This document defines filename schemes for digital manga content consisting of image files (pages) inside archives. Rules are defined for how to name both the archive files and the image files inside said archives.
- Filenames should always sort properly in chronological chapter order under any and all circumstances.
- Filenames should never have to be renamed after release to ensure proper sorting.
- No guessing should ever be necessary when naming files.
- All filenames should be machine-parseable in a reasonable manner.
- One should be able to repack multiple archives together.
- One should be able to repack compilation archives back into separate archives.
- In other words, repacking should always be a lossless operation information-wise.
Open an issue if you have ideas for how the scheme could be improved.
- Name of Manga is required. A full title must always be used. New releases must use the same title as older releases. For first releases with no older releases to go by, here is how the title should be decided:
- Japanese should be romanized with Hepburn romanization. Long vowels (ō, ū, etc) are to be written without macrons (ou, uu, etc).
- Non-Japanese katakana words should be romanized to the matching language (eg. レールガン should become "Railgun").
- If a kanji is given a foreign katakana reading, the previous also applies (eg. 超電磁砲 read as レールガン should be "Railgun", not "Choudenjihou")
- If the series has a canonical English / Western name from the original author(s) to go with its Japanese kanji title, it should be used instead of romanizing the Japanese kanji. Examples:
- シドニアの騎士 should use "Knights of Sidonia", not "Sidonia no Kishi"
- 蒼き鋼のアルペジオ should use "Arpeggio of Blue Steel", not "Aoki Hagane no Arpeggio"
- 鋼の錬金術師 should use "Fullmetal Alchemist", not "Hagane no Renkinjutsushi"
- 進撃の巨人 should use "Attack on Titan", not "Shingeki no Kyojin"
- Title Case should be used for capitalization.
- [lang] is a three-letter ISO-639-2 language code required for Non-English releases. English releases are required to omit this.
- c000 chapter number is required. If multiple chapters are included (eg. if you are doing a full volume release), the range must be indicated with the -000. Chapter numbers must be padded to three digits minimum.
- If a series start with no clear chapter numbering of its own, the c must be dropped so that only numbers remain.
- Oneshots should be numbered as 000, with no c in front. [Extra Information] stating that it is a oneshot should be included.
- If the series starts using clear chapter numbers at some point afterwards, then the c must be reintroduced.
- If chapter numbers go into four digits, the c must be changed into d to ensure correct sorting.
- With chapter ranges, the second number must not have any unit associated with it, unless a numbering system transition happens.
- Examples:
Some Oneshot That Gets Serialized - 000 (mag) [Oneshot] [Group].zip
Some Oneshot That Gets Serialized - c001 (mag) [Group].zip
Some Oneshot That Gets Serialized - c002 (mag) [Group].zip
Unnumbered Initial Chapters - 001-003 (v01) [Group].zip
Unnumbered Initial Chapters - 009-014 (v04) [Group].zip
Unnumbered Initial Chapters - 015-c006 (v05) [Group].zip
Unnumbered Initial Chapters - c007-016 (v06) [Group].zip
Very Large Chapter Numbers - c998 (mag) [Group].zip
Very Large Chapter Numbers - c999 (mag) [Group].zip
Very Large Chapter Numbers - d1000 (mag) [Group].zip
Very Large Chapter Numbers - d1001 (mag) [Group].zip
Very Large Chapter Numbers Bunched - c986-995 (v98) [Group].zip
Very Large Chapter Numbers Bunched - c996-d1005 (v99) [Group].zip
Very Large Chapter Numbers Bunched - d1006-1015 (v99) [Group].zip
Very Unrealistic But Technically Possible - 000-d1500 (mag) [Group].zip
- x0 is intended to be used with chapters that deviate from a clear numbering system (eg. decimal chapter numbers like 10.5) already in place and must be used for these, and must be left out for regular chapters. [Extra Information] is recommended in these cases to specify the type of the chapter. If sequential special chapters go beyond one digit, x is to be changed to y. In the rare case of specials going to three digits in the same sequence, z is to be used. Similar logic applies to archives containing multiple special chapters as to regular chapters. Examples:
Serialized in Two Magazines - c001 (mag) [Magazine One] [Group].zip
Serialized in Two Magazines - c001x1 (mag) [Magazine Two] [Group].zip
Serialized in Two Magazines - c002 (mag) [Magazine One] [Group].zip
Serialized in Two Magazines - c002x1 (mag) [Magazine Two] [Group].zip
Lots of Bonus Chapters - c014 (mag) [Group].zip
Lots of Bonus Chapters - c014x1 (mag) [Extra] [Group].zip
Lots of Bonus Chapters - c014x2 (mag) [Special Arc 1] [Group].zip
Lots of Bonus Chapters - c014x3 (mag) [Special Arc 2] [Group].zip
Lots of Bonus Chapters - c014x4 (mag) [Special Arc 3] [Group].zip
Lots of Bonus Chapters - c014x5 (mag) [Special Arc 4] [Group].zip
Lots of Bonus Chapters - c015 (mag) [Group].zip
Lots of Bonus Chapters - c015x1 (mag) [Extra] [Group].zip
Lots of Bonus Chapters Compilation - c015x2-5 (mag) [Extra] [Group].zip
Big Chapters with Subchapters - c001-001x8 (v01) [Group].zip
Big Chapters with Subchapters - c001x9-002y10 (v02) [Group].zip
Big Chapters with Subchapters - c002y11 (mag) [Group].zip
Big Chapters with Subchapters - c003x1 (mag) [Group].zip
Big Chapters with Subchapters - c003x2 (mag) [Group].zip
Big Chapters with Subchapters - c003x3 (mag) [Group].zip
Big Chapters with Subchapters - c003x4-7 (mag) [Group].zip
Big Chapters with Subchapters - c003x8 (mag) [Group].zip
Big Chapters with Subchapters - c003x9-004x3 (v04) [Group].zip
Way Too Much Bonus Chapters - c020x8 (v04) [Group].zip
Way Too Much Bonus Chapters - c020x9 (v04) [Group].zip
Way Too Much Bonus Chapters - c020y10 (v04) [Group].zip
Way Too Much Bonus Chapters - c020y11 (v04) [Group].zip
- (mag) or (web) (v00) or (mix) is required - all magazine scans must use the first one, all non-volume web releases must use the second one, all tankoubon releases (whether scans or digital) must use the third one, with the appropriate volume number, and any mixed content containing pages from, magazines, web versions and/or volumes must use the third option. Volume numbers are unallowed for magazine scans and web releases. If multiple volumes are included in a single archive, the range must be indicated with the -00. However, this is not recommended. The range is required not to include an unit unless a range transition happens, ie. v99-w100. Volume numbers must be padded to two digits minimum. If no volume number is present, (v00) must be used. If volume numbers go beyond two digits, v is to be changed to w to ensure proper sorting. Anthologies are considered to be magazines.
- [Extra Information] is optional. It is recommended to use it for describing the nature of the content if there is something noteworthy about it, such as a volume extra being described as [Omake].
- [Group] is required. If group is not known, [Unknown] must be used. If the work in the archive was a collaboration between two or more groups, the labeling should be in the format of [GroupA & GroupB & GroupC]. However, if the archive simply mixes work from two or more separate groups, the group label should be [Various].
- {revision} is optional. Recommended formatting is either {r0} or {v0}.
- .zip A file extension is required. Zip is the recommended archive format due to its universality.
Name of Manga - 000 (mag) [Oneshot from Comic Q] [Unknown].zip
Name of Manga - c001-005x1 (v01) [Unknown].zip
Name of Manga - c006-010 (v02) [FooScans].zip
Name of Manga - c010x1 (v02) [Omake] [FooScans].zip
Name of Manga - c011 (v03) [FooScans].zip
Name of Manga - c012-013 (mag) [BarScans].zip
Name of Manga - c014 (mag) [BarScans].zip
Name of Manga - c014 (mag) [BarScans]{v2}.zip
Name of Manga - c015 (mag) [BarScans].zip
Name of Manga - c015x1 (v03) [Omake] [FooScans].zip
Name of Manga - c015x2 (v03) [Extras] [FooScans].zip
Name of Manga - c016-020x1 (v04) [FooScans].zip
Name of Manga [jpn] - c011-015x2 (v03) [Unknown].zip
Name of Manga [jpn] - c014 (mag) [Unknown].zip
Name of Manga [lang] - c000x0 (mag/web/mix/v00) - p000 [Extra Information] [Group]{revision}.png/jpg
This will define how to name individual pages inside archives. Details to follow.