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📖 Advanced Metadata Fetch Configuration

Take full control over how Booklore enriches your book metadata. Configure provider priorities, enable specific fields, and customize the metadata fetching behavior to match your preferences.

Metadata Fetch Configuration

🌟 What You'll Achieve​

With advanced metadata fetch configuration, you can:

  • Prioritize metadata sources - Choose which provider to try first, second, third, and fourth for each field
  • Enable/disable specific fields - Fetch only the metadata you need
  • Control cover updates - Decide whether to refresh existing book covers
  • Manage genre merging - Choose to combine or replace existing genres
  • Review before applying - Preview and approve changes before saving

💡 Smart Fallback System

If your first-choice provider doesn't have data for a field, Booklore automatically tries your second choice, then third, then fourth. This ensures you get the most complete metadata possible.

✨ Key Features & Capabilities​

🔄 Priority-Based Provider System​

  • Four Priority Levels: Set up to 4 provider preferences per field
  • Automatic Fallback: System tries each priority in order until data is found
  • Flexible Configuration: Different fields can use different provider priorities
  • Bulk Operations: Set the same priority for all fields at once

📊 Supported Metadata Providers​

Booklore integrates with multiple metadata sources:

  • Amazon: Comprehensive book data including ratings and reviews
  • Google Books: Extensive catalog with detailed descriptions
  • Goodreads: Community ratings and reviews
  • Hardcover: Modern book data with moods and tags
  • Comicvine: Specialized comic book metadata
  • Douban: Asian literature and international titles

📋 Field Categories​

Standard Book Fields​

Fields that can have custom priority settings:

  • Basic Info: Title, Subtitle, Description
  • Author Info: Authors, Publisher, Published Date
  • Series Info: Series Name, Number, Total
  • Identifiers: ISBN-13, ISBN-10
  • Additional: Language, Genres, Cover Image, Page Count

Provider-Specific Fields​

Unique fields tied to specific providers:

  • Amazon: ASIN, Amazon Rating, Amazon Review Count
  • Goodreads: Goodreads ID, Goodreads Rating, Goodreads Review Count
  • Hardcover: Hardcover ID, Hardcover Rating, Hardcover Review Count, Moods, Tags
  • Comicvine: Comicvine ID
  • Google: Google Books ID

🎯 Understanding the Priority System​

How Priorities Work​

When Booklore fetches metadata for a book:

  1. 1st Priority (P1): The system tries your first-choice provider
  2. 2nd Priority (P2): If P1 doesn't have data, tries your second choice
  3. 3rd Priority (P3): If P2 doesn't have data, tries your third choice
  4. 4th Priority (P4): Final fallback if all previous priorities fail

Example Priority Configuration​

For the "Title" field:

  • P1: Google Books (try first)
  • P2: Amazon (try second)
  • P3: Goodreads (try third)
  • P4: Hardcover (try last)

If Google Books doesn't have the title, the system automatically tries Amazon, then Goodreads, then Hardcover until it finds data.

⚠️ Important: At least one priority (P1, P2, P3, or P4) must be set for each enabled field, or the system will show an error.

🛠️ Configuration Guide​

Step 1: Accessing the Configuration​

  1. Navigate to Metadata Settings:

    • Open the metadata fetch dialog in Booklore
    • Look for the advanced configuration section or button

  2. View Configuration Table:

    • You'll see a table with all available fields
    • Each field has columns for the four priority levels

Step 2: Understanding the Table Layout​

The configuration table has six columns:

ColumnPurpose
EnabledCheckbox to enable/disable fetching this field
FieldThe metadata field name (e.g., Title, Authors)
4th PriorityLast fallback provider
3rd PriorityThird choice provider
2nd PrioritySecond choice provider
1st PriorityFirst choice provider

💡 Tip: Priorities are displayed right-to-left (4th → 1st) to make it easy to read the fallback sequence from left to right.

Step 3: Setting Individual Field Priorities​

Enabling/Disabling Fields​

  1. Enable a field:

    • Check the checkbox in the "Enabled" column
    • The field will be fetched during metadata updates

  2. Disable a field:

    • Uncheck the checkbox
    • The field will be skipped during metadata updates
    • Dropdowns become disabled (grayed out)

Selecting Providers​

  1. Click the dropdown for any priority level
  2. Choose a provider from the list:
    • Amazon
    • Google
    • GoodReads
    • Hardcover
    • Comicvine
    • Douban
  3. Leave as "Unset" if you don't want that priority level

Example: Configuring the "Description" Field​

Field: Description
Enabled: ✓
P4: Hardcover
P3: Goodreads
P2: Amazon
P1: Google

Result: System tries Google first, then Amazon, then Goodreads, then Hardcover

Step 4: Using Bulk Operations​

To quickly set priorities for all fields at once:

  1. Locate the "Set All" row at the top of the table
  2. Select a provider from any priority column dropdown
  3. All enabled fields automatically get that provider for that priority
  4. Select "Clear All" to remove all providers for that priority level

Example Bulk Operation​

Setting "Google" in the "Set All P1" dropdown:

  • All enabled fields get "Google" as their 1st Priority
  • You can still customize individual fields afterward

💡 Efficiency Tip: Use bulk operations to set a base configuration, then fine-tune specific fields as needed.

🎨 Provider-Specific Fields Configuration​

Some fields are unique to specific providers and work differently:

Available Provider-Specific Fields​

  • Amazon ASIN: Amazon's unique product identifier
  • Goodreads ID: Goodreads book identifier
  • Comicvine ID: Comic book database identifier
  • Hardcover ID: Hardcover platform identifier
  • Google Books ID: Google's book identifier
  • Amazon Rating & Review Count: Amazon's rating data
  • Goodreads Rating & Review Count: Goodreads rating data
  • Hardcover Rating & Review Count: Hardcover rating data
  • Moods: Hardcover's mood tags
  • Tags: Hardcover's book tags

Configuring Provider-Specific Fields​

  1. No Priority Settings: These fields don't have P1-P4 dropdowns
  2. Simple Enable/Disable: Just check or uncheck the field
  3. Automatic Provider: The field's native provider is automatically used

Example Configuration​

☑ Amazon ASIN - Enabled (automatically fetches from Amazon)
☑ Goodreads Rating - Enabled (automatically fetches from Goodreads)
☐ Moods - Disabled (won't fetch Hardcover moods)

⚙️ Additional Options​

Cover Update Settings​

Update covers checkbox controls whether to refresh book cover images:

  • ☑ Enabled: Fetch and update book cover images

    • Replaces existing covers with new ones from providers
    • Useful for improving cover quality or fixing missing covers

  • ☐ Disabled: Keep existing covers

    • Only adds covers to books that don't have one
    • Preserves your custom or preferred covers

💡 Best Practice: Enable this when you want to upgrade cover quality, disable it to preserve custom covers.

Genre Management​

Merge genres checkbox controls how new genres are handled:

  • ☑ Enabled: Combine new genres with existing ones

    • Adds fetched genres to the book's current genre list
    • Creates a comprehensive genre collection
    • Recommended for enriching genre data

  • ☐ Disabled: Replace existing genres

    • Completely replaces current genres with fetched ones
    • Useful for cleaning up incorrect genre assignments

⚠️ Warning: When disabled, all existing genres are removed and replaced with fetched genres.

Review Before Apply​

Manual review checkbox controls the approval workflow:

  • ☑ Enabled: Review and approve metadata changes before saving

    • See a side-by-side comparison of old vs. new metadata
    • Choose which changes to accept or reject
    • Prevents unwanted overwrites
    • Recommended for important libraries

  • ☐ Disabled: Automatically apply all fetched metadata

    • Changes are saved immediately without review
    • Faster for bulk operations
    • Trust the provider data completely

💡 Recommendation: Enable manual review for valuable collections or when testing new configurations.

💾 Saving Your Configuration​

Save Options​

Two buttons are available at the bottom:

  1. Reset Form

    • Clears all provider selections (sets all to "Unset")
    • Re-enables all fields
    • Resets all additional options to defaults
    • Does NOT save changes

  2. Save / Apply Configuration

    • Validates that all enabled fields have at least one provider
    • Saves your configuration
    • Applies the settings for future metadata fetches
    • Shows success or error message

Validation Rules​

Before saving, the system checks:

  • ✅ Each enabled standard field has at least one provider (P1, P2, P3, or P4)
  • ✅ Provider-specific fields are only enabled/disabled (no provider required)
  • ✅ At least one field is enabled

If validation fails:

❌ Error: At least one provider (P1–P4) must be selected 
   for each enabled book field.

📋 Configuration Examples​

Example 1: Prioritize Quality Over Speed​

Goal: Get the most accurate metadata, trying multiple sources

Title:
  P1: Google (most comprehensive)
  P2: Amazon (good fallback)
  P3: Goodreads (community data)
  P4: Hardcover (modern titles)

Description:
  P1: Google (detailed descriptions)
  P2: Amazon (product descriptions)
  P3: Goodreads (user-generated)
  P4: Unset

Authors:
  P1: Google (authoritative)
  P2: Goodreads (complete names)
  P3: Amazon (verified)
  P4: Hardcover (recent authors)

Example 2: Speed-Focused Configuration​

Goal: Fast fetching with minimal fallbacks

All standard fields:
  P1: Google
  P2: Unset
  P3: Unset
  P4: Unset

Provider-specific fields:
  Only essential IDs enabled

Example 3: Comic Book Focused​

Goal: Optimize for comic books and graphic novels

Title/Authors/Publisher:
  P1: Comicvine
  P2: Google
  P3: Amazon
  P4: Unset

Description:
  P1: Comicvine
  P2: Goodreads
  P3: Google
  P4: Unset

Provider-specific:
  ☑ Comicvine ID
  ☐ Other provider IDs

Example 4: Preserve Existing Data​

Goal: Only fill in missing fields, keep existing data

Configuration:
  - Enable only fields that are commonly missing
  - Disable: Title, Authors (usually correct from files)
  - Enable: Description, Series Info, Genres (often missing)

Options:
  ☐ Update covers (preserve custom covers)
  ☑ Merge genres (add to existing)
  ☑ Manual review (check before applying)

📊 Quick Reference Table​

FieldRecommended P1Recommended P2Recommended P3Recommended P4Notes
TitleGoogleGoodreadsHardcoverAmazonGoogle most authoritative; avoid Amazon (often adds series info to title)
SubtitleGoogleGoodreadsHardcoverAmazonOften missing from all providers; Google most complete when available
DescriptionGoogleGoodreadsHardcoverAmazonGoogle has detailed publisher descriptions; Hardcover best for recent releases
AuthorsGoogleGoodreadsHardcoverAmazonGoodreads provides full names consistently; Google most accurate for multi-author books
PublisherGoogleGoodreadsHardcoverAmazonGoogle and Goodreads most reliable; consider imprint vs parent publisher preferences
Published DateGoogleGoodreadsHardcoverAmazonGoogle uses original publication date; Amazon may show reprint dates
Series NameGoogleGoodreadsHardcoverAmazonGoodreads most comprehensive for series; Hardcover excellent for recent series
Series NumberGoogleGoodreadsHardcoverAmazonGoodreads handles fractional numbers (e.g., 2.5); ensure consistency with Series Name source
ISBN-13GoogleGoodreadsHardcoverAmazonCritical for book identification; Google most reliable; prefer ISBN-13 over ISBN-10
LanguageGoogleGoodreadsHardcoverAmazonGoogle uses ISO codes; essential for multi-language libraries; avoid Amazon (inconsistent)
GenresGoodreadsHardcoverGoogleUnsetGoodreads community-curated; Hardcover modern/nuanced; avoid Amazon (promotional categories)
CoverAmazonGoodreadsHardcoverGoogleAmazon highest resolution; Goodreads good fallback; Google may have dated covers
Page CountGoogleGoodreadsHardcoverAmazonVaries by edition (hardcover vs paperback); Google most consistent with print editions

💡 Provider-Specific Tips:

  • Google Books: Best overall accuracy and completeness; authoritative publisher data
  • Goodreads: Excellent for series, genres, and author names; strong community curation
  • Hardcover: Best for recent releases (2020+); modern genre classification and moods
  • Amazon: High-quality covers but may add marketing text to titles; use as fallback
  • Comicvine: Essential for comics/manga; use as P1 for all fields when working with comics
  • Douban: Excellent for Asian literature; use as P1 when building Chinese/Japanese/Korean libraries

Remember: There's no "perfect" configuration - it depends on your library content, priorities, and preferences. Experiment to find what works best for you!