Your library ​

Libraries ​

The collection can be split into named libraries — say Comics and Manga — each with its own entry in the sidebar. Create them in Settings → Library → Libraries: a library has a name, a type that sets how its series behave (manga = chapter-style search and right-to-left reading defaults), and an optional folder — new downloads for that library file there instead of the default root.

• Move a series between libraries from its ⋯ menu; it takes on the library's type.
• Import scans each library's folder too, and anything found under one joins that library automatically, typed correctly.
• A library can have its own folder pattern (e.g. just {series} for a manga tree without publisher folders) — blank uses the global pattern.
• Mark a library Mature to hide it — name, entry, and every series in it — from roles without the "View mature content" permission (e.g. a kids' account). Series moved in inherit the flag; moved out, they shed it.
• Deleting a library keeps all its series (they return to the default library) — nothing is removed from disk.
• With no libraries defined, the sidebar shows per-type entries automatically once a second type (e.g. manga) appears in the collection — explicit libraries simply take over when you create them.

Manga metadata and covers are provided by MangaDex. With a manga library, the Add dialog offers a Search manga toggle, and imports into manga folders match against the manga catalog automatically.

Storage locations ​

Storage locations live on your libraries (above): each library's folder is where its comics are filed — local paths or network shares (\\NAS\comics, /mnt/comics) — and where scans look for what you own. Upgrading from an older version migrates automatically: your former default scan folder becomes a Comics library, and any extra scan folders each become a library of their own.

Importing an existing collection ​

Coming from another collection manager, a hand-organized folder tree, or a pile of loose files? Sidebar → Import:

1. Point the scan at a folder (defaults to your library folders).
2. BackIssue walks it and proposes a match for each series folder against ComicVine. Tagged libraries match best: when the embedded ComicInfo.xml (Mylar, ComicTagger, Kapowarr) carries a ComicVine id, the volume is matched exactly — otherwise the tagged series name, start year, and publisher drive the search; untagged files are matched from their folder names.
3. Confident matches import automatically; ambiguous ones become candidates you confirm or re-pick with a couple of clicks; anything unrecognizable is listed for manual handling.
4. Imported files are indexed as owned — the series' missing counts update immediately.

Import never moves or renames your files unless you later run the rename tool.

Supported layouts: a flat Series/ tree, the default Publisher/Series (Year)/, and Mylar-style Publisher/Series/Volume/ trees (e.g. Marvel/X-Men/v2004) — when a folder is only a volume marker (v2004, Vol. 3 (1999)), the series name is read from the folder above it, and each volume folder is matched to its own ComicVine volume.

How files are recognized ​

The scanner reads real file contents, not just names:

• Archive type is sniffed from magic bytes — a RAR misnamed .cbz (or vice versa) is still read correctly.
• Embedded ComicInfo.xml metadata is used when present and sane.
• Filenames are parsed for series / issue number / year as a fallback, with the same strict matcher used for downloads.
• Files linked to a ComicVine issue update the owned/missing math; unlinkable files are flagged rather than guessed at.

Tagging and naming ​

• Every downloaded issue gets ComicVine metadata as ComicInfo.xml (series, number, title, date, summary, creators) — the standard read by comic readers and library servers.
• Tag placement decides where that XML lives. Embedded (the default) writes it into the archive. Sidecar writes it to a .xml file next to the archive — the archive itself is never modified, so its bytes stay identical for torrent seeding and file-share hashing, and .cbr files stay .cbr. Set it globally in Settings → Metadata, or per library (a seeding library can use sidecars while the rest embed). When a file has both, the sidecar wins.
• Folder layout and filenames follow your naming patterns (below). The defaults — Publisher/Series (Year) folders and Series VYYYY #NNN filenames — are unambiguous, sortable, and parseable by other library managers. Sidecar files are renamed, moved, and deleted together with their archive.
• With embedded placement, CBRs are converted to CBZ on the way in (solid-archive-safe, pages stored without recompression), because CBZ is what embedding and readers handle best. Sidecar placement skips the conversion — originals are left untouched.

Existing files you imported keep their names until you opt into renaming (below).

Naming patterns ​

Settings → Library → File organization — you decide how comics are organized on disk, with two token patterns and a live example that updates as you type:

• Folder pattern — the series folder under a root. Default: {publisher}/{series} ({year}). Use / for sub-folders.
• File pattern — the issue filename. Default: {series} V{year} #{issue}.

A token with no value simply drops out and the spacing tidies itself — {series} V{year} with no known year renders as just the series. Blank patterns use the defaults.

Two things to know:

• Changing patterns affects new downloads; existing files stay put until you explicitly reorganize (below).
• Rename downloaded files (a toggle in the same section, on by default): turn it off and completed downloads keep the source's original release filename, still filed into the comic's folder.

Applying patterns to existing files ​

Always explicit, never automatic:

• One series — the volume page's ⋯ → Rename files moves/renames that series' files to match your patterns (a confirm shows the count first).
• Whole library — System → Tools → Reorganize library. Preview first: a dry run shows what would move, grouped by destination folder, with counts for already-matching files and name collisions. Reorganize then runs as a background job with live progress (also visible under System → Jobs) — a big library on a NAS takes a while, and the app stays fully usable during it.

Safety rules for both: only ComicVine-matched series are touched, name collisions are skipped (never overwritten), files never leave their library folder, and emptied folders are cleaned up.

Library tools ​

System → Tools — library-wide maintenance, each with live progress:

Restoring a backup: stop the app, copy the snapshot over catalog.db, start again.

Corrupt files ​

Verification flags unreadable archives as corrupt (visible as a series badge and under the Problems filter). Redownloading an issue replaces the bad file; the duplicate-removal tool cleans up superseded bad copies afterwards.