped with their detected issue/chapter counts. Select the series you want to add and confirm. Anything that can't be matched is routed to Pending Review.

Import Inbox

Use Import Inbox for an ongoing drop-folder workflow. It covers manual grabs, file conversions, and anything else that lands outside your download client.

Configure the watched folder

Point COMIC_DIR (and/or MANGA_DIR for manga) at a folder you'll drop files into. Comicarr scans it on demand and auto-matches files against your existing library.

Trigger a scan

From Import → Monitor an import directory, trigger a scan. Each file is compared against tracked series; confident matches are imported directly, ambiguous ones are sent to Pending Review.

Review unmatched files

Files that don't auto-match appear under Pending Review. Bulk actions let you match them to a series, ignore them, or delete them.

If IMP_MOVE is enabled, files are moved out of the inbox into your library on a successful match. With it disabled, originals stay where they are and Comicarr copies them.

Import Settings

Configure import behavior under the [Import] section:

Setting	Default	Description
`ADD_COMICS`	`False`	Enable the import feature.
`COMIC_DIR`	`None`	Source directory to scan for comic imports.
`MANGA_DIR`	`None`	Source directory to scan for manga imports.
`IMP_MOVE`	`False`	Move files (instead of leaving originals in place).
`IMP_RENAME`	`False`	Rename files according to your `FILE_FORMAT`.
`IMP_METADATA`	`False`	Read embedded metadata from files to aid matching.
`IMP_SERIESFOLDERS`	`True`	Expect files organized in series subfolders.
`IMP_PATHS`	`False`	Use file paths to infer series information.

File-Level Metadata

When IMP_METADATA is enabled, Comicarr reads embedded tags from CBZ/CBR files before falling back to filename parsing. Match accuracy jumps for well-tagged collections.

Supported metadata formats:

ComicInfo.xml (ComicRack format), most common in CBZ files
ComicBookInfo (JSON in the archive comment)

Files previously tagged by ComicRack, Calibre, or ComicTagger may contain embedded metadata that helps matching. Review the proposed matches before importing.

Pending Review

Unmatched files surface in Pending Review on the Import page. Comic matching uses ComicVine; manga matching uses MyAnimeList or MangaDex. From there, you can:

Match a file to a series manually
Ignore a file so future scans skip it
Delete a file outright
Toggle visibility of previously-ignored files to revisit them

Duplicate Handling

When Comicarr finds a file that matches an issue already in your library, it uses the duplicate settings from the [Duplicates] section:

Setting	Default	Description
`DUPECONSTRAINT`	`filesize`	How to choose between duplicates: `filesize` (keep larger), `filename`, or `none`. Startup normalizes an unset value to `filesize`.
`DDUMP`	`False`	Move duplicate files to a dump folder instead of deleting.
`DUPLICATE_DUMP`	`None`	Directory for dumped duplicates.
`DUPLICATE_DATED_FOLDERS`	`False`	Organize the dump folder by date.

If IMP_MOVE is enabled, original files are removed from the source directory after import. Make sure you have a backup of your collection before importing with move enabled.

Move, Copy, and Rename

The import file operations work independently from the post-processing pipeline:

IMP_MOVE controls whether files are moved or copied during import. The FILE_OPTS post-processing setting has no say here.
IMP_RENAME uses the same FILE_FORMAT template as post-processing.
Files are placed into folders matching your FOLDER_FORMAT.