diff --git a/backend/dvr/src/recording/mod.rs b/backend/dvr/src/recording/mod.rs
index 2ec2a0aee..01e11ed68 100644
--- a/backend/dvr/src/recording/mod.rs
+++ b/backend/dvr/src/recording/mod.rs
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@ pub mod recording_rule_scheduler;
 pub mod recording_rule_service;
 pub mod recording_security;
 pub mod recording_service;
+pub mod recording_sidecar;
 pub mod recording_source_resolution;
 pub mod recording_supervisor;
 pub mod recording_transfer;
diff --git a/backend/dvr/src/recording/recording_retention.rs b/backend/dvr/src/recording/recording_retention.rs
index 4d0538b18..9c37f79bf 100644
--- a/backend/dvr/src/recording/recording_retention.rs
+++ b/backend/dvr/src/recording/recording_retention.rs
@@ -5,7 +5,10 @@
 //! first with a stable task-id tie-break.
 
 use super::recording_quota::QuotaRecordingTaskView;
-use shared::model::{recording::RecordingOwner, UserId};
+use shared::model::{
+    recording::{RecordingMetadata, RecordingVisibility},
+    UserId,
+};
 use std::collections::HashMap;
 
 /// Retention configuration derived from `RecordingRetentionConfig`.
@@ -113,9 +116,16 @@ pub fn normalize_channel_name(name: &str) -> String {
 }
 
 impl RetentionOwner {
-    pub fn from_recording_owner(owner: &RecordingOwner) -> Self {
-        let RecordingOwner::User(uid) = owner;
-        Self::Private(uid.clone())
+    /// Which retention budget a recording is charged to.
+    ///
+    /// Visibility decides it, exactly as it does for quota. Reading the owner
+    /// instead put every shared recording in its creator's personal budget, so
+    /// `Shared` was a variant nothing could produce.
+    pub fn from_metadata(meta: &RecordingMetadata) -> Self {
+        match meta.visibility {
+            RecordingVisibility::Shared => Self::Shared,
+            RecordingVisibility::Private => Self::Private(meta.owner_id().clone()),
+        }
     }
 }
 
@@ -153,7 +163,7 @@ fn group_for<V: QuotaRecordingTaskView>(task: &V) -> Option<(RetentionGroupKey,
     }
     let completed_at = meta.completed_at?;
     let channel = ChannelKey::from_metadata(meta.channel_id.as_deref(), meta.channel_name.as_deref());
-    let owner = RetentionOwner::from_recording_owner(&meta.owner);
+    let owner = RetentionOwner::from_metadata(meta);
     Some((RetentionGroupKey { owner, channel }, completed_at))
 }
 
@@ -539,6 +549,28 @@ mod tests {
         assert_eq!(candidates.len(), 0, "each library holds one recording and is allowed one");
     }
 
+    #[test]
+    fn private_retention_never_reaches_the_shared_library() {
+        // Step 1: a user's own budget must not evict the shared copy, and the
+        // shared budget must not evict anyone's private one. They are separate
+        // pools that happen to name the same channel.
+        let config = RetentionConfig { keep_last_per_channel: Some(1), delete_after_days: None };
+        let tasks = vec![
+            completed("alice-old", RecordingOwner::User(UserId::from("web:alice")), Some("c1"), Some("Alpha"), 1_000),
+            completed("alice-new", RecordingOwner::User(UserId::from("web:alice")), Some("c1"), Some("Alpha"), 2_000),
+            shared_completed("shared-old", Some("c1"), Some("Alpha"), 1_000),
+            shared_completed("shared-new", Some("c1"), Some("Alpha"), 2_000),
+        ];
+
+        let candidates = compute_candidates(&tasks, &config, 3_000);
+        let evicted: Vec<&str> = candidates.iter().map(|candidate| candidate.uuid.as_str()).collect();
+
+        // One over budget in each pool, and each pool gives up its own oldest.
+        assert!(evicted.contains(&"alice-old"), "alice keeps her newest and gives up her oldest");
+        assert!(evicted.contains(&"shared-old"), "the shared library does the same, separately");
+        assert_eq!(evicted.len(), 2, "neither pool spends the other's budget");
+    }
+
     #[test]
     fn shared_owner_groups_only_by_channel() {
         // Two shared recordings on the same channel — count
diff --git a/backend/dvr/src/recording/recording_sidecar.rs b/backend/dvr/src/recording/recording_sidecar.rs
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..76ad1d7da
--- /dev/null
+++ b/backend/dvr/src/recording/recording_sidecar.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,229 @@
+//! The physical record written beside a finished recording.
+//!
+//! A sidecar describes the *file*, never the people who asked for it. It exists
+//! so an operator, or a rebuild, can tell what an orphaned recording on disk
+//! actually is. It is not an access grant: rights live only in the repository,
+//! and a sidecar found on disk can rediscover a file but never re-create the
+//! library entry that would let somebody play it.
+
+use serde::{Deserialize, Serialize};
+use shared::model::RecordingKind;
+use std::{
+    io,
+    path::{Path, PathBuf},
+};
+use tokio::io::AsyncWriteExt;
+
+/// Suffix appended to the recording's own filename.
+///
+/// The organised layouts put many recordings in one directory, so a single
+/// fixed name per directory would describe only whichever finished last.
+pub const SIDECAR_SUFFIX: &str = ".tuliprox-recording.json";
+
+/// What a finished recording is, as told by the file next to it.
+///
+/// Every field here is a physical fact. Owner, visibility, quota, headers, URL
+/// and resume validators are deliberately absent: this file sits in the
+/// recording directory, which is not a place to put anything user-specific or
+/// secret.
+#[derive(Clone, Debug, Deserialize, Eq, PartialEq, Serialize)]
+#[serde(deny_unknown_fields)]
+pub struct RecordingSidecar {
+    pub materialization_id: String,
+    pub media_identity: String,
+    pub kind: RecordingKind,
+    pub relative_path: String,
+    pub size_bytes: u64,
+    pub completed_at: i64,
+}
+
+/// The sidecar that belongs to a recording file.
+pub fn sidecar_path(recording: &Path) -> PathBuf {
+    let mut name = recording.as_os_str().to_os_string();
+    name.push(SIDECAR_SUFFIX);
+    PathBuf::from(name)
+}
+
+/// `true` when this path is a sidecar rather than a recording.
+pub fn is_sidecar(path: &Path) -> bool {
+    path.file_name().and_then(|name| name.to_str()).is_some_and(|name| name.ends_with(SIDECAR_SUFFIX))
+}
+
+/// Write the sidecar beside its recording, replacing any earlier one.
+///
+/// Staged and renamed so a crash mid-write cannot leave a half-parsed file
+/// where a valid one used to be. Rewriting an existing sidecar is normal: a
+/// finalization that runs twice must not fail the second time.
+pub async fn write_sidecar(recording: &Path, sidecar: &RecordingSidecar) -> io::Result<PathBuf> {
+    let target = sidecar_path(recording);
+    let staging = sidecar_path(recording).with_extension("writing");
+    let encoded = serde_json::to_vec_pretty(sidecar).map_err(io::Error::other)?;
+
+    let mut file = tokio::fs::File::create(&staging).await?;
+    file.write_all(&encoded).await?;
+    file.sync_all().await?;
+    drop(file);
+    tokio::fs::rename(&staging, &target).await?;
+    Ok(target)
+}
+
+/// Read one sidecar. A file that does not parse is not a sidecar.
+pub async fn read_sidecar(path: &Path) -> io::Result<RecordingSidecar> {
+    let bytes = tokio::fs::read(path).await?;
+    serde_json::from_slice(&bytes).map_err(io::Error::other)
+}
+
+/// Every sidecar under `root` whose materialization is not already known.
+///
+/// Returns physical descriptions only. Nothing here creates a library entry or
+/// grants anyone access -- that is the point of the return type: an orphan is
+/// something for an operator to look at, not something to hand to a user.
+/// Unreadable or unparseable files are skipped rather than failing the scan;
+/// one bad file must not hide every good one.
+pub async fn scan_orphans(root: &Path, known_materializations: &[String]) -> io::Result<Vec<RecordingSidecar>> {
+    let mut found = Vec::new();
+    let mut directories = vec![root.to_path_buf()];
+    while let Some(directory) = directories.pop() {
+        let mut entries = match tokio::fs::read_dir(&directory).await {
+            Ok(entries) => entries,
+            Err(error) if error.kind() == io::ErrorKind::NotFound => continue,
+            Err(error) => return Err(error),
+        };
+        while let Some(entry) = entries.next_entry().await? {
+            let path = entry.path();
+            // `file_type` does not follow symlinks, so a link cannot walk the
+            // scan out of the recording root.
+            let file_type = entry.file_type().await?;
+            if file_type.is_dir() {
+                directories.push(path);
+            } else if file_type.is_file() && is_sidecar(&path) {
+                if let Ok(sidecar) = read_sidecar(&path).await {
+                    if !known_materializations.iter().any(|known| known == &sidecar.materialization_id) {
+                        found.push(sidecar);
+                    }
+                }
+            }
+        }
+    }
+    found.sort_by(|left, right| left.materialization_id.cmp(&right.materialization_id));
+    Ok(found)
+}
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod tests {
+    use super::{is_sidecar, read_sidecar, scan_orphans, sidecar_path, write_sidecar, RecordingSidecar};
+    use shared::model::RecordingKind;
+    use std::path::Path;
+    use tempfile::TempDir;
+
+    fn sidecar(id: &str) -> RecordingSidecar {
+        RecordingSidecar {
+            materialization_id: id.to_string(),
+            media_identity: format!("programme-{id}"),
+            kind: RecordingKind::Vod,
+            relative_path: format!("{id}.mp4"),
+            size_bytes: 4_096,
+            completed_at: 1_700_000_000,
+        }
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn a_sidecar_is_named_after_its_recording() {
+        // A fixed name per directory would describe only the last recording to
+        // finish, and the organised layouts share directories.
+        let first = sidecar_path(Path::new("/rec/Channel/one.ts"));
+        let second = sidecar_path(Path::new("/rec/Channel/two.ts"));
+        assert_ne!(first, second, "two recordings in one directory need two sidecars");
+        assert!(is_sidecar(&first));
+        assert!(!is_sidecar(Path::new("/rec/Channel/one.ts")));
+    }
+
+    #[tokio::test]
+    async fn a_sidecar_round_trips() {
+        let dir = TempDir::new().expect("tempdir");
+        let recording = dir.path().join("film.mp4");
+        let written = write_sidecar(&recording, &sidecar("mat-a")).await.expect("write");
+        assert_eq!(read_sidecar(&written).await.expect("read"), sidecar("mat-a"));
+    }
+
+    #[tokio::test]
+    async fn writing_twice_replaces_rather_than_fails() {
+        // Finalization is idempotent, so the sidecar write has to be too.
+        let dir = TempDir::new().expect("tempdir");
+        let recording = dir.path().join("film.mp4");
+        write_sidecar(&recording, &sidecar("mat-a")).await.expect("first");
+        let mut grown = sidecar("mat-a");
+        grown.size_bytes = 8_192;
+        let written = write_sidecar(&recording, &grown).await.expect("second");
+        assert_eq!(read_sidecar(&written).await.expect("read").size_bytes, 8_192);
+        assert!(!sidecar_path(&recording).with_extension("writing").exists(), "no staging file is left behind");
+    }
+
+    #[tokio::test]
+    async fn a_sidecar_carries_no_user_or_transport_detail() {
+        // It lives in the recording directory, which is not a place for owners,
+        // credentials or provider URLs.
+        let encoded = serde_json::to_string(&sidecar("mat-a")).expect("encode");
+        for forbidden in ["owner", "user", "visibility", "quota", "header", "url", "etag", "token", "password"] {
+            assert!(!encoded.to_lowercase().contains(forbidden), "{forbidden} must not appear in {encoded}");
+        }
+    }
+
+    #[tokio::test]
+    async fn an_unknown_sidecar_is_reported_as_an_orphan() {
+        let dir = TempDir::new().expect("tempdir");
+        let nested = dir.path().join("Channel/Season 01");
+        std::fs::create_dir_all(&nested).expect("dirs");
+        write_sidecar(&dir.path().join("known.mp4"), &sidecar("mat-known")).await.expect("write");
+        write_sidecar(&nested.join("lost.mp4"), &sidecar("mat-lost")).await.expect("write");
+
+        let orphans = scan_orphans(dir.path(), &["mat-known".to_string()]).await.expect("scan");
+
+        assert_eq!(orphans.len(), 1, "only the file the repository does not know about");
+        assert_eq!(orphans[0].materialization_id, "mat-lost");
+    }
+
+    #[tokio::test]
+    async fn a_file_that_is_not_a_sidecar_is_ignored() {
+        // Including one that is unreadable: a single bad file must not hide
+        // every good one from the operator.
+        let dir = TempDir::new().expect("tempdir");
+        std::fs::write(dir.path().join("film.mp4"), b"not json").expect("recording");
+        std::fs::write(dir.path().join("broken.mp4.tuliprox-recording.json"), b"{ not json").expect("broken");
+        write_sidecar(&dir.path().join("good.mp4"), &sidecar("mat-good")).await.expect("write");
+
+        let orphans = scan_orphans(dir.path(), &[]).await.expect("scan");
+
+        assert_eq!(orphans.len(), 1);
+        assert_eq!(orphans[0].materialization_id, "mat-good");
+    }
+
+    #[tokio::test]
+    async fn rediscovering_an_orphan_describes_the_file_and_nothing_more() {
+        // The whole risk of scanning the recording directory is that a file
+        // found there becomes a way in. A sidecar carries no principal, so
+        // there is nothing here to build a library entry from: an orphan can be
+        // identified and no more. Access comes from the repository or not at
+        // all.
+        let dir = TempDir::new().expect("tempdir");
+        write_sidecar(&dir.path().join("lost.mp4"), &sidecar("mat-lost")).await.expect("write");
+
+        let orphans = scan_orphans(dir.path(), &[]).await.expect("scan");
+
+        let found = &orphans[0];
+        let encoded = serde_json::to_value(found).expect("encode");
+        let fields: Vec<&str> = encoded.as_object().expect("object").keys().map(String::as_str).collect();
+        assert_eq!(
+            fields,
+            ["materialization_id", "media_identity", "kind", "relative_path", "size_bytes", "completed_at"],
+            "a sidecar describes a file; anything more would be a claim about who may have it"
+        );
+    }
+
+    #[tokio::test]
+    async fn scanning_a_missing_root_is_not_an_error() {
+        let dir = TempDir::new().expect("tempdir");
+        let orphans = scan_orphans(&dir.path().join("nothing-here"), &[]).await.expect("scan");
+        assert!(orphans.is_empty(), "an absent recording directory just has no orphans");
+    }
+}
diff --git a/backend/dvr/src/recording/recording_supervisor/startup.rs b/backend/dvr/src/recording/recording_supervisor/startup.rs
index 5eec05f79..824eaf53d 100644
--- a/backend/dvr/src/recording/recording_supervisor/startup.rs
+++ b/backend/dvr/src/recording/recording_supervisor/startup.rs
@@ -47,6 +47,7 @@ pub async fn run_startup_reconciliation(ctx: &RecordingCtx) {
     }
     let stuck = recover_stuck_deletions(ctx).await;
     let drift = reconcile_rule_drift(ctx).await;
+    report_orphan_recordings(ctx).await;
     SupervisorHealth::stamp(&supervisor_health().reconciliation_last_run, now_ts());
     if stuck > 0 || drift > 0 {
         info!("DVR startup reconciliation: repaired {stuck} interrupted deletion(s), {drift} rule drift item(s)");
@@ -67,6 +68,40 @@ fn media_is_still_referenced(all_tasks: &[RecordingTask], subject: &RecordingTas
     })
 }
 
+/// Tell the operator about recordings on disk the repository does not know.
+///
+/// Reporting only. A sidecar describes a file; it is not evidence that anyone
+/// was ever entitled to play it, so rediscovering one must never put it back in
+/// somebody's library. Access comes from the repository or not at all.
+async fn report_orphan_recordings(ctx: &RecordingCtx) {
+    let Some(root) = recording_config(&ctx.app_config)
+        .map(|cfg| PathBuf::from(cfg.directory))
+        .filter(|dir| !dir.as_os_str().is_empty())
+    else {
+        return;
+    };
+    let (_revision, tasks) = ctx.recordings.committed_snapshot().await;
+    let known: Vec<String> = tasks
+        .iter()
+        .map(|task| {
+            let persisted = crate::recording::recording_queue::RecordingQueue::to_persisted(task);
+            tuliprox_repository::recording_repository::materialization_id_for(&persisted)
+        })
+        .collect();
+    match crate::recording::recording_sidecar::scan_orphans(&root, &known).await {
+        Ok(orphans) if orphans.is_empty() => {}
+        Ok(orphans) => {
+            // Count only: the paths belong to whoever recorded them.
+            warn!(
+                target: "recording::audit",
+                "recording_orphan_files: {} recording(s) on disk are not in the library and are not playable through it",
+                orphans.len()
+            );
+        }
+        Err(error) => warn!("Could not scan the recording directory for orphans: {error}"),
+    }
+}
+
 /// Finish or undo every deletion the previous process left half-done.
 async fn recover_stuck_deletions(ctx: &RecordingCtx) -> usize {
     let (_revision, all_tasks) = ctx.recordings.committed_snapshot().await;
diff --git a/backend/dvr/src/recording/recording_transfer.rs b/backend/dvr/src/recording/recording_transfer.rs
index e7279c6d8..b6e827974 100644
--- a/backend/dvr/src/recording/recording_transfer.rs
+++ b/backend/dvr/src/recording/recording_transfer.rs
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@ use crate::{
             mutate_optional, PersistedRecordingTask, QueueMutationError, RecordingControl, RecordingQueue,
             RecordingTask, RecordingTaskState, RecordingWaitOutcome,
         },
+        recording_sidecar,
         recording_url::build_stable_recording_url,
         recording_worker::{recording_partial_path, run_recording, RecordingExecutionResult},
     },
@@ -987,6 +988,32 @@ async fn requeue_active_download_for_capacity_wait(
     Ok(result.unwrap_or(false))
 }
 
+/// Write the sidecar for the recording that just finished.
+///
+/// Best effort by design: the recording is on disk and committed either way,
+/// and refusing to complete a transfer because a descriptive file could not be
+/// written would trade a real recording for a diagnostic.
+async fn write_completion_sidecar(download_queue: &RecordingQueue, uuid: &str, measured_bytes: u64) {
+    let Some(task) = download_queue.active.read().await.as_ref().filter(|task| task.uuid == uuid).cloned() else {
+        return;
+    };
+    let Some(relative_path) = task.recording.relative_path.clone() else {
+        return;
+    };
+    let persisted = RecordingQueue::to_persisted(&task);
+    let sidecar = recording_sidecar::RecordingSidecar {
+        materialization_id: tuliprox_repository::recording_repository::materialization_id_for(&persisted),
+        media_identity: persisted.media_identity,
+        kind: task.kind,
+        relative_path,
+        size_bytes: measured_bytes,
+        completed_at: chrono::Utc::now().timestamp(),
+    };
+    if let Err(error) = recording_sidecar::write_sidecar(&task.file_path, &sidecar).await {
+        warn!("Could not write the sidecar for {}: {error}", task.file_path.display());
+    }
+}
+
 async fn promote_next_download(
     download_queue: &RecordingQueue,
 ) -> Result<Option<(String, String)>, QueueMutationError> {
@@ -1418,6 +1445,11 @@ pub async fn ensure_recording_worker_running(
                                         None => 0,
                                     }
                                 };
+                                // Beside the file, before the repository is told
+                                // it is complete: an operator finding an orphan
+                                // needs the record even if the commit is what
+                                // failed.
+                                write_completion_sidecar(&dq, &worker_uuid, measured_bytes).await;
                                 let committed = finish_active_and_promote(&dq, &worker_uuid, |fd| {
                                     fd.finished = true;
                                     fd.paused = false;
diff --git a/backend/repository/src/recording_repository.rs b/backend/repository/src/recording_repository.rs
index a681de408..171523184 100644
--- a/backend/repository/src/recording_repository.rs
+++ b/backend/repository/src/recording_repository.rs
@@ -331,7 +331,7 @@ impl StoredRecords {
 /// one file. Distinct from the entry id, which is what a user addresses.
 /// Falls back to the task's own uuid when no identity was supplied, which
 /// keeps such a task on a file of its own rather than colliding with others.
-fn materialization_id_for(task: &PersistedRecordingTask) -> String {
+pub fn materialization_id_for(task: &PersistedRecordingTask) -> String {
     if task.media_identity.is_empty() {
         return format!("mat-uuid:{}", task.uuid);
     }