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FMO Features

Tag-Based Organization

Tags are the primary way to organize and categorize entities in FMO. Unlike traditional folders, tags allow multi-dimensional classification.

Adding Tags

You can add tags to entities in several ways:

Via Entity Editor: 1. Select an entity 2. In the Tags section, type a tag name 3. Press Enter to add the tag 4. Tags are auto-saved

Via YAML Template:

tags:
  - rock
  - 2024
  - favorite

Via Clipboard Actions: 1. Add entities to clipboard 2. Go to Clipboard Actions 3. Use "Add Tags to Clipboard"

Tag Features

  • Spaces allowed: Tag names can contain spaces (dead kennedys, classic rock)
  • Hierarchical: Use / separator for nested tags (/artist/punk)
  • No duplicates: Duplicate tags are automatically removed
  • Weight-based: Tags can have weights for relevance scoring

Tag Categories

Use / as a separator to create hierarchical categories:

/artist/dead-kennedys
/genre/punk
/decade/1980s
/rating/5-stars

This makes it easy to browse related tags and maintain organization.

Bulk Tag Operations

  • Add tags to clipboard: Apply tags to all entities in clipboard
  • Replace tags: Replace all tags on selected entities
  • Clear tags: Remove all tags from selected entities

Attributes

Attributes are key-value pairs that store custom metadata about entities.

Adding Attributes

Via Entity Editor: 1. Select an entity 2. In the Attributes section, add key-value pairs 3. Changes are auto-saved

Via YAML Template:

year: 2024
artist: "Dead Kennedys"
album: "Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables"
bpm: 180
duration: 145

Attribute Types

Attributes support various value types:

Type Example
String artist: "Dead Kennedys"
Number year: 2024
Boolean complete: true
Array instruments: ["guitar", "bass"]
Object metadata: { format: "mp3", bitrate: 320 }

Auto-Extraction

FMO automatically extracts attributes from files:

  • EXIF data from images (camera, date, location)
  • ID3 tags from audio files (artist, album, genre)
  • FFmpeg metadata from video files (duration, codec)

Attribute Templates

Create reusable attribute templates for consistent data entry:

  1. Go to Templates → Attribute Templates
  2. Create a template with common attributes
  3. Apply template to entities when adding them

Search & Query

FMO uses a custom query syntax for powerful searches.

Query Syntax

Tag Queries

Search for entities with specific tags:

rock            # Entities tagged with "rock"
"dead kennedys" # Tags with spaces (use quotes)

Boolean Operators

Combine tags with AND/OR:

rock & 2024      # Entities with both "rock" and "2024"
rock | metal      # Entities with "rock" OR "metal"
rock & -metal    # Entities with "rock" but NOT "metal"

Attribute Queries

Search by attribute values:

@year:2024                  # Entities with year attribute = 2024
@year:>2020                 # Entities with year > 2020
@year:2020-2024             # Range query
@artist:"dead kennedys"      # String match
@duration:>180               # Duration > 180 seconds
@complete:true               # Boolean match

Operators: - = - Equal - != - Not equal - > - Greater than - < - Less than - >= - Greater or equal - <= - Less or equal - like - Pattern matching with wildcards

Search by filename or path:

~example          # Entities with "example" in path/filename
~*.mp3           # Entities ending with .mp3

Category Tags

Use / for hierarchical tag search:

/artist/punk     # Exact category match

Complex Queries

Combine multiple conditions:

rock & (@year:2020-2024 | @year:2025) & -pop

This finds: - Entities tagged with "rock" - AND (year between 2020-2024 OR year equals 2025) - AND NOT tagged with "pop"

Query Examples

Query Description
rock & 2024 Rock music from 2024
@rating:>=4 Entities with rating 4 or higher
~holiday Files with "holiday" in the path
"dead kennedys" & punk Dead Kennedys punk songs
@duration:<180 & @bpm:>140 Short, fast tracks

Saved Searches

Save frequently used queries for quick access:

  1. Execute a search
  2. Click "Save Search"
  3. Name the search
  4. Access from Saved Searches list

Search History

FMO maintains a history of recent searches: - Auto-saves each query - Limited to 50 items - Quick access via dropdown

Variables

Variables are database-level settings that control FMO's behavior.

System Variables

System variables apply across all databases:

Variable Description
system_db_path Path to system database
default_database Default database ID

Database Variables

Database variables apply to a specific database:

File Filtering

Variable Description Example
file_types Allowed file extensions ["mp3", "wav", "ogg"]
file_filter Custom file filters See below
directory_filter Custom directory filters See below

Custom Filters

Filters support multiple types:

Contains filter:

contains:
  - pattern: "temp"
    type: "exclude"

Exact filter:

exact:
  - name: "node_modules"
    type: "exclude"

Glob filter:

glob:
  - pattern: "*.log"
    type: "exclude"

Regex filter:

regex:
  - pattern: "temp.*"
    type: "exclude"

Variable Templates

Save variable configurations as templates for reuse:

  1. Configure variables in Settings
  2. Go to Templates → Tag Templates
  3. Create a template
  4. Apply template to other databases

Clipboard

The clipboard system allows bulk operations on multiple entities.

Using the Clipboard

Add to clipboard: - Click the clipboard icon on any entity - Select multiple entities and use "Add to Clipboard"

Clipboard panel: - View all clipboard items - Remove individual items - Clear entire clipboard - Collapse/expand panel

Clipboard Actions

Access bulk operations from Clipboard Actions:

Export formats: - M3U8: Playlist file for media players - TXT: Simple text list of file paths - JSON: Structured data export

Tag operations: - Add tags to all clipboard items - Replace tags on all clipboard items

Attribute operations: - Set attributes on all clipboard items

Bulk actions: - Delete all clipboard entities - Copy all paths to system clipboard

Browse View

The browse view provides paginated access to all entities.

Browse Targets

Browse can show different entity sets:

  • Default: All entities in database
  • Search: Entities matching a saved query
  • List: Custom entity list (e.g., clipboard)

Pagination

  • Customizable page size
  • Navigate with Next/Previous
  • Jump to specific page

Sorting

Sort entities by: - ID - Name - Path - Size - Created/Updated dates - Any attribute

Sort order: Ascending or descending

Entity Editor

Edit all aspects of an entity:

Basic Fields

  • Name: Display name
  • Description: Free-form description
  • Path: File path (auto-populated)

Tags

  • Add/remove tags
  • Edit tag weights
  • View tag statistics

Attributes

  • Add/edit/delete key-value pairs
  • Auto-extracted attributes (read-only)
  • Custom attributes (editable)

File Info

  • Filename: Original filename
  • Size: File size
  • MD5: File checksum
  • Modified: File modification date

Reimport

Reimport entity to refresh auto-extracted data: - Re-scans file - Updates EXIF/ID3 data - Preserves manual tags/attributes

Import & Export

Directory Import

Import files from a directory:

  1. Go to Entity → Import from Directory
  2. Select directory path
  3. Configure options:
  4. Follow symlinks
  5. Include subdirectories
  6. Custom templates
  7. Start import

Progress tracking: - Real-time progress indicator - Shows current file and count - Cancel any time

Database Import/Export

Import database: 1. Go to Databases 2. Click Import 3. Select SQLite file

Export database: 1. Go to Databases 2. Select database 3. Click Export

JSON Import/Export

Import/export entities as JSON:

Format:

[
  {
    "path": "/path/to/file.mp3",
    "name": "Song Name",
    "attributes": {
      "tags": ["rock", "2024"],
      "year": 2024
    }
  }
]

Media Player

FMO includes an inline media player for audio/video files.

Features

  • Play entities directly from search results
  • Queue multiple files
  • Basic controls: play/pause, skip, volume
  • Progress tracking
  • View/play tracking for statistics

Keyboard Shortcuts

  • Space: Play/Pause
  • Arrow keys: Seek
  • V: Toggle volume

Thumbnails

FMO generates thumbnails for visual files:

Automatic Generation

  • Thumbnails created when entities are viewed
  • Stored in database
  • Used in browse view

Manual Regeneration

  1. Go to Tools → Thumbnail Regenerator
  2. Select criteria (all, by tag, by date)
  3. Start regeneration

Statistics

View statistics about your database:

Tag Statistics

  • Count of entities per tag
  • Most popular tags
  • Tag combinations

View/Play Tracking

  • Most viewed entities
  • Recently viewed
  • Play counts

History

  • Search history
  • Entity history
  • Clear history options

Templates

Attribute Templates

Pre-defined attribute sets for consistent data entry:

# Music template
artist: null
album: null
year: null
genre: null
bpm: null
duration: null

Tag Templates

Pre-defined tag sets for quick categorization:

tags:
  - music
  - 2024
  - rock

Apply Templates

Templates can be applied when: - Adding entities from file - Importing from directory - Bulk editing clipboard items

File Reassociation

When files are moved or renamed, reassociate entities:

  1. Go to System → File Reassociation
  2. FMO detects moved/missing files
  3. Review and confirm associations
  4. Update entity paths

Duplicate Detection

Find duplicate entities:

  1. Go to Tools → Duplicate Detection
  2. Search by MD5 checksum
  3. Review potential duplicates
  4. Merge or delete as needed

Data Conversion

Convert data between formats:

Tag Conversions

  • Convert tags to attributes
  • Convert attributes to tags
  • Rename tags

Attribute Conversions

  • Change attribute names
  • Convert attribute types
  • Merge attributes

System Settings

Database Management

  • Create new databases
  • Import/export databases
  • Delete databases
  • Set default database

File Handling

  • Configure file type filters
  • Set directory filters
  • Configure watch folders

MCP Server

  • Start/stop MCP server
  • Configure port
  • View connection status

License

License Management

  • View license status
  • Check expiration
  • Renew license
  • Activate new license