Fetch and crop images

Stillwater handles the four image slots per artist (thumb, fanart, logo, banner) through a single workflow: choose candidates from providers (or the web, or a local file), preview them side by side, crop if needed, save. This page walks through the variations.

For the concept (slots, multi-fanart, platform terminology), see images.

Fetch from providers (one image)

When you want a fresh image for one slot from your configured providers:

1. Open the artist's Images tab.
2. Click Find on the slot you want to fill (e.g., the thumb slot).
3. Stillwater queries providers in priority order and shows candidates side by side. Each candidate carries the source provider's name and the dimensions.
4. Pick the one you want. The image previews full-size.
5. (Optional) Crop in the in-browser cropper -- handles for resizing, drag to reposition, the result preview updates live.
6. Click Save.

The saved file goes into the artist's directory under the canonical filename for the slot. Existing image is replaced (after a brief backup, in case you want to undo).

Fetch from web search

For cases where curated providers don't have what you need.

1. Same as above, but click Web search instead of Find.
2. Stillwater queries the configured web search adapter (e.g., DuckDuckGo).
3. The result list shows thumbnails with source URLs.
4. Pick a candidate, preview, crop, save.

Web image search runs only on demand -- never as part of an automatic refresh -- so a forgotten search adapter doesn't drive automated fetches.

Fetch many images at once (bulk)

When you want to populate images across many artists in one go:

1. Open the artist list (or filter to a saved view).
2. Click Bulk actions > Fetch images.
3. Confirm the scope. Stillwater queues image fetches; results stream into each artist's record as they complete.

The bulk path uses your priority list per slot. It applies the rule thresholds: candidates that don't meet the minimum resolution rule are passed over (when configured to do so) in favor of higher-quality alternatives.

Upload from your computer

When you have the image already.

1. Open the artist's Images tab.
2. Click Upload on the target slot.
3. Drag a file onto the drop zone, or click to file-pick.
4. (Optional) Crop.
5. Save.

Maximum upload size is 25 MB. Supported formats: JPG, PNG.

Crop a logo (trim padding)

Logos sometimes ship with excessive transparent padding around the artwork. The "Logo excessive padding" rule flags these; the trim action repairs them.

1. Open the artist's Images tab.
2. On the logo slot, click Trim (only appears when the rule has flagged the logo).
3. Stillwater detects the artwork's bounding box and trims the surrounding padding, leaving a configurable margin (default 2 pixels).
4. The result previews; click Save to keep, or Cancel to leave the original.

The trim margin is configurable under the rule's settings (Settings > Rules > Logo excessive padding).

Manage multi-fanart

Fanart is the only slot that supports more than one image. The Images tab's fanart strip shows every fanart, with the primary first.

To add another fanart:

1. Click Add fanart at the end of the strip.
2. Choose Find, Web search, or Upload.
3. Select, crop, save. The new fanart joins the strip.

To reorder:

• On the artist page, hover (or focus) any non-primary fanart in the gallery; a star button appears on the overlay. Click the star to promote that fanart to primary -- the rest keep their existing order behind it. (Clicking the thumbnail itself opens the lightbox; the star is the promotion control.)
• For finer control, open the artist's image search page (the same place you fetch new fanart from). The fanart gallery there shows each fanart with up and down buttons; click them to reshuffle. The first fanart is primary, and the file numbering on disk follows the order, with the platform's convention applied (Emby/Jellyfin uses fanart.jpg, fanart2.jpg, ...; Kodi uses fanart.jpg, fanart1.jpg, ...).

To delete:

• Click the X on a fanart thumbnail. Files renumber after deletion to fill the gap.

To delete many at once:

• On the image search page's fanart gallery, tick the checkbox on each fanart you want to remove, then click Delete selected (the button label updates to Delete N selected as soon as you've ticked at least one).

Comparison view

When you want to compare what's currently saved against the candidates from providers, the comparison view shows the current image and N candidates side by side, all at the same display size, with a "select this" button on each. Useful for picking between visually similar options.

What happens after a successful fetch

Once a fetch or upload writes a new image, Stillwater reruns the artist's image rules immediately. Violations like "missing thumb" or "missing fanart" disappear from the artist's row and the dashboard the moment the slot is populated, instead of waiting for the next scheduled rule scan.

Skip rule violations during a fetch

If a fetch returns nothing satisfactory and the rule has "select best candidate" turned on, Stillwater picks the highest-resolution candidate and saves it -- even if it doesn't meet the threshold. The result still flags as a violation, but you've at least populated the slot.

To enforce the threshold strictly (no save unless a candidate meets the rule), turn that option off under the rule's config.

Why a fetch returned no images

If a slot's Find action shows no candidates:

• No providers supply that slot. The MusicBrainz API has limited image coverage; Fanart.tv has the broadest. Check that Fanart.tv (and ideally AudioDB) are in your priority list for the slot.
• No usable IDs. Some image providers need their own IDs (Spotify needs a Spotify ID). If Stillwater hasn't learned the ID yet, the call is skipped. Run a metadata refresh first to populate IDs.
• Transient outage. Try again in a few minutes; the orchestrator preserves existing images on transient errors.

See also

• Images concept for the slots and platform terminology.
• Configure provider priorities for setting which providers Stillwater asks first.
• Edit an artist for fanart-reorder shortcuts and the in-place edit affordances.