Wildcards

FFmate supports wildcards to help you generate file and directory names dynamically—no manual renaming required.
Instead of hardcoding output paths for each task, you can use smart placeholders that FFmate automatically replaces with actual values during processing.

Wildcards offer a flexible and efficient way to automate naming patterns, making it easy to organize outputs based on things like input file names, file extension, timestamps, and more.

For example, you can include the date, time, input file name, or a UUID in your output file names. This helps keep your files and folders organized, consistent, and easy to track, without extra effort.

Input & Output File Information

Full File Path:

These wildcards return the complete file path, including the directory, filename, and extension.

Wildcard	Description	Example Output
`${INPUT_FILE}`	Full path of the input file	`/source/input.mp4`
`${OUTPUT_FILE}`	Full path of the output file	`/destination/output.mp4`

Example:

curl -X POST http://localhost:3000/api/v1/tasks \
     -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
     -d '{
       "command": "-y -i ${INPUT_FILE} -c:v libx264 -preset fast -crf 23 ${OUTPUT_FILE}",
       "inputFile": "/volumes/ffmate/source/input.mp4",
       "outputFile": "/volumes/ffmate/destination/output.mp4"
     }'

Filename Information:

These wildcards return the filename from the full path, either with or without the extension.

Wildcard	Description	Example Output
`${INPUT_FILE_BASE}`	Filename with extension (without the path)	`input.mp4`
`${OUTPUT_FILE_BASE}`	Filename with extension (without the path)	`output.mp4`
`${INPUT_FILE_BASENAME}`	Filename without extension	`input`
`${OUTPUT_FILE_BASENAME}`	Filename without extension	`output`

Example:

curl -X POST http://localhost:3000/api/v1/tasks \
     -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
     -d '{
       "command": "-y -i ${INPUT_FILE} -c:v libx264 -preset fast -crf 23 ${OUTPUT_FILE}.mkv",
       "inputFile": "/volumes/ffmate/videos/original_movie.mp4",
       "outputFile": "/volumes/ffmate/converted/${INPUT_FILE_BASENAME}"
     }'

Output Path:

/volumes/ffmate/converted/input.mkv

File Extensions and Directory Path:

These wildcards return the file extension and the directory path.

Wildcard	Description	Example Output
`${INPUT_FILE_EXTENSION}`	File extension of the input file	`.mp4`
`${OUTPUT_FILE_EXTENSION}`	File extension of the output file	`.mp4`
`${INPUT_FILE_DIR}`	Directory path of the input file	`/source`
`${OUTPUT_FILE_DIR}`	Directory path of the output file	`/destination`

Example:

curl -X POST http://localhost:3000/api/v1/tasks \
     -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
     -d '{
       "command": "-y -i ${INPUT_FILE} -c:v libx264 -preset fast -crf 23 ${OUTPUT_FILE}",
       "inputFile": "/volumes/ffmate/source/video.mp4",
       "outputFile": "/volumes/ffmate/destination/${INPUT_FILE_BASENAME}_converted${INPUT_FILE_EXTENSION}"
     }'

Output Path:

/volumes/ffmate/destination/input_converted.mp4

Date & Time Wildcards

These wildcards insert dynamic timestamps into your output paths, making it easy to organize processed files based on date and time.

Wildcard	Description	Example Output
`${DATE_YEAR}`	Full year (4 digits)	`2024`
`${DATE_SHORTYEAR}`	Short year (last 2 digits)	`24`
`${DATE_MONTH}`	Month number (01-12)	`01`
`${DATE_DAY}`	Day of the month (01-31)	`15`
`${DATE_WEEK}`	ISO week number (01-52)	`03`
`${TIME_HOUR}`	Hour (24-hour format, 00-23)	`14`
`${TIME_MINUTE}`	Minute (00-59)	`05`
`${TIME_SECOND}`	Second (00-59)	`32`

Example:

curl -X POST http://localhost:3000/api/v1/tasks \
     -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
     -d '{
       "command": "-y -i ${INPUT_FILE} -c:v libx264 -preset fast -crf 23 ${OUTPUT_FILE}",
       "inputFile": "/volumes/ffmate/source/video.mp4",
       "outputFile": "/volumes/ffmate/destination/${DATE_YEAR}/${DATE_MONTH}/${DATE_DAY}/video_${TIME_HOUR}-${TIME_MINUTE}-${TIME_SECOND}.mp4",
       "priority": 2
     }'

Output Path:

/volumes/ffmate//destination/2024/02/15/video_14-30-45.mp4

Timestamps

These wildcards generate precise timestamps to create unique file and directory names based on the current time.

Wildcard	Description	Example Output
`${TIMESTAMP_SECONDS}`	Unix timestamp in seconds	`1705318712`
`${TIMESTAMP_MILLISECONDS}`	Unix timestamp with milliseconds precision	`1705318712123`
`${TIMESTAMP_MICROSECONDS}`	Unix timestamp with microseconds precision	`1705318712123456`
`${TIMESTAMP_NANOSECONDS}`	Unix timestamp with nanoseconds precision	`1705318712123456789`

Example:

curl -X POST http://localhost:3000/api/v1/tasks \
     -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
     -d '{
       "command": "-y -i ${INPUT_FILE} -c:v libx264 -preset fast -crf 23 ${OUTPUT_FILE}",
       "inputFile": "/volumes/ffmate/source/video.mp4",
       "outputFile": "/volumes/ffmate/destination/video_${TIMESTAMP_SECONDS}.mp4"
     }'

Output Path:

/volumes/ffmate/destination/video_1705318712.mp4

System Information

These wildcards return system information, specifically the operating system name and CPU architecture.

Wildcard	Description	Example Output
`${OS_NAME}`	Operating system name	`linux`
`${OS_ARCH}`	CPU architecture	`amd64`

Example:

curl -X POST http://localhost:3000/api/v1/tasks \
     -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
     -d '{
       "command": "-y -i ${INPUT_FILE} -c:v libx264 -preset fast -crf 23 ${OUTPUT_FILE}",
       "inputFile": "/volumes/ffmate/source/video.mp4",
       "outputFile": "/volumes/ffmate/processed/${OS_NAME}/${OS_ARCH}/video.mp4"
     }'

Output Path:

/volumes/ffmate/processed/linux/amd64/video.mp4

Unique Identifier

This wildcard generate random unique identifiers.

Wildcard	Description	Example Output
`${UUID}`	Randomly generated UUID (v4)	`550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000`

Example:

curl -X POST http://localhost:3000/api/v1/tasks \
     -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
     -d '{
       "command": "-y -i ${INPUT_FILE} -c:v libx264 -preset fast -crf 23 ${OUTPUT_FILE}",
       "inputFile": "/volumes/ffmate/source/video.mp4",
       "outputFile": "/volumes/ffmate/processed/${UUID}_video.mp4"
     }'

Output Path:

/volumes/ffmate/processed/550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000_video.mp4

Task Source

This wildcard returns the origin of the task, indicating whether it was created through the API or triggered automatically by a watchfolder.
It’s especially useful in pre-processing scripts, where different logic may be applied based on how the task was initiated.

Wildcard	Description	Example Output
`${SOURCE}`	Returns the source that triggered the task (e.g. API or watchfolder)	`api`, `watchfolder`

Example

Use ${SOURCE} in a Bash script to apply different behavior depending on the task’s origin.

bash

#!/usr/bin/env bash

# Pre-processing script example
# Adjusts logic based on the source of the task

case "$SOURCE" in
  api)
    echo "Task originated from API. Applying API-specific logic."
    # Add API-specific pre-processing commands here
    ;;
  watchfolder)
    echo "Task originated from Watchfolder. Applying Watchfolder-specific logic."
    # Add Watchfolder-specific pre-processing commands here
    ;;
  *)
    echo "Unknown task source. Applying default logic."
    # Add fallback logic here
    ;;
esac

Wildcards ​

Input & Output File Information ​

Full File Path: ​

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Filename Information: ​

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Output Path: ​

File Extensions and Directory Path: ​

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Output Path: ​

Date & Time Wildcards ​

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Output Path: ​

Timestamps ​

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Output Path: ​

System Information ​

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Output Path: ​

Unique Identifier ​

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Output Path: ​

Task Source ​

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Wildcards

Input & Output File Information

Full File Path:

Example:

Filename Information:

Example:

Output Path:

File Extensions and Directory Path:

Example:

Output Path:

Date & Time Wildcards

Example:

Output Path:

Timestamps

Example:

Output Path:

System Information

Example:

Output Path:

Unique Identifier

Example:

Output Path:

Task Source

Example