Formula 1 SABnzbd Post-Processing

This repo provides a SABnzbd post-processing script for importing Formula 1 releases into a Plex TV library.

The current Python script supports:

• playWEB releases that use TVDB-style S2026E## numbering
• multi-file jobs, so one SAB download can import multiple sessions
• a generated lookup table that maps TVDB episode codes into Season XX race folders
• safe replacement rules based on preferred resolution, with 1080p as the default preference

This project moved from shell to Python so the importer can handle structured TVDB episode lookups, multi-file jobs, and replacement logic more reliably than a large post-processing shell script.

Supported Release Logic

The script currently understands:

• playWEB Formula 1 releases with TVDB-style naming such as Formula1.S2026E19.China.Race.1080p...-playWEB

Unsupported or unwanted items are rejected by the script during post-processing. That means the script can protect your library even if a broad RSS rule lets something through.

If bandwidth matters, you should still use SAB RSS filters to prevent those releases from downloading in the first place.

File Layout

Place these files together inside your SAB scripts path:

• formula1_sabnzbd.py
• config/formula1_config.toml
• config/round_schedules.json
• formula_posters/episode/*.png
• formula_posters/season/*.png

Example:

/config/scripts/
├── formula1_sabnzbd.py
├── config/
│   ├── formula1_config.toml
│   └── round_schedules.json
└── formula_posters/
    ├── episode/
    │   ├── 01.png
    │   └── 12.png
    └── season/
        ├── 01.png
        └── 22.png

SABnzbd Setup

1. Place formula1_sabnzbd.py in your SAB script directory.
2. Make it executable.
3. Place the config/ folder next to the script.
4. Place the formula_posters/ folder somewhere SAB can access it.
5. Update paths in config/formula1_config.toml to match your environment.
6. Choose formula1_sabnzbd.py as the post-processing script for your Formula 1 RSS feed.

If you use Docker, all of these paths must exist inside the SAB container, not just on the host.

What The Script Imports

The script tracks core race-weekend sessions:

• FP1
• FP2
• FP3
• Sprint.Qualifying
• Sprint
• Qualifying
• Race

This release-group workflow does not currently target pre-show or post-show extras.

Replacement Rules

The script prefers the configured preferred_resolution, which defaults to 1080p.

Current default behavior:

• a 1080p release is preferred over 720p or 2160p
• if two releases have the same preferred-status, the larger file wins

Only these explicit resolutions are accepted:

• 720p
• 1080p
• 2160p

If a filename includes another explicit resolution such as 480p or 576p, it is rejected.

If no resolution token is present, the script treats it as 1080p for ranking.

Rejected Files

The script rejects unsupported or unwanted files during post-processing.

Rejected files are not imported into Plex, and they are not saved to a separate unmatched folder.

This is useful when:

• a release name does not match the supported parser
• a release uses an unsupported resolution
• a release is outside the accepted Formula 1 patterns

If you want to avoid downloading those files at all, use SAB RSS filters.

Recommended SAB RSS Filters

Use SAB RSS filters as a coarse front-end filter, especially if you want to save bandwidth.

Example:

0 : Requires : re: playWEB
1 : Reject : re: part\.1|part\.2
2 : *

The post-processing script remains the final safety layer, but RSS filters are the right place to reduce unwanted downloads before they consume bandwidth.

Plex Setup

Use Local Assets

• enable local media assets or prefer local artwork so copied posters are used

Create The Library

Create a new Plex library with these recommendations:

• library type: TV Shows
• library path: your Formula 1 base folder, for example /media/pool.media/formula1
• under Advanced, set Scanner to Plex Series Scanner
• under Advanced, set Agent to Personal Media Shows

This script is designed around a TV-style Plex library layout, with each race weekend stored as a Season XX folder and each session named like an episode.

If posters or renamed sessions do not appear immediately in Plex, refresh metadata after new imports.

Plex Output Structure

The script expects the base destination directory to already exist.

Example:

/media/pool.media/formula1

The script creates:

• year folders such as F1 2026
• season folders such as Season 02
• media files such as S02E07 - China Grand Prix - Race.mkv
• episode posters such as S02E07 - China Grand Prix - Race.png
• season posters such as season02.png

The script also writes import state outside the Plex-visible folders:

/media/pool.media/formula1/.metadata/

Each round state file tracks:

• expected core sessions
• present sessions
• missing core sessions
• file metadata

Posters

Poster copying is optional.

Automatic

Episode posters

Place episode poster source images in formula_posters/episode/.

These files must be named using the episode number expected by the script.

• formula_posters/episode/01.png
• formula_posters/episode/02.png
• formula_posters/episode/12.png

Season posters

Place season poster source images in formula_posters/season/.

These files must be named using the season number parsed by the script. In this setup, the season number corresponds to the Formula 1 round number.

• formula_posters/season/01.png
• formula_posters/season/02.png
• formula_posters/season/24.png

How the script uses them

When a release is processed, the script parses the TVDB episode code, looks it up in config/round_schedules.json, and determines the target season and per-weekend episode values. It then looks for matching poster files using those numbers.

Example release:

Formula1.S2026E19.China.Race.1080p.F1TV.WEB-DL.AAC2.0.H.264-playWEB

The script will look for:

• formula_posters/episode/07.png
• formula_posters/season/02.png

Output behavior

If matching images are found, the script copies them into the final Plex media folder automatically.

Episode posters are copied and renamed to match the final media item name.

Season posters are copied as seasonXX.png.

If a matching poster is missing, the media file still imports normally.

Important

• Filenames must match exactly.
• Use .png files only.
• Episode posters must use the script’s mapped episode number, not the event name.
• Season posters must use the parsed season number from the release filename.

Manual

If you prefer not to use local poster files, you can manage artwork directly in Plex instead.

Plex documentation for local media assets: https://support.plex.tv/articles/200220717-local-media-assets-tv-shows/

Updating For A New Season

The TVDB episode-to-season lookup lives in:

• config/round_schedules.json

By default, build_round_schedule.py can scrape the TVDB season URL from config/formula1_config.toml and rebuild the lookup automatically:

python3 build_round_schedule.py --year 2026

You can also build or override a season entry from a simple text file with:

python3 build_round_schedule.py --year 2027 --input season_2027.txt

Example input format:

S2026E10 | Australia | FP1                | Australia (Practice 1)
S2026E16 | China     | Sprint.Qualifying  | China (Sprint Qualifying)
S2026E19 | China     | Race               | China (Race)

See season_schedule_template.txt for the expected format.