Mounting Relationships Explained

This article explains AMMDS's mounting relationships in plain English — how folders are connected and how data flows between them.

tip

If you're new to AMMDS, start with this article to understand how mounting works. It'll help you avoid data loss or misconfiguration during deployment and daily use.

I. Mounting Logic During Deployment

1. Basic Mounting Configuration

When deploying AMMDS with Docker Compose, you need to configure mount directories in the docker-compose.yml:

What is "mounting"? Mounting maps a folder on your host machine (your computer/server) into a Docker container (an isolated "little box"), so the container can read and write to that folder. Think of it like plugging a USB drive into your computer — the computer can then access files on the drive.

volumes:
  - ./data:/ammds/data  # Mount ./data to the container's /ammds/data
  - ./db:/ammds/db  # Mount ./db to the container's /ammds/db
  - ./download:/data/download  # Mount ./download to the container's /data/download
  - ./media:/data/media  # Mount ./media to the container's /data/media

2. Directory Explanation

Host Directory	Container Directory	What It's For
./data	/ammds/data	Stores AMMDS config files and temporary data
./db	/ammds/db	Stores AMMDS database files
./download	/data/download	Stores downloaded, unorganized movie files
./media	/data/media	Stores organized movie files for media servers like Jellyfin

3. Deployment Mounting Diagram

II. Media Organization Mounting Logic

1. Overall Architecture

2. Host and AMMDS Relationship

The host's /data/download (where unorganized movies live) is mounted to the AMMDS container's /data/download via Docker volumes. This lets AMMDS see those unorganized movie files and scrape/organize them.

Simply put:

• Your computer's /data/download ↔ AMMDS's /data/download (same place)
• AMMDS scans movie files in /data/download
• After scraping and organizing, AMMDS saves the organized files to /data/media

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Why mount things this way?

• AMMDS needs to read unorganized movies to scrape and organize them, so it needs /data/download
• AMMDS needs to put organized movies somewhere Jellyfin can see them, so it needs /data/media
• This way AMMDS and Jellyfin share the same media folder — no need to duplicate files
• Consistent paths make management cleaner for you

3. Host and Jellyfin Relationship

The host's /data/media (where organized movies live) is mounted to the Jellyfin container's /data/media via Docker volumes. This lets Jellyfin read the organized movies and build a media library for streaming.

Simply put:

• Your computer's /data/media ↔ Jellyfin's /data/media (same place)
• Jellyfin scans /data/media for movies
• Based on file structure and metadata (movie info), Jellyfin builds a media library so you can browse, search, and play

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Why does Jellyfin only need /data/media?

• Jellyfin is just a player/media server — it only looks at the finished, organized files
• Organized movies already have complete info and clean file structure, ready for Jellyfin to use
• This keeps Jellyfin's configuration simpler and more secure

4. AMMDS and Movie Files Relationship

Here's how AMMDS processes movie files:

1. Scanning Phase: AMMDS looks for unorganized movie files in /data/download
2. Scraping Phase: Based on file names or content, it automatically fetches movie info from the internet (title, poster, description, etc. — collectively called "metadata")
3. Organization Phase: Based on the fetched info, it renames the movie file and places it in a standard directory structure under /data/media
4. Update Phase: After organization, media servers like Jellyfin can recognize and use the files

5. Data Flow

6. Media Organization Process Diagram

7. Detailed Directory Structure

Host Directory Structure

/data/
├── download/           # Unorganized movie files
│   ├── movie1.mp4
│   └── ...
└── media/              # Organized movie files
    ├── Movies/
    │   ├── Movie 1 (2023)/
    │   │   ├── Movie 1 (2023).mp4
    │   │   └── poster.jpg
    │   └── ...
    └── ...

AMMDS Container Directory Structure

/ammds/
├── data/               # Mapped from host's ./data
│   ├── config.json
│   └── ...
├── db/                 # Mapped from host's ./db
│   ├── ammds.db
│   └── ...
├── download/           # Mapped from host's ./download
│   ├── movie1.mp4
│   └── ...
/media/                  # Mapped from host's ./media
├── Movies/
└── ...

Jellyfin Container Directory Structure

/data/
└── media/              # Mapped from host's ./media
    ├── Movies/
    └── ...

III. Complete Mounting Relationship Diagram

IV. FAQ

1. What if mounting fails?

• Check the path: Make sure the host folder exists and the path is correct
• Check permissions: Make sure the host folder has read/write permissions
• Check Docker: Make sure Docker is running properly
• Check syntax: Make sure the mount syntax in docker-compose.yml is correct — format is - host_path:container_path

2. What if organized movies don't show up in Jellyfin?

• Check Jellyfin's mount: Make sure the Jellyfin container has /data/media mounted correctly
• Check media library config: Make sure Jellyfin has the right media library path configured
• Scan manually in Jellyfin: Run a manual scan in Jellyfin to refresh the library
• Check file permissions: Make sure the movie files are readable

3. What if organized movie file sizes change?

• Check if compression is on: AMMDS doesn't compress files by default — check if some other tool is doing it
• Check file format: Make sure the file format hasn't changed during processing
• Metadata takes space: Extra info files (nfo files, posters, etc.) are generated during organization, so total size will increase a bit

4. How to back up mounted directories?

• Back up regularly: Regularly back up the host's /data/download and /data/media
• Back up the database too: Also back up /data/db to preserve AMMDS config and scraping records
• Test your backups: Periodically check that backups can be restored

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Important Reminder

• Don't modify mount directory permissions while containers are running — it may cause access issues
• Regularly clean up unorganized movie files to save disk space
• Make sure the host has enough free space to avoid organization failures mid-process