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Search system

This document explains how Cinephage's search system works to find and select media releases from your configured indexers.

Overview​

Cinephage provides a unified search interface that queries multiple indexers simultaneously, aggregates results, scores them based on your quality preferences, and automatically selects the best option for download.

Understanding the search process​

Cinephage searches follow this workflow:

User Initiates Search → Query Indexers → Score Releases → Select Best → Send to Download Client → Monitor Progress → Import File

The system operates in two distinct modes:

Automatic Search:

  • Triggered by monitoring tasks
  • Runs on schedule (hourly by default)
  • Finds best release automatically
  • No user intervention needed

Manual Search:

  • User initiates on specific item
  • See all available releases
  • Choose specific release
  • Immediate action

Automatic search is the hands-off approach to maintaining your library. Once you add media with monitoring enabled, the system periodically checks indexers for new or upgradable content.

How it works:

  1. Monitoring tasks run on schedule (default: hourly)
  2. System checks all monitored items
  3. Searches indexers for missing or upgradable content
  4. Scores and selects best release automatically
  5. Sends to download client
  6. Monitors progress until complete
  7. Imports and organizes the file

Automatic search eliminates the need to manually check for new releases. Once configured, it runs continuously in the background.

Key characteristics:

  • Proactive: Finds content without user action
  • Scheduled: Runs at configured intervals
  • Automatic: No manual selection required
  • Selective: Only grabs releases meeting your criteria

Manual search gives you direct control over what to download and when. Use this when you want a specific release, need content immediately, or want to review available options before deciding.

How it works:

  1. Navigate to a specific movie or episode
  2. Click the Search button
  3. System queries all enabled indexers
  4. Displays all matching releases
  5. You review scores and details
  6. Select specific release or use "Grab Best"
  7. Release sent to download client immediately

Manual search is ideal for immediate needs or when you want to override automatic selection.

Key characteristics:

  • On-demand: User-initiated searches
  • Comprehensive: Shows all available releases
  • Controlled: User selects specific release
  • Immediate: Action taken right away

Search workflow​

The complete search workflow involves multiple stages:

1. Initiation​

A search begins either:

  • Through the monitoring scheduler (automatic)
  • Via user clicking Search (manual)
  • When adding monitored media to library

2. Querying indexers​

The search system:

  • Identifies all enabled indexers
  • Constructs search queries based on media metadata
  • Sends parallel requests to each indexer
  • Aggregates results as they return
  • Removes duplicate releases across indexers

3. Parsing and scoring​

For each release found:

  • Extracts metadata from release name
  • Identifies resolution, source, codec, audio
  • Calculates quality score based on profile
  • Applies custom format bonuses/penalties
  • Assigns final score

4. Selection​

The system:

  • Sorts releases by score (highest first)
  • Filters out blocklisted releases
  • Applies delay profiles (if configured)
  • Selects highest-scoring acceptable release

5. Download​

Once selected:

  • Release sent to configured download client
  • Added to download queue
  • Monitoring begins
  • Progress tracked in Activity > Queue

6. Import​

When download completes:

  • File detected in download location
  • Metadata verified (ffprobe)
  • File moved/renamed per naming settings
  • Library updated
  • Notifications sent (if configured)

Quality scoring explained​

The Score column in search results shows how well a release matches your quality profile.

Score colors​

  • Green (100+): Excellent quality match
  • Yellow (50-99): Good quality
  • Red (<50): Lower quality

Score breakdown​

Hover over any score to see the detailed breakdown:

Base: 80 (1080p)
Source: +30 (WEB-DL)
Codec: +20 (x265)
Audio: +5 (AAC)
Custom: +10 (Preferred group)
Total: 145

How scores are calculated​

The scoring system evaluates multiple factors:

Base Score (Resolution):

  • 2160p: 100 points
  • 1080p: 80 points
  • 720p: 50 points
  • 480p: 20 points

Source Bonus:

  • BluRay: +40 (best quality)
  • WEB-DL: +30 (direct stream rip)
  • HDTV: +10 (broadcast capture)
  • DVD: +5

Codec Bonus:

  • AV1: +25 (most efficient)
  • H.265/HEVC: +20
  • H.264/x264: 0 (baseline)

Audio Bonus:

  • Dolby Atmos: +25
  • DTS-HD MA: +20
  • TrueHD: +15
  • DD+ (E-AC3): +10
  • DTS: +8
  • AC3: +5
  • AAC: +3

Custom Formats:

  • Your defined rules add or subtract points
  • Can boost preferred groups, block unwanted content
  • Applied after base scoring

Why scores matter​

Scores enable automatic selection of the best available release. Higher scores indicate better quality matches to your preferences. The system uses scores to:

  • Rank available releases
  • Filter out low-quality options
  • Make automatic selection decisions
  • Determine when upgrades are worthwhile

For a complete explanation of the scoring algorithm, see Quality Scoring.

Handling multiple indexers​

Cinephage searches across all your configured indexers simultaneously.

How multi-indexer search works​

Parallel Queries:

  • All enabled indexers are queried at once
  • Results aggregated as they arrive
  • No single indexer is a bottleneck

Result Deduplication:

  • Identical releases from different indexers are merged
  • Shows best indexer for each unique release
  • Prevents duplicate downloads

Failure Handling:

  • If one indexer fails, others continue
  • Failed indexers don't block the search
  • Results show which indexer provided each release

Indexer diversity​

Different indexers provide different benefits:

Content Coverage:

  • Some indexers specialize in older content
  • Others focus on new releases
  • Niche indexers may have rare content

Quality Variations:

  • Same release may have different seeds/peers
  • Some indexers have better quality control
  • Release availability varies by indexer

Geographic Considerations:

  • Indexers may focus on specific regions
  • Language availability differs
  • Release timing varies

Best practices for indexers​

Multiple Indexers:

  • Use several indexers for better coverage
  • Different indexers have different content
  • Redundancy if one indexer goes down

Indexer Selection:

  • Enable indexers that match your content preferences
  • Consider both general and specialized indexers
  • Balance between coverage and search speed

Rate Limits:

  • Each indexer has API limits
  • Too many indexers can cause rate limiting
  • Configure reasonable search intervals

Search best practices​

Understanding how to use the search system effectively helps you build a better library with less effort.

Quality over speed​

Patience Pays Off:

  • Do not grab the first available release
  • Better quality releases often appear later
  • Use cutoff settings to prevent endless upgrading

Understanding the Trade-off:

  • Early releases (HDTV) are often lower quality
  • WEB-DL releases appear days after broadcast
  • BluRay releases may take months but offer best quality

Diversify indexers​

Why Multiple Indexers Matter:

  • Different indexers have different content libraries
  • Some specialize in specific types of content
  • Redundancy ensures coverage if one indexer fails

Finding the Right Mix:

  • Include both general and specialized indexers
  • Consider indexers for different content types
  • Test which indexers work best for your needs

The Power of Automatic Search:

  • Add items with monitoring enabled
  • Let automatic search work in the background
  • Manual search for immediate needs only

Benefits:

  • Set-and-forget workflow
  • Catches new releases automatically
  • Handles upgrades without intervention

Respect rate limits​

Indexer Limits:

  • Indexers have API rate limits
  • Too frequent searches can get you banned
  • Use reasonable monitoring intervals

Best Practices:

  • Default hourly monitoring is usually sufficient
  • Avoid excessive manual searches
  • Monitor indexer health in Settings > Indexers

Review before grabbing​

Check Release Details:

  • Review release names for quality indicators
  • Verify file sizes are reasonable
  • Consider release groups if you have preferences

When to Override:

  • Sometimes manual selection is worth the effort
  • Check for specific audio/subtitle tracks
  • Verify HDR format if that's important to you

Delay profiles​

Delay profiles add a waiting period before grabbing releases, allowing better quality versions to become available.

How Delays Work:

  • Configurable waiting period (hours/days)
  • System waits before grabbing release
  • If better quality appears during wait, it takes priority
  • Prevents grabbing low-quality early releases

Use Cases:

  • Wait for WEB-DL instead of HDTV
  • Allow time for proper releases over CAM/TS
  • Avoid initial rush of poor-quality uploads

Configuration:

  • Set in Settings > Delay Profiles
  • Can be per-quality or global
  • Usenet often has shorter delays than torrents

Troubleshooting searches​

Common issues​

No Results:

  • Verify indexers are enabled and working
  • Check media has correct metadata
  • Try alternate titles or TMDB ID
  • Review quality profile filters

Wrong Quality Selected:

  • Check quality profile assignment
  • Review custom format scores
  • Verify cutoff settings
  • Check delay profile configuration

Slow Searches:

  • Reduce number of enabled indexers
  • Check indexer response times
  • Verify network connectivity
  • Consider indexer timeout settings

See Also​