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Fix Filebot Removing Media File Extensions

· One min read

Filebot is a popular media renaming tool that can automatically organise TV shows and movies by fetching metadata from online databases. However, you might notice that after renaming, your media files are missing their file extensions (such as .mkv, .mp4, or .avi).

This happens when the Extensions setting is set to Override instead of Preserve.

How to fix it​

  1. In Filebot, navigate to Rename Options (the settings/gear icon near the rename panel).
  2. Find the Extensions setting.
  3. Change it from Override to Preserve.

Filebot will now keep the original file extension when renaming your media files.

Why does this matter?​

Without a file extension, your operating system and media players will not know how to open the file. You would need to manually add the extension back (for example, renaming Movie Title to Movie Title.mkv) for the file to be playable. Using the Preserve setting avoids this problem entirely.