Mapping
When you create a library in FileFlows, the path to that library is relative to the server — the system running the FileFlows Server. However, external processing nodes may not access the same path in the same way, especially if they run a different operating system or reference mount points differently.
To resolve this, you can define a mapping that translates the server path into a path known to the external processing node.
Example
Suppose you have a library file located on the server at:
/media/tv/myshow/season 1/myshow.mkv
But the external processing node is a Windows machine that accesses this location via a network share like:
\\myserver\tv
You would need to configure a mapping like:
- Server Path:
/media/tv - Node Path:
\\myserver\\tv
With this mapping, FileFlows will rewrite the server path into the node-accessible path, so the processing node will correctly use:
\\myserver\tv\myshow\season 1\myshow.mkv
OS Compatibility
Mappings also normalize path separators based on the target operating system. So / becomes \ on Windows, and \ becomes / on Unix-based systems, as appropriate.
Mappings only work if the processing node can access the server’s files.
If the node is on a different network or has no access to the server’s storage (e.g., no shared folders or mounts), the mapping alone won’t grant access.
More Examples
| Server OS | Node OS | Server Path | Node Path | Resulting Path Seen by Node |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Windows | /mnt/media/movies | \\server\\movies | \\server\movies\inception\Inception.mkv |
| Windows | Linux | D:\Media\TV | /mnt/tv | /mnt/tv/The Office/Season 1/Episode 1.mkv |
| Linux | Linux | /data/movies | /mnt/nfs/movies | /mnt/nfs/movies/Action/Die Hard.mkv |