Sorting & Prioritization¶

Sorting controls which items get deleted first when max_actions_per_run limits the number of deletions per run. Without sorting, deletion order is undefined.

Why Sorting Matters¶

If your library has 100 items eligible for deletion but max_actions_per_run: 10, sorting determines which 10 get deleted. You might want to delete the largest files first to reclaim the most space, or the lowest-rated content first to keep better media longer.

Configuration¶

libraries:
  - name: "Movies"
    radarr: "Radarr"
    action_mode: "delete"
    max_actions_per_run: 20
    sort:
      field: "size"
      order: "desc"  # Largest first

Sort Fields¶

Field	Description	Applies To
`title`	Alphabetical by sort title	Movies, TV Shows
`size`	File size on disk	Movies, TV Shows
`release_year`	Year of release	Movies, TV Shows
`runtime`	Duration in minutes	Movies
`added_date`	Date added to Radarr/Sonarr	Movies, TV Shows
`rating`	IMDB or TMDB rating	Movies, TV Shows
`seasons`	Number of seasons	TV Shows
`episodes`	Total episode count	TV Shows
`last_watched`	Days since last watch	Movies, TV Shows

Multi-Level Sorting¶

Sort by multiple fields using comma-separated values. The first field is the primary sort; ties are broken by subsequent fields.

sort:
  field: "last_watched,size"
  order: "desc,desc"

If fewer orders than fields are provided, the last order is reused:

sort:
  field: "last_watched,size,title"
  order: "desc"  # All three fields sort descending

last_watched Special Behavior¶

When sorting by last_watched, unwatched items always sort first regardless of the order setting. The order only affects how watched items are sorted among themselves.

This ensures unwatched content is prioritized for deletion before recently-watched content -- the logic being that if nobody has ever watched it, it's a better candidate for removal than something someone watched recently.

Common Strategies¶

Largest Files First¶

Reclaim the most disk space per deletion:

sort:
  field: "size"
  order: "desc"

Oldest Content First¶

Delete media that was released longest ago:

sort:
  field: "release_year"
  order: "asc"

Lowest Rated First¶

Keep the best-rated content longest:

sort:
  field: "rating"
  order: "asc"

Unwatched + Largest First¶

Prioritize unwatched content, then largest files among those:

sort:
  field: "last_watched,size"
  order: "desc,desc"

TV Shows by Episode Count¶

Delete shows with the most episodes first (reclaim space from long-running series):

sort:
  field: "episodes"
  order: "desc"

See Configuration Reference for the full field reference.