Cross-seed matching rules

The settings that apply to every cross-seed source sit in three sections of the Cross-Seed page: Matching rules, Categories and tags, and After injection. Settings that belong to one source, such as its tags, live on that source's tab: RSS, Webhook, Completion, Library, or Season packs.

Matching

These settings sit in Matching rules.

• Cross-seed episodes from packs: If enabled, season packs also match individual episodes. If disabled, season packs only match other season packs. qui adds episodes with AutoTMM disabled to prevent save path conflicts.
• Skip recheck: If enabled, qui skips any cross-seed that requires a recheck. See Skip cross-seeds with extra files.
• Rescue title mismatches: Disabled by default. If only the title differs and the positive reported size matches, this rule tests that result. Each source search tries at most three rescue downloads across all indexers. RSS and autobrr use this rule only when the announcement provides an exact size. qui adds rescued torrents in a paused state and starts them only after a full qBittorrent recheck reaches 100%. Skip recheck disables this rule.
• Piece boundary safety check: Off by default. Turn the switch on to block cross-seeds whose extra files share torrent pieces with content files. With the switch off, qBittorrent can corrupt your existing seeded data if the content differs. Reflink mode protects the original files. If hardlink or reflink mode falls back to regular mode, qui runs the check even when the switch is off. This fallback check covers matches that are not exact, need renames, or have extra files.

note

If a torrent uses filesystem fallback, disc layouts (BDMV/VIDEO_TS), title rescue, or exact-size season, episode, or release-group matches, qui auto-resumes it only after a full recheck reaches 100%. With Skip recheck on, a byte-complete filesystem fallback is the exception. qui renames the paths if necessary and adds it without a recheck. If Auto-resume after injection is on, qui then resumes it.

Skip cross-seeds with extra files

To stop qui from adding a cross-seed that has extra files, such as samples, .nfo files, or subtitles, enable Skip recheck. qBittorrent must download the extra files that you do not have, and the torrent needs a recheck. With Skip recheck on, qui does not add the torrent.

Skip recheck also skips the other matches that require a recheck: renamed paths, filesystem fallback, disc layouts, title rescue, and exact-size matches with different season, episode, or release-group details. A byte-complete match is the exception. In a byte-complete match, each file has a file of the same size, and the torrent has no extra files. The paths are the same (an exact match), or only the paths differ (a rename-only match). If two or more files have the same size and their names do not show which file is which, the match is not a byte-complete match. A sidecar file, such as an .nfo file or a subtitle, matches only by name, not by size. An episode in a season pack, a disc layout, and a title rescue are never byte-complete matches. An exact-size match with different season, episode, or release-group details is also never a byte-complete match. qui renames the paths of a byte-complete match if necessary and adds the torrent without a recheck. This rule applies to regular, hardlink, and reflink modes. You get fewer cross-seeds. In the row details of a search run, these matches have the skipped_recheck status. See Cross-seed search run statuses.

Reported-size fallback

Strict release matching runs first. If qui finds an exact positive reported byte count, it relaxes approved name differences.

Reported size does not prove that two torrents contain the same bytes. qui still checks the torrent metadata, files, paths, layout, and piece boundaries.

If torrents have title, season, episode, or split release-group differences, qui requires a full piece check. qui adds these torrents paused and resumes them only at 100%.

Soft descriptive differences keep the normal fast path. These differences include codec, source, HDR, edition, and one-sided checksum data.

Skip recheck removes only matches that need verification. RSS and autobrr reject those matches before the planned torrent download.

Search Category Rules

qui reads the torrent name to find the content type. It then corrects that guess with the file extensions inside the torrent. Both signals can fail.

A search category rule forces the content type for every torrent in a qBittorrent category. The rule overrides the name and the file extensions.

The content type decides which Torznab categories qui requests, and which search mode it uses. As a result, it decides which indexers can answer the search.

When a rule helps

File extensions cannot always correct the name:

• A disc image contains one .iso file. Because this extension is neither audio nor video, the extensions give no signal and the name decides alone.
• An ebook contains one .epub or .pdf file. A name such as Author Name - Book Title (2021) can parse as music or as a movie.

In both examples, the torrent is in a category that you control. A rule on that category gives qui the correct content type.

Add a rule

1. Open Matching rules on the Cross-Seed page.
2. Find Search category rules.
3. Select Add rule.
4. Select or type one or more qBittorrent categories.
5. Select the content type in the search as list.

The content types are Movie, TV, Music, Audiobook, Book, Comic, Game, and App.

How rules match

One rule can hold more than one category. A torrent in any of those categories gets the content type of that rule.

The match is exact and case-sensitive because qBittorrent categories are case-sensitive. A rule for ebooks does not match a torrent in Ebooks.

If two rules name the same category, the first rule keeps it. When qui saves the settings, it removes that category from the later rule. If this empties the later rule, qui removes that rule.

note

Manual search, Library Scan, completion search, RSS matching, and autobrr matching apply these rules to local source torrents. Dir Scan uses its own detection.

note

Audiobook and Music request the same categories from indexers, and both send an artist and an album parameter. Only the text of the search query differs.

Season packs

Season pack settings have their own Season packs tab. See Season Packs.

Categories

These modes sit in Categories and tags. They set the category that qui gives to a new cross-seed. To choose the search content type from the category of the source torrent, see Search Category Rules.

Choose one of four mutually exclusive category modes:

Reuse matched torrent category

Keeps the category of the matched torrent unchanged. qui adds no affix.

Category Affix (default)

Adds a configurable affix to the category of the matched torrent. This prevents Sonarr and Radarr from importing cross-seeded files as duplicates. If you use regular mode (no hardlink/reflink), the cross-seed inherits AutoTMM from the matched torrent.

Affix Mode:

• Suffix (default): Appends the affix to the category (for example movies → movies.cross)
• Prefix: Prepends the affix to the category (for example movies → cross/movies)

Affix Value: The text to add (default: .cross). Common examples:

• .cross with suffix mode → tv.cross, movies.cross
• cross/ with prefix mode → cross/tv, cross/movies

tip

If you use prefix mode with a trailing /, qBittorrent creates nested categories¹. This groups all cross-seeds under a parent category. A filter on cross returns all cross-seeds (cross/movies, cross/tv, and more).

warning

Do not use a leading / in suffix mode (for example /cross-seed). This creates the cross-seed as a child of the original category¹. A movies category in Radarr then also returns movies/cross-seed torrents. This causes conflicts.

If you want nested categories, use prefix mode instead.

¹ Nested categories require you to enable subcategories (Instance Preferences → Files → Enable Subcategories).

Use indexer name as category

Sets the category to the indexer name (for example TorrentDB). qui always disables AutoTMM and uses explicit save paths.

Custom category

Uses a fixed category name for all cross-seeds (for example cross-seed). qui always disables AutoTMM and uses explicit save paths.

Source Tagging

Each source tab has a Cross-seed tags field for the torrents that source adds. The default is cross-seed for every source.

Source	Where
RSS automation	RSS tab
/apply webhook	Webhook tab, "Webhook / autobrr" card
Completion-triggered search	Completion tab, "On completion" card
Library Scan	Library tab
Season packs	Season packs tab

Inherit source torrent tags in Categories and tags also copies the tags of the matched source torrent. It applies to every source.

The RSS, Webhook, Completion, and Library tabs each have an Auto-resume after injection switch. When it is off, torrents from that source stay paused for review.

Max Auto-Start Download

This limit sits in After injection. After a recheck, qui reads how much data the new cross-seed still lacks. If the missing data is at or below Max auto-start download (default: 50 MiB), qui starts the torrent. Torrents that lack more data stay paused for manual review. Set 0 to start only fully complete torrents.

If only ignorable files are missing (samples, .nfo, subtitles, and similar sidecar files), qui starts the torrent anyway. This exception has a fixed 200 MiB ceiling.

This limit applies to new cross-seed additions from RSS, seeded search, completion search, and the webhooks. The season-pack flow and Dir Scan use their own resume rules and ignore this limit.

External Program

In After injection, qui can run an external program after it injects a cross-seed torrent.

Category Behavior Details

autoTMM (Auto Torrent Management)

The active category mode determines autoTMM behavior:

Category Mode	autoTMM Behavior
Reuse matched category	Inherited from matched torrent (regular mode only, hardlink/reflink disables autoTMM)
Category Affix	Inherited from matched torrent when the affix category has the same save path (regular mode only, hardlink/reflink disables autoTMM)
Indexer name	Always disabled (explicit save paths)
Custom	Always disabled (explicit save paths)

If the cross-seed inherits autoTMM in reuse or affix mode:

• If the matched torrent uses autoTMM, the cross-seed uses autoTMM
• If the matched torrent has a manual path, the cross-seed uses the same manual path

If autoTMM is disabled (indexer and custom modes), qui gives cross-seeds explicit save paths derived from the location of the matched torrent.

note

Hardlink/reflink mode always adds torrents with an explicit savepath that points at the link tree. This forces autoTMM off. Dir Scan injections are separate from cross-seed rules and also always add with explicit savepath (autoTMM off).

Save path determination

Priority order:

1. Base category's explicit save path (if configured in qBittorrent)
2. Matched torrent's current save path (fallback)

Examples:

Suffix mode (default):

• The tv category has save path /data/tv
• The cross-seed gets the tv.cross category with save path /data/tv
• qui finds the files because they are in the same location

Prefix mode:

• The movies category has save path /data/movies
• The cross-seed gets the cross/movies category with save path /data/movies
• The nested cross/ parent in qBittorrent groups all cross-seeds together

Best practices

Do:

• Use autoTMM consistently across your torrents
• Let qui create cross-seed categories automatically
• Keep category structures simple
• If you want all cross-seeds grouped under one parent category, use prefix mode with / (for example cross/)

Do not:

• Manually move torrent files after you add them
• Create cross-seed categories manually with different paths
• Mix autoTMM and manual paths for the same content type