5.1. Howdy TV Command Line Utilities

This section describes the seven Howdy Howdy TV command line utilities.

  • get_tv_batch finds new episodes of TV shows that already exist on the Plex server.

  • get_tv_tor finds Magnet links of television shows, and by default prints out the chosen magnet link. This executable uses the Jackett server to search for TV shows, and can optionally upload these links to the specified Deluge server (see Section 2.2).

  • howdy_tv_epinfo creates a JSON file of the dict of episodes associated with a TV show, and uploads this JSON episodes file to the SSH server, and remote subdirectory (see Section 2.2). This JSON file can be used to rename episodes in a season or TV show that has been downloaded by the Deluge server.

  • howdy_tv_epname prints out information by season or by episode for a TV show.

  • howdy_tv_futureshows summarizes information on those TV shows, that exist in the Plex server, that will air new seasons.

  • howdy_tv_plots creates eye chart summary plots, by calendar year, of TV shows that have aired in a given year. These plots are in SVGZ format.

  • howdy_tv_excludes administers selects those TV shows, that exist on the Plex server, that we want to exclude from automatic update.

5.1.1. get_tv_batch

The help output, when running get_tv_batch -h, produces the following. Here, $(num_cores) is TWICE the number of CPUs on the Plex server. This code is currently designed to be run ONLY on the Plex server.

usage: get_tv_batch [-h] [--maxtime MAXTIME_IN_SECS] [--num NUM_ITERS] [--token TOKEN] [-D {None,info,debug}] [--numthreads NUMTHREADS]
                    [--nomax] [--nomin] [-r] [-F [FILTER ...]]

options:
  -h, --help            show this help message and exit
  --maxtime MAXTIME_IN_SECS
                        The maximum amount of time to spend (in seconds), per candidate magnet link, trying to download a TV show. Default is
                        1000 seconds.
  --num NUM_ITERS       The maximum number of different magnet links to try before giving up. Default is 2.
  --token TOKEN         Optional argument. If chosen, user provided Plex access token.
  -D {None,info,debug}, --debuglevel {None,info,debug}
                        Choose the debug level for the system logger. Default is None (no logging). Can be one of None (no logging), info, or
                        debug.
  --numthreads NUMTHREADS
                        Number of threads over which to search for TV shows in my library. Default is 16.
  --nomax               If chosen, do not restrict maximum size of downloaded file.
  --nomin               If chosen, do not restrict minimum size of downloaded file.
  -r, --raw             If chosen, then use the raw string to specify TV show torrents.
  -F [FILTER ...], --filter [FILTER ...]
                        List of strings on which to filter for the magnet link name.

To better understand the command line switches (flags and inputs), we describe how the this executable, which searches for new episodes of TV shows on the Plex server on a given day, works.

  1. by default, this does a Magnet link search for an episode using its IMDb info, and looks for those episodes whose download sizes are 80% to 120% of the average size of episodes that already exist for that TV show on the Plex server.

  1. by default, the number of threads this executable uses for its work is TWICE the number of CPUs on the Plex server.

  1. For a given episode that has been aired but is missing from the Plex server, this will wait for MAXTIME_IN_SECS seconds to fully download an episode from its Magnet link, and will only search through the NUM_ITERS top choices of Magnet links found for each episode. The choices for Magnet links for an episode are ordered by the sum of its number of seeders and leechers (see get_tv_tor).

Here are the common flags and command line inputs.

  • --token allows you to explicitly set the Plex access token for the server.

  • -D or --debuglevel specifies the amount of system logging into STDOUT that you want to show. The default choice is None (no logging). If info, then it prints out INFO level logging output. If debug, then it prints out DEBUG level logging output.

Here are the command line inputs that change the operation of this execution.

  • --maxtime_in_secs sets the maximum number of seconds that a given thread will wait for an episode Magnet link to download (see point #3). This must be positive.

  • --nums sets the number of top choices of Magnet links through which to search (see point #3). This must be positive.

  • --numthreads sets the number of threads used for downloading new episodes onto the Plex server (see point #2).

  • The --nomin flag means that there is no lower limit to the size of episode files to be downloaded onto the Plex server (see point #1).

  • The --nomax flag means that there is no upper limit to the size of episode files to be downloaded onto the Plex server (see point #1).

  • The -r or --raw flag does not use the default IMDB information to search for the torrent. Instead it uses the full string to search for the episode (see point #1).

  • The -F or --filter is relatively new functionality. It allows us to filter on types of TV show files we want to download, which looks for magnet files with those strings in them. We can use multiple filters on top of each other.

Here is a demonstration of its operation, searching for new episodes to download on the Plex server on Sunday, 20 October 2019. The Great British Bake-Off is going to be ignored because this show has been excluded for identification and searches. The output format during evaluation is descriptive because the process can take more than a few seconds.

tanim-desktop $ get_tv_batch

0, started on October 20, 2019 @ 05:34:46 PM
1, found TV library: TV Shows.
2, excluding these TV shows: The Great British Bake Off.
3, took 22.912 seconds to get list of 4 episodes to download.
4, here are the 4 episodes to get: Bob's Burgers S10E04, Family Guy S18E04, Mr. Robot S04E03, The Simpsons S31E04.
started downloading 4 episodes on October 20, 2019 @ 05:35:09 PM
successfully processed 0 / 4 episodes in 69.244 seconds.
could not download Bob's Burgers S10E04, Family Guy S18E04, Mr. Robot S04E03, The Simpsons S31E04.
processed from start to finish in 69.244 seconds.
5, everything done in 92.156 seconds.
6, finished on October 20, 2019 @ 05:36:19 PM.

Here, there were four new episodes to download: Bob’s Burgers S10E04, Family Guy S18E04, Mr. Robot S04E03, and The Simpsons S31E04. One can find it very useful to run this executable through an automated process. Here is an example systemd user unit file (get_tv_batch.service) and timer file (get_tv_batch.timer) to run get_tv_batch every day at 130 AM, 630 PM, and 930 PM. One can follow instructions on how to set up and run systemd user units.

  • copy get_tv_batch.service and get_tv_batch.timer to the ~/.config/systemd/user directory.

  • replace $PLEXSTUFF_DIR with the path to get_tv_batch.

  • register the unit and timer with systemd by running systemctl --user enable get_tv_batch.service and systemctl --user enable get_tv_batch.timer.

  • start the unit with timer by running systemctl --user start get_tv_batch.service.

5.1.2. get_tv_tor

The help output, when running get_tv_tor -h, produces the following.

usage: get_tv_tor [-h] -n NAME [--maxnum MAXNUM] [-r] [-f FILENAME] [-a] [-i] [--noverify] [-F [FILTER ...]]

options:
  -h, --help            show this help message and exit
  -n NAME, --name NAME  Name of the TV show to get.
  --maxnum MAXNUM       Maximum number of torrents to look through. Default is 10.
  -r, --raw             If chosen, then use the raw string (for jackett) to download the torrent.
  -f FILENAME, --filename FILENAME
                        If defined, put torrent or magnet link into filename.
  -a, --add             If chosen, push the magnet link into the deluge server.
  -i, --info            If chosen, run in info mode.
  --noverify            If chosen, do not verify SSL connections.
  -F [FILTER ...], --filter [FILTER ...]
                        List of strings on which to filter for the magnet link name.

These are common flags used by all standard operations of this CLI.

  • -i or --info prints out INFO level logging output.

  • --noverify does not verify SSL connections.

The -n or --name flag is used to specify the TV show and episode, for example The Simpsons S30E10 (The Simpsons, season 30 and episode 10)

Here is how to get an episode, The Simpsons S30E10. We choose a given Magnet link by number, and the Magnet URI is printed out. The choices are sorted by the total number of seeds (SE) and leechers (LE) found for that link. By default, the IMDb information for this episode (TV show and season) is used to look for Magnet links.

tanim-desktop $ get_tv_tor -n "The Simpsons S30E10"
Choose TV episode or series:
1: The Simpsons s30e10 720p WEB x264-300M (1 SE, 17 LE)
2: The Simpsons S30E10 720p WEB x264-TBS[TGx] (5 SE, 12 LE)
3: The Simpsons S30E10 XviD-AFG[TGx] (0 SE, 14 LE)
4: The Simpsons S30E10 Tis the 30th Season 1080p AMZN WEB-DL DD+5 1 H 264-QOQ[TGx] (5 SE, 5 LE)
5: The Simpsons S30E10 WEB x264-TBS[ettv] (8 SE, 1 LE)
6: The Simpsons S30E10 1080P WEB-DL DD5 1 H 264 (3 SE, 5 LE)
7: The Simpsons S30E10 1080p WEB x264-TBS[TGx] (2 SE, 6 LE)
8: The Simpsons S30E10 720p WEB x265-MiNX[TGx] (0 SE, 8 LE)
9: The Simpsons S30E10 720p WEB x264-TBS[ettv] (1 SE, 6 LE)
10: The Simpsons S30E10 720p WEB x264-TBS [eztv] (5 SE, 1 LE)
1
Chosen TV show: The Simpsons s30e10 720p WEB x264-300M
magnet:?xt=urn:btih:17f7373e9e7e0343370191a3173e0f69ce02dbc1&dn=The+Simpsons+s30e10+720p+WEB+x264-300M&tr=udp%3A%2F%2Ftracker.opentrackr.org%3A1337%2Fannounce&tr=udp%3A%2F%2Fopen.demonii.com%3A1337&tr=udp%3A%2F%2Ftracker.pomf.se%3A80%2Fannounce&tr=udp%3A%2F%2Ftorrent.gresille.org%3A80%2Fannounce&tr=udp%3A%2F%2F11.rarbg.com%2Fannounce&tr=udp%3A%2F%2F11.rarbg.com%3A80%2Fannounce&tr=udp%3A%2F%2Fopen.demonii.com%3A1337%2Fannounce&tr=udp%3A%2F%2Ftracker.openbittorrent.com%3A80&tr=http%3A%2F%2Ftracker.ex.ua%3A80%2Fannounce&tr=http%3A%2F%2Ftracker.ex.ua%2Fannounce&tr=http%3A%2F%2Fbt.careland.com.cn%3A6969%2Fannounce&tr=udp%3A%2F%2Fglotorrents.pw%3A6969%2Fannounce

We can modify this command with the following.

  • -f or --filename is used to output the Magnet URI into a file,

    tanim-desktop $ get_tv_tor -n "The Simpsons S30E10" -f simpsons_s30e10.magnet

Choose TV episode or series:
1: The Simpsons s30e10 720p WEB x264-300M (1 SE, 17 LE)
2: The Simpsons S30E10 720p WEB x264-TBS[TGx] (5 SE, 12 LE)
3: The Simpsons S30E10 XviD-AFG[TGx] (0 SE, 14 LE)
4: The Simpsons S30E10 Tis the 30th Season 1080p AMZN WEB-DL DD+5 1 H 264-QOQ[TGx] (5 SE, 5 LE)
5: The Simpsons S30E10 WEB x264-TBS[ettv] (8 SE, 1 LE)
6: The Simpsons S30E10 1080P WEB-DL DD5 1 H 264 (3 SE, 5 LE)
7: The Simpsons S30E10 1080p WEB x264-TBS[TGx] (2 SE, 6 LE)
8: The Simpsons S30E10 720p WEB x265-MiNX[TGx] (0 SE, 8 LE)
9: The Simpsons S30E10 720p WEB x264-TBS[ettv] (1 SE, 6 LE)
10: The Simpsons S30E10 720p WEB x264-TBS [eztv] (5 SE, 1 LE)
1
Chosen TV show: The Simpsons s30e10 720p WEB x264-300M

  • -a or --add adds the Magnet URI to the Deluge server. The operation of howdy_deluge_console is described in Section 4.1.3.

    tanim-desktop $ get_tv_tor -n "The Simpsons S30E10" --add
...
tanim-desktop $ howdy_deluge_console info
Name: The Simpsons s30e10 720p WEB x264-300M
ID: 17f7373e9e7e0343370191a3173e0f69ce02dbc1
State: Downloading
Down Speed: 0.0 KiB/s Up Speed: 0.0 KiB/s
Seeds: 0 (0) Peers: 0 (1) Availability: 0.00
Size: 0.0 KiB/0.0 KiB Ratio: -1.000
Seed time: 0 days 00:00:00 Active: 0 days 00:00:03
Tracker status: opentrackr.org: Announce OK
Progress: 0.00% [~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~]

  • The -r or --raw flag does not use the default IMDB information to search for the torrent. Instead it uses the full string (here "The Simpsons S30E10") to search for the episode. Here is an example,

    tanim-desktop $ get_tv_tor -n "The Simpsons S30E10" --raw

Choose TV episode or series:
1: The.Simpsons.S30E10.WEB.x264-TBS[ettv] (159.1 MiB) (1130 SE, 1336 LE)
2: The.Simpsons.S30E10.720p.WEB.x264-TBS[ettv] (444.1 MiB) (488 SE, 596 LE)
3: The Simpsons S30E10 720p WEB x265-MiNX (186.4 MiB) (401 SE, 441 LE)
4: The Simpsons S30E10 WEB x264-TBS (159.1 MiB) (298 SE, 327 LE)
5: The Simpsons S30E10 720p WEB x264-TBS (444.1 MiB) (207 SE, 230 LE)
6: The Simpsons S30E10 WEBRip x264-ION10 (199.2 MiB) (109 SE, 123 LE)
7: [ACESSE COMANDOTORRENTS.COM] The Simpsons S30E10 [720p] [WEB-DL] [DUAL] (373.0 MiB) (45 SE, 51 LE)
8: The.Simpsons.S30E10.720p.WEB.x265-MiNX[eztv].mkv (186.4 MiB) (15 SE, 32 LE)
9: The.Simpsons.S30E10.WEBRip.x264-ION10 (199.2 MiB) (15 SE, 23 LE)
10: The.Simpsons.S30E10.WEB.x264-TBS[ettv] (159.0 MiB) (13 SE, 15 LE)
...

    Notice the differences in these links from the ones before (using the IMDb information).

  • Finally, the -F is relatively new functionality. It allows us to filter on types of TV show files we want to download. We can use multiple filters on top of each other.

    For example, conventionally (as of a few years ago from 22 March 2023) we can filter on HEVC files using the x265 flag.

    tanim-desktop $ get_tv_tor -n "The Simpsons S33E10" --raw -F x265

Choose TV episode or series:
1: The.Simpsons.S33E10.720p.WEB.x265-MiNX[TGx] (122.8 MiB) (202 SE, 216 LE)
2: The Simpsons S33E10 720p WEB x265-MiNX TGx (122.8 MiB) (51 SE, 57 LE)
3: The.Simpsons.S33E10.1080p.x265-ZMNT (339.3 MiB) (30 SE, 40 LE)
4: The Simpsons S33E10 720p WEB x265 (122.8 MiB) (29 SE, 33 LE)
5: The.Simpsons.S33E10.720p.WEB.x265-MiNX[TGx] (122.8 MiB) (27 SE, 30 LE)
6: The.Simpsons.S33E10.720p.WEB.x265-MiNX[TGx] (122.8 MiB) (27 SE, 30 LE)
7: The Simpsons S33E10 1080p HEVC x265-MeGusta TGx (277.8 MiB) (25 SE, 31 LE)
8: The.Simpsons.S33E10.720p.x265-ZMNT (170.9 MiB) (16 SE, 22 LE)
9: The Simpsons S33E10 720p HEVC x265-MeGusta (161.5 MiB) (15 SE, 17 LE)
10: The.Simpsons.S33E10.1080p.HEVC.x265-MeGusta[TGx] (277.8 MiB) (13 SE, 17 LE)

    Notice here that all the magnet link options are HEVC encoded.

5.1.3. howdy_tv_epinfo

The help output, when running howdy_tv_epinfo -h, produces the following.

usage: howdy_tv_epinfo [-h] [-s SHOW] [-j JSONFILE] [--showspecials] [--debug] [--noverify]

optional arguments:
  -h, --help            show this help message and exit
  -s SHOW, --show SHOW  Name of the TV Show to push into remote server.
  -j JSONFILE, --jsonfile JSONFILE
                        Name of the JSON file into which to store the episode information. Default is eps.json.
  --showspecials        If chosen, then also find all the specials.
  --debug               If chosen, then run DEBUG logging.
  --noverify            If chosen, do not verify the SSL connection.

  • -s or --show specifies the show whose information, as a JSON file, is uploaded to the remote SSH server.

  • -j or --jsonfile specifies the name of the JSON file. The file’s name must end in .json.

  • --debug prints out DEBUG level logging output.

  • --showspecials means to also record this TV show’s specials, as a dictionary under season 0.

  • --noverify does not verify SSL connections.

For example, to upload information about The Simpsons into a file, the_simpsons.json, in the remote SSH server and the remote home directory (REMOTE_HOME_DIR).

tanim-desktop $ howdy_tv_epinfo -s "The Simpsons" -j the_simpsons.json
put episode info for "The Simpsons" into REMOTE_HOME_DIR/the_simpsons.json in 7.341 seconds.

This JSON file contains dictionary data. Each key is the season number. Each value is another dictionary – keys are the episode number, and values are the episode names.

{
  "1": {
   "1": "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire",
   "2": "Bart the Genius",
   "3": "Homer's Odyssey",
   "4": "There's No Disgrace Like Home",
   "5": "Bart the General",
   "6": "Moaning Lisa",
   "7": "The Call of the Simpsons",
   "8": "The Telltale Head",
   "9": "Life on the Fast Lane",
   "10": "Homer's Night Out",
   "11": "The Crepes of Wrath",
   "12": "Krusty Gets Busted",
   "13": "Some Enchanted Evening"
  },
...
}

5.1.4. howdy_tv_epname

The help output, when running howdy_tv_epname -h, produces the following.

usage: howdy_tv_epname [-h] -s SERIES [-e EPSTRING] [--summary] [-S SEASON] [--noverify]

optional arguments:
  -h, --help            show this help message and exit
  -s SERIES, --series SERIES
                        The name of the series
  -e EPSTRING, --epstring EPSTRING
                        The episode string, in the form S%02dE%02d.
  --summary             If chosen, get a summary of all the seasons and episodes for the SERIES.
  -S SEASON, --season SEASON
                        If chosen, get a list of all episode titles for this season of the SERIES.
  --noverify            If chosen, do not verify the SSL connection.

The --noverify flag says to not verify SSL connections.

Here are the three ways to get information on episodes for a specified TV show. For the purposes of this demonstration, we will use The Simpsons.

  • To get a summary of all episodes of a TV show (The Simpsons), run howdy_tv_epname -s "The Simpsons" --summary,

    668 episodes for The Simpsons
SEASON 01: 13 episodes
SEASON 02: 22 episodes
SEASON 03: 24 episodes
SEASON 04: 22 episodes
SEASON 05: 22 episodes
SEASON 06: 25 episodes
SEASON 07: 25 episodes
SEASON 08: 25 episodes
SEASON 09: 25 episodes
SEASON 10: 23 episodes
SEASON 11: 22 episodes
SEASON 12: 21 episodes
SEASON 13: 22 episodes
SEASON 14: 22 episodes
SEASON 15: 22 episodes
SEASON 16: 21 episodes
SEASON 17: 22 episodes
SEASON 18: 22 episodes
SEASON 19: 20 episodes
SEASON 20: 21 episodes
SEASON 21: 23 episodes
SEASON 22: 22 episodes
SEASON 23: 22 episodes
SEASON 24: 22 episodes
SEASON 25: 22 episodes
SEASON 26: 22 episodes
SEASON 27: 22 episodes
SEASON 28: 22 episodes
SEASON 29: 21 episodes
SEASON 30: 23 episodes
SEASON 31: 6 episodes

  • To get a summary of episodes aired (so far) for a given season and a TV show, for example run howdy_tv_epname -s "The Simpsons" -S 10.

    23 episodes in SEASON 10 of The Simpsons.
Episode 01/23: Lard of the Dance (Sunday, 23 August 1998)
Episode 02/23: The Wizard of Evergreen Terrace (Sunday, 20 September 1998)
Episode 03/23: Bart the Mother (Sunday, 27 September 1998)
Episode 04/23: Treehouse of Horror IX (Sunday, 25 October 1998)
Episode 05/23: When You Dish Upon a Star (Sunday, 08 November 1998)
Episode 06/23: D'oh-in in the Wind (Sunday, 15 November 1998)
Episode 07/23: Lisa Gets an A (Sunday, 22 November 1998)
Episode 08/23: Homer Simpson in: 'Kidney Trouble' (Sunday, 06 December 1998)
Episode 09/23: Mayored to the Mob (Sunday, 20 December 1998)
Episode 10/23: Viva Ned Flanders (Sunday, 10 January 1999)
Episode 11/23: Wild Barts Can't Be Broken (Sunday, 17 January 1999)
Episode 12/23: Sunday, Cruddy Sunday (Sunday, 31 January 1999)
Episode 13/23: Homer to the Max (Sunday, 07 February 1999)
Episode 14/23: I'm with Cupid (Sunday, 14 February 1999)
Episode 15/23: Marge Simpson in: 'Screaming Yellow Honkers' (Sunday, 21 February 1999)
Episode 16/23: Make Room for Lisa (Sunday, 28 February 1999)
Episode 17/23: Maximum Homerdrive (Sunday, 28 March 1999)
Episode 18/23: Simpsons Bible Stories (Sunday, 04 April 1999)
Episode 19/23: Mom and Pop Art (Sunday, 11 April 1999)
Episode 20/23: The Old Man and the C Student (Sunday, 25 April 1999)
Episode 21/23: Monty Can't Buy Me Love (Sunday, 02 May 1999)
Episode 22/23: They Saved Lisa's Brain (Sunday, 09 May 1999)
Episode 23/23: Thirty Minutes Over Tokyo (Sunday, 16 May 1999)

  • To get summary information on a specific episode, for example run howdy_tv_epname -s "The Simpsons" -e s30e10 (season 30, episode 10).

    tanim-desktop $ howdy_tv_epname -s "The Simpsons" -e s30e10
'Tis the 30th Season (Sunday, 09 December 2018)

5.1.5. howdy_tv_futureshows

The help output, when running howdy_tv_futureshows -h, produces the following.

usage: howdy_tv_futureshows [-h] [--noverify] [--local] [--info]

optional arguments:
  -h, --help  show this help message and exit
  --noverify  If chosen, do not verify the SSL connection.
  --local     Check for locally running plex server.
  --info      If chosen, run with INFO logging mode.

  • --noverify does not verify SSL connections.

  • --local specifies that we look for a local (https://localhost:3400) running Plex server.

  • --info prints out INFO level logging output.

This executable prints out summary information on TV shows, that exist on the Plex server, excluding those shows that will not be searched. In this example, The Great British Bake-Off is going to be ignored. The output format during evaluation is descriptive because the process can take more than a few seconds.

tanim-desktop $ howdy_tv_futureshows
0, started on October 20, 2019 @ 04:30:33 PM
1, found TV library: TV Shows.
2, excluding these TV shows: The Great British Bake Off.
3, Found 11 TV shows with new seasons after October 20, 2019, in 23.104 seconds.

SHOW                          LAST SEASON    NEXT SEASON  AIR DATE              DAYS TO NEW SEASON
--------------------------  -------------  -------------  ------------------  --------------------
Travel Man: 48 Hours in...              9             10  October 21, 2019                       1
BoJack Horseman                         5              6  October 25, 2019                       5
Silicon Valley                          5              6  October 27, 2019                       7
Rick and Morty                          3              4  November 10, 2019                     21
The Man in the High Castle              3              4  November 15, 2019                     26
The Expanse                             3              4  December 13, 2019                     54
Lost in Space (2018)                    1              2  December 24, 2019                     65
Schitt's Creek                          5              6  January 07, 2020                      79
Homeland                                7              8  February 09, 2020                    112
Outlander                               4              5  February 16, 2020                    119
American Crime Story                    2              3  September 27, 2020                   343

4, processed everything in 23.106 seconds.
5, finished everything on October 20, 2019 @ 04:30:56 PM.

5.1.6. howdy_tv_plots

The help output, when running howdy_tv_plots -h, produces the following. $(cwd) refers to the current working directory in which this CLI is run.

usage: howdy_tv_plots [-h] [--years S_YEARS] [--local] [--dirname DIRNAME] [--noverify]

optional arguments:
  -h, --help         show this help message and exit
  --years S_YEARS    Give a list of years as a string, such as "1980,1981". Optional.
  --local            Check for locally running plex server.
  --dirname DIRNAME  Directory into which to store those plots. Default is $(cwd).
  --noverify         If chosen, do not verify SSL connections.

You can choose the calendar year or years for which you want to return eye chart plots of episodes that exist on the Plex server, excluding those shows that will not be searched. In this example, The Great British Bake-Off is going to be ignored. In this example, we look for all episodes in the Plex server that have aired in 2000, 2005, 2010, and 2015. The output format during evaluation is descriptive because the process can take more than a few seconds.

tanim-desktop: docs $ howdy_tv_plots --years 2000,2005,2010,2015
0, started on May 24, 2020 @ 09:23:44 PM
1, found TV library: TV Shows.
2, excluding these TV shows: Lip Sync Battle; Reno 911!; SpongeBob SquarePants.
3, we found 4 years to use: 2000, 2005, 2010, 2015.
4, started processing 4 years of TV shows after 8.152 seconds.
5, finished processing year = 2000 (01 / 04) in 11.539 seconds.
6, finished processing year = 2005 (02 / 04) in 11.862 seconds.
7, finished processing year = 2010 (03 / 04) in 12.710 seconds.
8, finished processing year = 2015 (04 / 04) in 13.196 seconds.
9, processed all 4 years in 13.197 seconds.
10, finished everything on May 24, 2020 @ 09:23:57 PM.

This produces the episode eye charts for 2000, 2005, 2010, and 2015.

tvdata_2000

tvdata_2005

tvdata_2010

tvdata_2015

Here is an example eye chart, for episodes aired in 2000. Each day is colored and annotated by the number of new episodes aired that day, using a legend on the upper left named number of new episodes on a day. Each month also shows the number of new episodes, in the number of TV shows, aired that month. On the upper right summarizes the new episodes aired that year: the number of days on which new episodes aired, the number of new episodes, and the number of shows.

../../_images/tvdata.2000.svg

Fig. 5.1 A summary plot of the TV shows on the Plex server, that have aired in 2000.

5.1.7. howdy_tv_excludes

This CLI can determine, and change, the set of TV shows to exclude from regular update (using the CLI, get_tv_batch). This can only include TV shows that exist on the Plex server. The help output, when running howdy_tv_excludes -h, produces the top level help. It has two operations: show (which shows the TV shows to be excluded), and exclude (where the user specifies which shows to exclude).

usage: howdy_tv_excludes [-h] [--remote] [--noverify] [-L LIBRARY] {show,exclude} ...

positional arguments:
  {show,exclude}        Either show or exclude shows.
    show                Show those TV shows that have been excluded.
    exclude             Exclude a new list of TV shows.

optional arguments:
  -h, --help            show this help message and exit
  --remote              If chosen, do not check localhost for running plex server.
  --noverify            If chosen, do not verify SSL connections.
  -L LIBRARY, --library LIBRARY
                        If named, then choose this as the TV library through which to look. Otherwise, look for first TV library found on Plex server.

Default flags are the following:

  • --remote says to look for a remote Plex server rather than localhost.

  • --noverify means to not verify SSL connections.

  • -L or --library is used to explicitly specify the TV library. If not chosen, then first available TV library is chosen in the Plex server. If a TV library cannot be found, then exit.

In show mode, for example, this is how it looks. Here, we use the default TV library.

tanim-desktop: torrents $ plex_config_excludes show
found 256 TV shows in Plex server.
found 2 / 256 TV shows that are excluded from update.

SHOW
---------------------
Lip Sync Battle
SpongeBob SquarePants

In exclude mode, for example, this is how it looks when we choose to exclude Lip Sync Battle, SpongeBob SquarePants, and Reno 911! from update. Here, we use the default TV library.

tanim-desktop: torrents $ plex_config_excludes exclude "Lip Sync Battle" "SpongeBob SquarePants" "Reno 911!"
found 256 TV shows in Plex server.
Originally 2 shows to exclude. Now 3 shows to exclude.

ORIGINAL               NEW
---------------------  ---------------------
Lip Sync Battle        Lip Sync Battle
SpongeBob SquarePants  Reno 911!
                       SpongeBob SquarePants

PERFORM OPERATION (must choose one) [y/n]:y
found 3 shows to exclude from TV database.
had to remove 2 excluded shows from DB that were not in TV library.
adding 3 extra shows to exclusion database.
NEW EXCLUDED SHOWS ADDED

Running howdy_tv_excludes show will display, in this instance, those three shows instead of the original two.