245 lines
7.8 KiB
Markdown
245 lines
7.8 KiB
Markdown
---
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title: Supported Media Folder Structures and Naming
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description: Accurate reference for the folder layouts and filename patterns Silo supports today.
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summary: Supported movie and series organization rules, naming conventions, and known ambiguous cases.
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tags:
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- silo
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- docs
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- wiki
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- libraries
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- scanner
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- metadata
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audience:
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- operator
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- end-user
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last_reviewed: 2026-04-11
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related:
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- ../index.md
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---
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# Supported Media Folder Structures and Naming
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This page documents the folder layouts and filename conventions that Silo supports today.
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It is based on the current scanner, naming, and metadata-matching code paths, plus a validation pass
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against the dev anime library on `2026-04-11`.
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All examples in this page use generic placeholder names rather than real media titles.
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## Core Rules
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- Movies and series do not have the same requirements.
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- Series are expected to be contained within a single parent show folder.
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- Movies can be stored either in a dedicated movie folder or as loose files.
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- Mixed libraries are supported, but they rely on heuristics and are more likely to become ambiguous
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when names and folders are inconsistent.
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- Provider ID tags such as `{tvdb-12345}`, `{tmdb-12345}`, or `{imdb-tt1234567}` are strongly
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recommended because they improve matching and reduce ambiguity.
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## Supported Series Layouts
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### Recommended series layout
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```text
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/television/Show Name (2024) {tvdb-12345}/Season 01/Show Name - S01E01 - Pilot.mkv
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```
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This is the clearest and most reliable structure for series.
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### Also supported
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Series content is supported in these layouts:
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- Show folder with `Season XX` directories.
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- Show folder with `Season XX - extra text` directories, such as arc names.
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- Show folder with numeric season directories like `01` when the surrounding context still looks
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like series content.
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- Show folder with `Specials` directories.
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- Show folder with `Extras` directories. Silo maps these to season `0`.
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- Show folder with episode files directly under the show folder when the filenames contain a
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supported episodic token such as `S01E03`.
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Examples:
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```text
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/tv/Series Name (2008)/Season 01/Series.Name.S01E01.mkv
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/tv/Show Name/Specials/Show.Name.S00E01.mkv
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/tv/Show Name/Extras/Show.Name.S00E01.mkv
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/mixed/Show Name/01/Show Name S01E03.mkv
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/mixed/Show Name/Show Name S01E03.mkv
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```
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One narrow edge case is worth calling out separately:
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```text
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/television/anime/Series Name/Season 01 - Arc 01 - Arc Name/Series.Name.E01.1080p.mkv
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```
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That kind of path can still help Silo recognize the show root because the folder layout is
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strong, but bare `E01` is not a generally supported episode parsing format.
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## Supported Episode Filename Patterns
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Silo currently treats `SxxExx` as the supported episode token.
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Supported examples:
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```text
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Show Name - S01E01 - Pilot.mkv
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Show Name.S01E03.mkv
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Show Name - S00E01 - Special.mkv
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Show Name - S01E01.001 - Pilot [Bluray-1080p][x265].mkv
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```
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Important details:
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- The parser only needs the `SxxExx` part. Extra text after it is tolerated.
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- Decimal suffixes such as `S01E01.001` are supported because the parser still recognizes the
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leading `S01E01`.
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- Release metadata and noisy suffixes after the episode token are tolerated as long as the file
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still contains a valid `SxxExx` token.
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- `Specials` and `Extras` use season `0`, so `S00E01` is supported.
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Representative validated pattern from the dev server:
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```text
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Series Name (2017) - S01E01.001 - Episode Title [Bluray-1080p][10bit][x265][AC3 5.1][EN+JA]-GROUP][.mkv
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```
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## Series Patterns That Are Not Reliably Supported
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These patterns should be treated as unsupported or ambiguous:
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- Unrelated episodes from different series thrown into the same folder.
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- Episode files that use only absolute numbering, such as `Stone Ocean 24.mkv`, without `SxxExx`.
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- Bare `E01` filenames as a general naming convention.
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Silo has a narrow test case where `E01` still helps identify a season-folder layout, but it
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is not a generally supported episode parsing format.
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- Series files with no clear show folder, no supported episode token, and no provider-tagged parent
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folder.
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If a series library contains a flat dump of unrelated episodes, Silo can collapse them into
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the same inferred root because the current model assumes one parent show folder per series.
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When Silo cannot confidently classify or reconcile a root, it can surface the content as an
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explicitly ambiguous item instead of auto-matching it. In practice, unsupported layouts often show
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up as ambiguous or pending items rather than as clean matches.
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## Supported Movie Layouts
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Movies are more flexible than series.
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### Recommended movie layout
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```text
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/movies/Movie Name (2016)/Movie.Name.2016.1080p.BluRay.mkv
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```
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### Also supported
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- Loose movie files in a movie library.
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- Dedicated movie folders with provider tags.
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- Release-style filenames inside a trusted movie folder.
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Examples:
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```text
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/movies/Movie Name (2016)/Movie.Name.2016.1080p.BluRay.mkv
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/movies/Movie Name [imdbid-tt1234567]/Movie Name.mp4
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/movies/Loose Movie.2024.2160p.WEB-DL.mkv
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/movies/Movie Name {imdb-tt1234567} {tmdb-12345}/Movie.Name (2023) [Remux-1080p].mkv
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```
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Silo can infer a synthetic root for a truly loose movie file when there is no trusted movie
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folder around it.
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## Supported Mixed-Library Behavior
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Mixed libraries are supported, but they are heuristic-driven.
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Silo resolves mixed-library content roughly like this:
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- If the path has season structure, it is treated as series.
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- If the enclosing folder looks like a movie folder, it is treated as a movie.
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- If the filename contains `SxxExx`, it is treated as series.
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- Otherwise it falls back to movie.
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This means mixed libraries can work well, but they are less deterministic than separate movie and
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series libraries.
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## Provider Tags
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Provider tags are supported in folder names and are strongly recommended.
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Supported formats include:
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```text
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Series Name (2024) {tvdb-12345}
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Movie Name (2024) {tmdb-12345}
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Movie Name [imdbid-tt1234567]
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```
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Benefits of provider tags:
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- More reliable initial skeleton creation.
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- Better deduplication.
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- Less ambiguity in mixed libraries.
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- Better resilience when release filenames diverge from the human title.
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## Sidecar Files and Supplemental Files
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Silo often sees sidecar files that mirror the media basename:
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- `.nfo`
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- `.bif`
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- `-thumb.jpg`
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- `tvshow.nfo`
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- `season.nfo`
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- posters, banners, logos, and fanart
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These are common and expected. Episode naming guidance in this page refers to the media files
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themselves, but sidecars may legitimately reuse the same stem.
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Some movie supplemental content is intentionally skipped, such as:
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- `Featurettes`
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- `Behind the Scenes`
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- `Deleted Scenes`
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- `Trailers`
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- `Sample.mkv`
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## What The Dev Anime Library Validated
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A large anime series library on the dev server was audited to validate that this page reflects
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real-world usage and not just unit tests.
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Observed on `2026-04-11`:
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- `4038` top-level show directories.
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- `4029` show directories with at least one `Season XX` directory.
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- `1184` show directories with a `Specials` directory.
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- `4036` show directories with a provider tag in the folder name.
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- `474304` files matching `SxxExx.xxx`.
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- `87289` `.mkv` files matching `SxxExx.xxx`.
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That makes `SxxExx.xxx` an important supported pattern, not a corner case.
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## Recommended Practices
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- Put every series inside its own parent show folder.
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- Use `Season XX` and `Specials` when possible.
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- Include the year in the top-level folder when it is known.
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- Add provider tags when you can.
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- Keep movies and series in separate libraries unless you specifically want mixed-library
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heuristics.
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- Do not rely on flat folders of unrelated episodes.
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## Source References
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- `internal/naming/filename.go`
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- `internal/naming/root_inference.go`
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- `internal/scanner/scanner.go`
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- `internal/metadata/service.go`
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- `internal/naming/filename_test.go`
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- `internal/scanner/root_observation_test.go`
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- `internal/metadata/service_test.go`
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