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# YAML Tutorial
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All of Plex Meta Manager's Config, Metadata, Overlay, and Playlist Files are written in the YAML data structure.
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This tutorial will help you understand the specific parts of the files.
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## Example YAML File
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```yaml
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libraries:
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Movies:
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metadata_path:
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- pmm: basic
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- pmm: imdb
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overlay_path:
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- pmm: ribbon
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template_variables:
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use_metacritic: false
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use_common: false
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TV Shows:
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metadata_path:
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- pmm: basic
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- pmm: imdb
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overlay_path:
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- pmm: ribbon
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settings:
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cache: true
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cache_expiration: 60
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asset_directory:
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- config/movie assets
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- config/tv assets
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```
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## Basic YAML Syntax
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A YAML format primarily uses 3 node types:
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1. Dictionaries/Mappings:
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The content of a mapping node is an unordered set of key/value node pairs, with the restriction that each of the keys is unique. YAML places no further restrictions on the nodes.
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2. Lists/Arrays:
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The content of a list node is an ordered series of zero or more nodes. In particular, a sequence may contain the same node more than once. It could even contain itself.
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3. Literals (Strings, numbers, boolean, etc.):
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The content of a scalar node is an opaque datum that can be presented as a series of zero or more Unicode characters.
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Let us try and identify where these appear in the sample YAML file we saw earlier.
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```yaml
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# Strats with a top level Dictionary with keys `libraries` and `settings`
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libraries: # Value is a Dictionary with keys `Movies` and `TV Shows`
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Movies: # Value is a Dictionary with keys `metadata_path` and `overlay_path`
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metadata_path: # Value is a List with two Items
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- pmm: basic # List Item is a Dictionary with one key pair whose value is a String Literal
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- pmm: imdb # List Item is a Dictionary with one key pair whose value is a String Literal
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overlay_path: # Value is a List with one Item
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- pmm: ribbon # List Item is a Dictionary with keys `pmm` and `template_variables` with `pmm`'s value a String Literal
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template_variables: # Value is a Dictionary with keys `use_metacritic` and `use_common`
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use_metacritic: false # Value is a Boolean Literal
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use_common: false # Value is a Boolean Literal
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TV Shows: # Value is a Dictionary with keys `metadata_path` and `overlay_path`
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metadata_path: # Value is a List with two Items
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- pmm: basic # List Item is a Dictionary with one key pair whose value is a String Literal
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- pmm: imdb # List Item is a Dictionary with one key pair whose value is a String Literal
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overlay_path: # Value is a List with one Item
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- pmm: ribbon # List Item is a Dictionary with one key pair whose value is a String Literal
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settings: # Value is a Dictionary with keys `cache` and `cache_expiration`
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cache: true # Value is a Boolean Literal
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cache_expiration: 60 # Value is a Number Literal
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asset_directory: # Value is a List with two Items
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- config/movie assets # List Item is a String Literal
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- config/tv assets # List Item is a String Literal
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```
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## Indentation
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A YAML file relies on whitespace and indentation to indicate nesting. The number of spaces used for indentation doesn’t matter as long as they are consistent.
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**It is critical to note that tab characters cannot be used for indentation in YAML files; only spaces can be used.**
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```yaml
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libraries: # Nesting Level 1
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Movies: # Nesting Level 2
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metadata_path: # Nesting Level 3
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- pmm: basic # Nesting Level 4
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- pmm: imdb # Nesting Level 4
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overlay_path: # Nesting Level 3
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- pmm: ribbon # Nesting Level 4
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template_variables: # Nesting Level 5
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use_metacritic: false # Nesting Level 6
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use_common: false # Nesting Level 6
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TV Shows: # Nesting Level 2
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metadata_path: # Nesting Level 3
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- pmm: basic # Nesting Level 4
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- pmm: imdb # Nesting Level 4
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overlay_path: # Nesting Level 3
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- pmm: ribbon # Nesting Level 4
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settings: # Nesting Level 1
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cache: true # Nesting Level 2
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cache_expiration: 60 # Nesting Level 2
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```
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## Dictionaries
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Dictionaries are used to associate key/value pairs that are unordered. Dictionaries can be nested by increasing the indentation, or new dictionaries can be created at the same level by resolving the previous one.
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```yaml
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cache: true
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cache_expiration: 60
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```
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The "keys" are `cache` and `cache_expiration` and the "values" are `true` and `60` respectively.
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### In-Line Dictionaries
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you can represent a dictionary on a single line by using `{` and `}`
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```yaml
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settings: {cache: true, cache_expiration: 60}
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```
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is equivalent to
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```yaml
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settings:
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cache: true
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cache_expiration: 60
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```
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## Lists
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Lists in YAML are represented by using the hyphen (-) and space. They are ordered and can be embedded inside a map using indentation.
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```yaml
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asset_directory:
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- config/movie assets
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- config/tv assets
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```
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The first item in the list is `config/movie assets` and the second is `config/tv assets`.
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### In-Line Lists
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you can represent a list on a single line by using `[` and `]`
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```yaml
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settings:
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asset_directory: [config/movie assets, config/tv assets]
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```
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is equivalent to
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```yaml
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settings:
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asset_directory:
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- config/movie assets
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- config/tv assets
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```
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## Literals
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Literals can come in multiple types:
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* String: any sequence of characters
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* Number: any representation of a number
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* Boolean: `true` or `false`
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### String Literals
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The string literals do not require to be quoted. It is only important to quote them when they contain a value that can be mistaken as a special character.
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Here is an example where the string has to be quoted as `&` and `:` are special characters.
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YAML Special Characters: `{`, `}`, `[`, `]`, `,`, `&`, `:`, `*`, `#`, `?`, `|`, `-`, `<`. `>`, `=`, `!`, `%`, `@`, `\`
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There are many occurrences of these special characters where quotes are not needed but if the YAML fails to load it could easily be because one of these are unquoted.
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```yaml
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message1: YAML & JSON # breaks as a & is a special character
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message2: "YAML & JSON" # Works as the string is quoted
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message: 3: YAML # breaks as a : is a special character
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"message: 3": YAML # Works as the key string is quoted
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```
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#### Multiline Strings
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Strings can be interpreted as multiline using the pipe (`|`) character.
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```yaml
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message: |
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this is
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a real multiline
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message
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```
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This would be read as `this is\na real multiline\nmessage`
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## Comments
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YAML file also supports comments, unlike JSON. A comment starts with #.
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```yaml
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# Strats with a top level Dictionary with keys `libraries` and `settings`
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libraries: # Value is a Dictionary with keys `Movies` and `TV Shows`
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```
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Everything after `#` on a line is ignored.
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## Anchors and Aliases
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With a lot of configuration, configuration files can become quite large.
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In YAML files, anchors (`&`) and aliases (`*`) are used to avoid duplication. When writing large configurations in YAML, it is common for a specific configuration to be repeated. For example, the vars config is repeated for all three services in the following YAML snippet.
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```yaml
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libraries:
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Movies:
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metadata_path:
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- pmm: basic
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- pmm: imdb
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overlay_path:
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- pmm: ribbon
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template_variables:
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use_metacritic: false
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use_common: false
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TV Shows:
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metadata_path:
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- pmm: basic
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- pmm: imdb
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overlay_path:
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- pmm: ribbon
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```
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As more and more things are repeated for large configuration files, this becomes tedious.
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Anchors and aliases allow us to rewrite the same snippet without having to repeat any configuration.
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Anchors (`&`) are used to define a chunk of configuration, and aliases (`*`) are used to refer to that chunk at a different part of the configuration.
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```yaml
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libraries:
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Movies:
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metadata_path: &paths # Anchor called `paths`
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- pmm: basic
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- pmm: imdb
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overlay_path:
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- pmm: ribbon
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template_variables:
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use_metacritic: false
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use_common: false
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TV Shows:
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metadata_path: *paths # Alias to call the above `paths` section
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overlay_path:
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- pmm: ribbon
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```
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