Codec-aware transcode routing, two-stage queue, request candidate picker, admin reorg

- Requests approval now shows a Radarr/Sonarr candidate picker instead of grabbing the first search result (fixes wrong-title/wrong-year matches)
- approve_request reuses an existing Radarr/Sonarr entry instead of erroring when content is already in the library
- New codec-check queue (step 1) probes source codecs and skips transcoding entirely for already browser-native files; only non-native content reaches the transcode queue (step 2)
- Fixes ffmpeg hard-failing on non-H.264 sources via the h264_mp4toannexb bitstream filter (root cause of the fix-audio-all failures)
- Added Codec Check Worker / Transcode Worker to the services health panel with restart
- Reorganized the admin page into Pipeline/Utilities dropdowns; added the missing Sonarr Import link
- Bumped VERSION 1.0.0 -> 1.1.0

backend/VERSION

@@ -1 +1 @@
-1.0.0
+1.1.0

backend/backfill_transcode.py

@@ -0,0 +1,53 @@
+import asyncio
+import os
+import uuid
+from datetime import datetime, timezone
+from pathlib import Path
+
+from motor.motor_asyncio import AsyncIOMotorClient
+from transcode import classify_source
+
+
+async def main():
+    client = AsyncIOMotorClient(os.environ["MONGO_URL"])
+    db = client[os.environ.get("DB_NAME", "kino")]
+    videos_dir = Path(os.environ.get("MEDIA_ROOT", "/media")) / "videos"
+
+    cancel_res = await db.transcode_queue.update_many(
+        {"status": "pending"},
+        {"$set": {"status": "cancelled", "finished_at": datetime.now(timezone.utc).isoformat()}},
+    )
+    print(f"cancelled stale pending jobs: {cancel_res.modified_count}")
+
+    stats = {"native": 0, "audio": 0, "abr": 0, "no_source": 0}
+    for coll_name, content_type in (("movies", "movie"), ("episodes", "episode")):
+        coll = db[coll_name]
+        async for doc in coll.find({"hls_status": {"$ne": "done"}}, {"_id": 0}):
+            storage_type = doc.get("storage_type")
+            storage_path = doc.get("storage_path")
+            if storage_type not in ("local", "radarr", "sonarr", "scan") or not storage_path:
+                stats["no_source"] += 1
+                continue
+            source = Path(storage_path) if storage_type in ("radarr", "sonarr", "scan") else videos_dir / storage_path
+
+            classification = await classify_source(source)
+            if classification == "native":
+                await coll.update_one({"id": doc["id"]}, {"$set": {"hls_status": "not_needed"}})
+                stats["native"] += 1
+                continue
+
+            quality = "abr" if classification == "abr" else "audio"
+            stats[quality] += 1
+            job = {
+                "id": str(uuid.uuid4()), "movie_id": doc["id"], "movie_title": doc.get("title", ""),
+                "content_type": content_type, "quality": quality, "status": "pending", "error": "",
+                "triggered_by": "backfill", "progress": 0.0, "superseded_by": None,
+                "created_at": datetime.now(timezone.utc).isoformat(), "started_at": None, "finished_at": None,
+            }
+            await db.transcode_queue.insert_one(job)
+            await coll.update_one({"id": doc["id"]}, {"$set": {"hls_status": "pending"}})
+
+    print(stats)
+
+
+asyncio.run(main())

backend/models.py

@@ -193,6 +193,8 @@ class RequestUpdate(BaseModel):
 
 class RequestApprove(BaseModel):
     content_type: str  # "movie" | "tv"
+    tmdb_id: Optional[int] = None  # movie: explicit pick from /requests/{id}/candidates
+    tvdb_id: Optional[int] = None  # tv: explicit pick from /requests/{id}/candidates
 
 
 class MovieRequest(BaseModel):
@@ -380,6 +382,26 @@ class TranscodeJob(BaseModel):
     finished_at: Optional[str] = None
 
 
+class CodecCheckJob(BaseModel):
+    """Step 1 of the pipeline, ahead of TranscodeJob (step 2): probes the source file's actual
+    video/audio codecs and decides whether it needs a transcode at all. 'native' sources skip
+    straight to the library with no transcode job ever created; 'audio'/'abr' sources get
+    handed off to a TranscodeJob."""
+    model_config = ConfigDict(extra="ignore")
+    id: str = Field(default_factory=lambda: str(uuid.uuid4()))
+    movie_id: str  # generic content id (movie_id OR episode_id, depending on content_type)
+    movie_title: str = ""
+    content_type: str = "movie"  # movie | episode
+    status: str = "pending"  # pending | running | done | failed | cancelled | superseded
+    classification: Optional[str] = None  # native | audio | abr, set once done
+    error: str = ""
+    triggered_by: str = "manual"
+    superseded_by: Optional[str] = None
+    created_at: str = Field(default_factory=_now_iso)
+    started_at: Optional[str] = None
+    finished_at: Optional[str] = None
+
+
 class QueuePauseToggle(BaseModel):
     paused: bool
 

backend/radarr.py

@@ -54,7 +54,10 @@ def search_movie(base_url: str, api_key: str, term: str) -> List[Dict]:
 
 def add_movie(base_url: str, api_key: str, tmdb_id: int, title: str, year: Optional[int]) -> Dict:
     """Adds a movie by tmdb_id with monitoring + an immediate search enabled, using the first
-    configured quality profile and root folder — same defaults Radarr's own UI would pre-fill."""
+    configured quality profile and root folder — same defaults Radarr's own UI would pre-fill.
+    If the movie is already in Radarr's library, Radarr rejects the add with a 400
+    MovieExistsValidator — in that case, reuse the existing movie and just kick off a search
+    instead of surfacing the add as a failure."""
     base_url = base_url.rstrip("/")
     h = _h(api_key)
     profiles = requests.get(f"{base_url}/api/v3/qualityprofile", headers=h, timeout=15).json()
@@ -67,6 +70,14 @@ def add_movie(base_url: str, api_key: str, tmdb_id: int, title: str, year: Optio
         "monitored": True, "addOptions": {"searchForMovie": True},
     }
     r = requests.post(f"{base_url}/api/v3/movie", json=payload, headers=h, timeout=20)
+    if r.status_code == 400 and any(e.get("errorCode") == "MovieExistsValidator" for e in (r.json() or [])):
+        existing = requests.get(f"{base_url}/api/v3/movie", params={"tmdbId": tmdb_id}, headers=h, timeout=15).json()
+        if not existing:
+            raise RuntimeError("Radarr reported movie already exists but it could not be found")
+        movie = existing[0]
+        requests.put(f"{base_url}/api/v3/movie/{movie['id']}", json={**movie, "monitored": True}, headers=h, timeout=15)
+        requests.post(f"{base_url}/api/v3/command", json={"name": "MoviesSearch", "movieIds": [movie["id"]]}, headers=h, timeout=15)
+        return {"radarr_id": movie["id"], "title": movie.get("title"), "year": movie.get("year")}
     r.raise_for_status()
     added = r.json()
     return {"radarr_id": added["id"], "title": added.get("title"), "year": added.get("year")}

backend/server.py

@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ from models import (
     RequestCreate, RequestUpdate, RequestApprove, MovieRequest,
     AppSettings, AppSettingsPublic,
     TMDBSearchResult, RadarrMovieDTO,
-    TranscodeJob, QueuePauseToggle,
+    TranscodeJob, CodecCheckJob, QueuePauseToggle,
     Show, ShowCreate, ShowUpdate, Episode, EpisodeCreate, EpisodeProgressUpsert,
     SonarrSeriesDTO, TraktDeviceCodeResponse, TraktStatus, OpenSubsResult,
     Track, TrackUpdate,
@@ -42,7 +42,7 @@ import itunes as itunes_client
 import acoustid as acoustid_client
 import trakt as trakt_client
 import opensubtitles as opensubs_client
-from transcode import transcode_quick, transcode_abr, transcode_audio_fix, srt_to_vtt
+from transcode import transcode_quick, transcode_abr, transcode_audio_fix, srt_to_vtt, classify_source
 
 
 ROOT_DIR = Path(__file__).parent
@@ -185,8 +185,14 @@ async def on_startup():
         {"$set": {"status": "failed", "error": "Backend restarted while running"}},
     )
     await db.transcode_queue.create_index([("status", 1), ("created_at", 1)])
+    await db.codec_check_queue.update_many(
+        {"status": "running"},
+        {"$set": {"status": "failed", "error": "Backend restarted while running"}},
+    )
+    await db.codec_check_queue.create_index([("status", 1), ("created_at", 1)])
 
-    # Start the background transcode worker
+    # Start the background workers: codec check (step 1) feeds the transcode queue (step 2)
+    asyncio.create_task(_codec_check_worker())
     asyncio.create_task(_transcode_worker())
 
 
@@ -477,11 +483,11 @@ async def upload_video(
     doc = movie.model_dump()
     await db.movies.insert_one(doc)
 
-    # Auto-enqueue transcode if enabled
+    # Auto-enqueue codec check (step 1) if enabled
     s = await get_settings()
     auto = s.get("auto_transcode", "off")
     if auto in ("quick", "abr"):
-        await _enqueue_transcode(doc["id"], auto, triggered_by="auto")
+        await _enqueue_codec_check(doc["id"], content_type="movie", triggered_by="auto")
     return _strip(doc)
 
 
@@ -613,6 +619,93 @@ async def _process_job(job: dict):
     )
 
 
+def _source_path_for(doc: dict) -> Optional[Path]:
+    """Resolve a movie/episode doc's on-disk source path, or None if it has no local file."""
+    storage_type = doc.get("storage_type")
+    storage_path = doc.get("storage_path")
+    if not storage_path:
+        return None
+    if storage_type in ("radarr", "sonarr", "scan"):
+        return Path(storage_path)
+    if storage_type == "local":
+        return VIDEOS_DIR / storage_path
+    return None
+
+
+async def _enqueue_codec_check(content_id: str, content_type: str = "movie", triggered_by: str = "auto") -> dict:
+    """Step 1: queue a codec probe for newly-imported content. The worker below decides,
+    per file, whether it needs a transcode at all (see classify_source) — 'native' sources go
+    straight to the library, everything else gets handed to _enqueue_transcode (step 2)."""
+    coll = db.movies if content_type == "movie" else db.episodes
+    doc = await coll.find_one({"id": content_id}, {"_id": 0, "title": 1})
+    title = doc.get("title", "") if doc else ""
+    existing = await db.codec_check_queue.find_one(
+        {"movie_id": content_id, "status": {"$in": ["pending", "running"]}}, {"_id": 0},
+    )
+    if existing:
+        return existing
+    job = CodecCheckJob(
+        movie_id=content_id, movie_title=title, content_type=content_type, triggered_by=triggered_by,
+    ).model_dump()
+    await db.codec_check_queue.insert_one(job)
+    return job
+
+
+async def _process_codec_check(job: dict):
+    content_type = job.get("content_type", "movie")
+    coll = db.movies if content_type == "movie" else db.episodes
+    doc = await coll.find_one({"id": job["movie_id"]}, {"_id": 0})
+    if not doc:
+        await db.codec_check_queue.update_one(
+            {"id": job["id"]},
+            {"$set": {"status": "failed", "error": f"{content_type} not found", "finished_at": datetime.now(timezone.utc).isoformat()}},
+        )
+        return
+    source = _source_path_for(doc)
+    if source is None:
+        await db.codec_check_queue.update_one(
+            {"id": job["id"]},
+            {"$set": {"status": "failed", "error": "Not a local file", "finished_at": datetime.now(timezone.utc).isoformat()}},
+        )
+        return
+
+    classification = await classify_source(source)
+    await db.codec_check_queue.update_one(
+        {"id": job["id"]},
+        {"$set": {"status": "done", "classification": classification, "finished_at": datetime.now(timezone.utc).isoformat()}},
+    )
+    if classification == "native":
+        await coll.update_one({"id": job["movie_id"]}, {"$set": {"hls_status": "not_needed"}})
+    else:
+        quality = "abr" if classification == "abr" else "audio"
+        await _enqueue_transcode(job["movie_id"], quality, triggered_by="codec_check", content_type=content_type)
+
+
+async def _codec_check_worker():
+    """Single FIFO worker for step 1, mirroring the transcode worker below."""
+    logger.info("Codec check worker started")
+    while True:
+        try:
+            settings = await get_settings()
+            if settings.get("codec_check_paused", False):
+                await asyncio.sleep(15)
+                continue
+            job = await db.codec_check_queue.find_one_and_update(
+                {"status": "pending"},
+                {"$set": {"status": "running", "started_at": datetime.now(timezone.utc).isoformat()}},
+                sort=[("created_at", 1)],
+                projection={"_id": 0},
+                return_document=True,
+            )
+            if not job:
+                await asyncio.sleep(8)
+                continue
+            await _process_codec_check(job)
+        except Exception:
+            logger.exception("Codec check worker error")
+            await asyncio.sleep(10)
+
+
 async def _transcode_worker():
     """Single FIFO worker. Polls for pending jobs and runs them serially."""
     logger.info("Transcode worker started")
@@ -640,9 +733,15 @@ async def _transcode_worker():
 
 
 async def _enqueue_transcode(content_id: str, quality: str, triggered_by: str = "manual", content_type: str = "movie") -> dict:
-    """Add a job to the queue. Returns the job document. Works for movies + episodes."""
+    """Add a job to the queue. Returns the job document. Works for movies + episodes.
+    Before queuing, probes the actual source codec and lets that override the requested
+    quality: already-browser-native sources (H.264 + AAC/MP3) skip transcoding entirely
+    (hls_status becomes "not_needed" and playback falls back to the raw-file stream endpoint,
+    which already handles this case), and non-H.264 sources are forced to "abr" regardless of
+    what was requested — "quick"/"audio" apply a bitstream filter that assumes H.264 input and
+    crashes ffmpeg outright otherwise (this is what caused the recent fix-audio-all failures)."""
     coll = db.movies if content_type == "movie" else db.episodes
-    doc = await coll.find_one({"id": content_id}, {"_id": 0, "title": 1})
+    doc = await coll.find_one({"id": content_id}, {"_id": 0})
     title = doc.get("title", "") if doc else ""
     existing = await db.transcode_queue.find_one(
         {"movie_id": content_id, "status": {"$in": ["pending", "running"]}},
@@ -650,6 +749,24 @@ async def _enqueue_transcode(content_id: str, quality: str, triggered_by: str =
     )
     if existing:
         return existing
+
+    source = None
+    if doc and doc.get("storage_path"):
+        if doc.get("storage_type") in ("radarr", "sonarr", "scan"):
+            source = Path(doc["storage_path"])
+        elif doc.get("storage_type") == "local":
+            source = VIDEOS_DIR / doc["storage_path"]
+
+    if source is not None:
+        classification = await classify_source(source)
+        if classification == "native":
+            await coll.update_one({"id": content_id}, {"$set": {"hls_status": "not_needed"}})
+            return {"skipped": True, "reason": "native", "movie_id": content_id, "movie_title": title}
+        if classification == "abr":
+            quality = "abr"
+        elif classification == "audio" and quality == "quick":
+            quality = "audio"
+
     job = TranscodeJob(
         movie_id=content_id, movie_title=title, quality=quality,
         triggered_by=triggered_by, content_type=content_type,
@@ -672,9 +789,83 @@ async def trigger_transcode(movie_id: str, payload: Optional[dict] = None, user:
     if movie.get("hls_status") in ("running", "pending"):
         raise HTTPException(status_code=409, detail="Already transcoding or queued")
     job = await _enqueue_transcode(movie_id, quality, triggered_by="manual")
+    if job.get("skipped"):
+        return {"ok": True, "status": "not_needed", "quality": quality, "job_id": None}
     return {"ok": True, "status": "pending", "quality": quality, "job_id": job["id"]}
 
 
+# ============ Codec Check Queue endpoints (step 1, ahead of the Transcode Queue) ============
+@api.get("/codec-check/queue", response_model=List[CodecCheckJob])
+async def list_codec_check_queue(status: Optional[str] = None, user: dict = Depends(require_admin)):
+    q: dict = {}
+    if status:
+        q["status"] = {"$in": status.split(",")}
+    rows = await db.codec_check_queue.find(q, {"_id": 0}).sort("created_at", -1).to_list(500)
+    return rows
+
+
+@api.get("/codec-check/queue/running", response_model=Optional[CodecCheckJob])
+async def get_running_codec_check_job(user: dict = Depends(require_admin)):
+    return await db.codec_check_queue.find_one({"status": "running"}, {"_id": 0})
+
+
+@api.get("/codec-check/queue/stats")
+async def codec_check_queue_stats(user: dict = Depends(require_admin)):
+    pipeline = [{"$group": {"_id": "$status", "n": {"$sum": 1}}}]
+    out = {"pending": 0, "running": 0, "done": 0, "failed": 0, "cancelled": 0, "superseded": 0}
+    async for row in db.codec_check_queue.aggregate(pipeline):
+        out[row["_id"]] = row["n"]
+    s = await get_settings()
+    out["paused"] = bool(s.get("codec_check_paused", False))
+    return out
+
+
+@api.delete("/codec-check/queue/{job_id}")
+async def cancel_codec_check_job(job_id: str, user: dict = Depends(require_admin)):
+    job = await db.codec_check_queue.find_one({"id": job_id}, {"_id": 0})
+    if not job: raise HTTPException(status_code=404, detail="Job not found")
+    if job["status"] == "running":
+        raise HTTPException(status_code=400, detail="Cannot cancel a running job")
+    await db.codec_check_queue.update_one({"id": job_id}, {"$set": {"status": "cancelled", "finished_at": datetime.now(timezone.utc).isoformat()}})
+    return {"ok": True}
+
+
+@api.post("/codec-check/queue/{job_id}/retry")
+async def retry_codec_check_job(job_id: str, user: dict = Depends(require_admin)):
+    job = await db.codec_check_queue.find_one({"id": job_id}, {"_id": 0})
+    if not job: raise HTTPException(status_code=404, detail="Job not found")
+    if job["status"] not in ("failed", "cancelled"):
+        raise HTTPException(status_code=400, detail="Only failed/cancelled jobs can be retried")
+    new_job = await _enqueue_codec_check(job["movie_id"], content_type=job.get("content_type", "movie"), triggered_by=job.get("triggered_by", "manual"))
+    if new_job["id"] != job["id"]:
+        await db.codec_check_queue.update_one({"id": job["id"]}, {"$set": {"status": "superseded", "superseded_by": new_job["id"]}})
+    return {"ok": True, "job_id": new_job["id"]}
+
+
+@api.post("/codec-check/queue/retry-failed")
+async def retry_all_failed_codec_check(user: dict = Depends(require_admin)):
+    jobs = await db.codec_check_queue.find({"status": {"$in": ["failed", "cancelled"]}}, {"_id": 0}).to_list(None)
+    retried = 0
+    for job in jobs:
+        new_job = await _enqueue_codec_check(job["movie_id"], content_type=job.get("content_type", "movie"), triggered_by=job.get("triggered_by", "manual"))
+        if new_job["id"] != job["id"]:
+            await db.codec_check_queue.update_one({"id": job["id"]}, {"$set": {"status": "superseded", "superseded_by": new_job["id"]}})
+        retried += 1
+    return {"ok": True, "retried": retried}
+
+
+@api.post("/codec-check/queue/clear")
+async def clear_finished_codec_check(user: dict = Depends(require_admin)):
+    res = await db.codec_check_queue.delete_many({"status": {"$in": ["done", "failed", "cancelled", "superseded"]}})
+    return {"ok": True, "deleted": res.deleted_count}
+
+
+@api.post("/codec-check/queue/pause")
+async def pause_codec_check_queue(payload: QueuePauseToggle, user: dict = Depends(require_admin)):
+    await db.settings.update_one({"id": "app"}, {"$set": {"codec_check_paused": payload.paused}}, upsert=True)
+    return {"ok": True, "paused": payload.paused}
+
+
 # ============ Transcode Queue endpoints ============
 @api.get("/transcode/queue", response_model=List[TranscodeJob])
 async def list_queue(status: Optional[str] = None, user: dict = Depends(require_admin)):
@@ -726,6 +917,10 @@ async def retry_job(job_id: str, user: dict = Depends(require_admin)):
     if job["status"] not in ("failed", "cancelled"):
         raise HTTPException(status_code=400, detail="Only failed/cancelled jobs can be retried")
     new_job = await _enqueue_transcode(job["movie_id"], job["quality"], triggered_by=job.get("triggered_by", "manual"), content_type=job.get("content_type", "movie"))
+    if new_job.get("skipped"):
+        # Turned out to be browser-native on re-check — nothing to queue, just close out the old job.
+        await db.transcode_queue.update_one({"id": job["id"]}, {"$set": {"status": "superseded", "superseded_by": None}})
+        return {"ok": True, "job_id": None, "status": "not_needed"}
     if new_job["id"] != job["id"]:
         # Keep the original row for the audit trail — mark it superseded rather than deleting,
         # so cancelled/failed history never silently disappears from the list.
@@ -739,7 +934,9 @@ async def retry_all_failed(user: dict = Depends(require_admin)):
     retried = 0
     for job in jobs:
         new_job = await _enqueue_transcode(job["movie_id"], job["quality"], triggered_by=job.get("triggered_by", "manual"), content_type=job.get("content_type", "movie"))
-        if new_job["id"] != job["id"]:
+        if new_job.get("skipped"):
+            await db.transcode_queue.update_one({"id": job["id"]}, {"$set": {"status": "superseded", "superseded_by": None}})
+        elif new_job["id"] != job["id"]:
             await db.transcode_queue.update_one({"id": job["id"]}, {"$set": {"status": "superseded", "superseded_by": new_job["id"]}})
         retried += 1
     return {"ok": True, "retried": retried}
@@ -982,11 +1179,39 @@ async def update_request(request_id: str, payload: RequestUpdate, user: dict = D
     return res
 
 
+@api.get("/requests/{request_id}/candidates")
+async def request_candidates(request_id: str, content_type: str, user: dict = Depends(require_admin)):
+    """Returns Radarr/Sonarr's raw title-search results so an admin can see every match
+    (title, year, poster) and pick the right one before anything gets added/grabbed —
+    instead of approve blindly taking whatever came back first."""
+    if content_type not in ("movie", "tv"):
+        raise HTTPException(status_code=400, detail="content_type must be movie or tv")
+    req = await db.requests.find_one({"id": request_id}, {"_id": 0})
+    if not req: raise HTTPException(status_code=404, detail="Request not found")
+    s = await get_settings()
+    try:
+        if content_type == "movie":
+            if not s.get("radarr_url") or not s.get("radarr_api_key"):
+                raise HTTPException(status_code=400, detail="Radarr not configured")
+            return await asyncio.to_thread(radarr_client.search_movie, s["radarr_url"], s["radarr_api_key"], req["title"])
+        else:
+            if not s.get("sonarr_url") or not s.get("sonarr_api_key"):
+                raise HTTPException(status_code=400, detail="Sonarr not configured")
+            return await asyncio.to_thread(sonarr_client.search_series, s["sonarr_url"], s["sonarr_api_key"], req["title"])
+    except HTTPException:
+        raise
+    except Exception as e:
+        raise HTTPException(status_code=502, detail=f"Lookup error: {e}")
+
+
 @api.post("/requests/{request_id}/approve", response_model=MovieRequest)
 async def approve_request(request_id: str, payload: RequestApprove, user: dict = Depends(require_admin)):
-    """Looks up the request's title in Radarr/Sonarr, adds the best match with an immediate
+    """Looks up the request's title in Radarr/Sonarr and adds a match with an immediate
-    search enabled, and marks the request approved. Content actually lands via the normal
+    search enabled, then marks the request approved. Content actually lands via the normal
-    Radarr/Sonarr download pipeline — this only kicks that off."""
+    Radarr/Sonarr download pipeline — this only kicks that off.
+    If payload.tmdb_id/tvdb_id is set (admin picked a specific result from
+    GET /requests/{id}/candidates), that exact candidate is used. Otherwise falls back to
+    the old best-effort match (year match, else first search result) for backward compat."""
     if payload.content_type not in ("movie", "tv"):
         raise HTTPException(status_code=400, detail="content_type must be movie or tv")
     # Atomically claim the request so two concurrent approve calls (double-click, two admins)
@@ -1009,6 +1234,11 @@ async def approve_request(request_id: str, payload: RequestApprove, user: dict =
                 candidates = await asyncio.to_thread(radarr_client.search_movie, s["radarr_url"], s["radarr_api_key"], req["title"])
             except Exception as e:
                 raise HTTPException(status_code=502, detail=f"Radarr lookup error: {e}")
+            if payload.tmdb_id is not None:
+                match = next((c for c in candidates if c.get("tmdb_id") == payload.tmdb_id), None)
+                if not match:
+                    raise HTTPException(status_code=404, detail="Selected match no longer in Radarr's search results")
+            else:
                 match = next((c for c in candidates if req.get("year") and c.get("year") == req["year"]), candidates[0] if candidates else None)
             if not match:
                 raise HTTPException(status_code=404, detail="No match found in Radarr")
@@ -1025,6 +1255,11 @@ async def approve_request(request_id: str, payload: RequestApprove, user: dict =
                 candidates = await asyncio.to_thread(sonarr_client.search_series, s["sonarr_url"], s["sonarr_api_key"], req["title"])
             except Exception as e:
                 raise HTTPException(status_code=502, detail=f"Sonarr lookup error: {e}")
+            if payload.tvdb_id is not None:
+                match = next((c for c in candidates if c.get("tvdb_id") == payload.tvdb_id), None)
+                if not match:
+                    raise HTTPException(status_code=404, detail="Selected match no longer in Sonarr's search results")
+            else:
                 match = next((c for c in candidates if req.get("year") and c.get("year") == req["year"]), candidates[0] if candidates else None)
             if not match:
                 raise HTTPException(status_code=404, detail="No match found in Sonarr")
@@ -1190,7 +1425,7 @@ async def radarr_import(payload: dict, user: dict = Depends(require_admin)):
         ).model_dump()
         await db.movies.insert_one(movie)
         if auto in ("quick", "abr"):
-            await _enqueue_transcode(movie["id"], auto, triggered_by="auto")
+            await _enqueue_codec_check(movie["id"], content_type="movie", triggered_by="auto")
         # Auto-fetch English subtitle (fire and forget)
         asyncio.create_task(_auto_fetch_subtitle("movie", movie["id"], movie.get("tmdb_id")))
         created += 1
@@ -1323,6 +1558,8 @@ async def transcode_episode(episode_id: str, payload: Optional[dict] = None, use
     if ep.get("hls_status") in ("running", "pending"):
         raise HTTPException(status_code=409, detail="Already transcoding or queued")
     job = await _enqueue_transcode(episode_id, quality, triggered_by="manual", content_type="episode")
+    if job.get("skipped"):
+        return {"ok": True, "status": "not_needed", "job_id": None}
     return {"ok": True, "job_id": job["id"]}
 
 
@@ -1477,7 +1714,7 @@ async def sonarr_import(payload: dict, user: dict = Depends(require_admin)):
             ).model_dump()
             await db.episodes.insert_one(edoc); created_eps += 1
             if auto in ("quick", "abr"):
-                await _enqueue_transcode(edoc["id"], auto, triggered_by="auto", content_type="episode")
+                await _enqueue_codec_check(edoc["id"], content_type="episode", triggered_by="auto")
             # Auto-fetch English subtitle for this episode (needs show's tmdb_id + season/episode numbers)
             show_doc = await db.shows.find_one({"id": show_id}, {"_id": 0, "tmdb_id": 1})
             if show_doc and show_doc.get("tmdb_id"):
@@ -1544,7 +1781,7 @@ async def scan_import(payload: dict, user: dict = Depends(require_admin)):
             ).model_dump()
             await db.movies.insert_one(movie)
             if auto in ("quick", "abr"):
-                await _enqueue_transcode(movie["id"], auto, triggered_by="auto")
+                await _enqueue_codec_check(movie["id"], content_type="movie", triggered_by="auto")
             created += 1
 
     elif kind == "tv":
@@ -1570,7 +1807,7 @@ async def scan_import(payload: dict, user: dict = Depends(require_admin)):
             ).model_dump()
             await db.episodes.insert_one(edoc)
             if auto in ("quick", "abr"):
-                await _enqueue_transcode(edoc["id"], auto, triggered_by="auto", content_type="episode")
+                await _enqueue_codec_check(edoc["id"], content_type="episode", triggered_by="auto")
             created += 1
         for show_id in set(shows_by_title.values()):
             seasons = await db.episodes.distinct("season_number", {"show_id": show_id})
@@ -2067,13 +2304,46 @@ async def _auto_fetch_subtitle(content_type: str, content_id: str, tmdb_id: Opti
 
 
 # ============ SERVICES (admin) ============
+WORKER_SERVICES = [
+    # (key, label, queue collection, stall threshold in seconds)
+    ("codec_check_worker", "Codec Check Worker", "codec_check_queue", 600),        # ffprobe is fast — 10min stuck means hung
+    ("transcode_worker", "Transcode Worker", "transcode_queue", 4 * 60 * 60),      # abr encodes can legitimately run hours
+]
+
+
+async def _worker_service_statuses() -> List[dict]:
+    out = []
+    for key, label, coll_name, stall_seconds in WORKER_SERVICES:
+        running_job = await db[coll_name].find_one({"status": "running"}, {"_id": 0, "started_at": 1})
+        stalled = False
+        if running_job and running_job.get("started_at"):
+            try:
+                started = datetime.fromisoformat(running_job["started_at"])
+                if (datetime.now(timezone.utc) - started).total_seconds() > stall_seconds:
+                    stalled = True
+            except ValueError:
+                pass
+        out.append({"key": key, "label": label, "running": not stalled})
+    return out
+
+
 @api.get("/services")
 async def services_status(user: dict = Depends(require_admin)):
-    return await asyncio.to_thread(services_client.list_service_status)
+    docker_services = await asyncio.to_thread(services_client.list_service_status)
+    return docker_services + await _worker_service_statuses()
 
 
 @api.post("/services/{key}/restart")
 async def services_restart(key: str, user: dict = Depends(require_admin)):
+    if key in ("codec_check_worker", "transcode_worker"):
+        # Both workers live in the backend process — restarting one restarts the whole
+        # container (and briefly the API with it). The stuck "running" job gets marked
+        # failed automatically by the startup crash-recovery logic, so it won't just hang
+        # again immediately; retry it from the relevant queue page afterward.
+        ok = await asyncio.to_thread(services_client.restart_backend)
+        if not ok:
+            raise HTTPException(status_code=500, detail="Could not restart backend")
+        return {"ok": True}
     ok = await asyncio.to_thread(services_client.restart_service, key)
     if not ok:
         raise HTTPException(status_code=404, detail="Unknown service")

backend/services.py

@@ -44,3 +44,18 @@ def restart_service(key: str) -> bool:
     c = client.containers.get(svc["container"])
     c.restart(timeout=15)
     return True
+
+
+# The codec-check and transcode workers are asyncio background tasks inside the backend
+# process itself, not separate containers — there's no way to bounce just one of them, so
+# "restart" for either really means restarting the whole streamhoard-backend container. That
+# briefly takes the API down too, not just the stalled queue; the caller (server.py) surfaces
+# both worker "services" as needing this same restart target.
+BACKEND_CONTAINER = "streamhoard-backend"
+
+
+def restart_backend() -> bool:
+    client = _get_client()
+    c = client.containers.get(BACKEND_CONTAINER)
+    c.restart(timeout=15)
+    return True

backend/sonarr.py

@@ -28,7 +28,11 @@ def search_series(base_url: str, api_key: str, term: str) -> List[Dict]:
 
 
 def add_series(base_url: str, api_key: str, tvdb_id: int, title: str, year) -> Dict:
-    """Adds a series by tvdb_id with monitoring + an immediate missing-episode search enabled."""
+    """Adds a series by tvdb_id with monitoring + an immediate missing-episode search enabled.
+    If the series is already in Sonarr's library (common for older/library titles carried over
+    from a past migration), Sonarr rejects the add with a 400 SeriesExistsValidator — in that
+    case, reuse the existing series and just kick off a missing-episode search instead of
+    surfacing the add as a failure."""
     base_url = base_url.rstrip("/")
     h = _h(api_key)
     profiles = requests.get(f"{base_url}/api/v3/qualityprofile", headers=h, timeout=15).json()
@@ -42,6 +46,16 @@ def add_series(base_url: str, api_key: str, tvdb_id: int, title: str, year) -> D
         "addOptions": {"searchForMissingEpisodes": True, "monitor": "all"},
     }
     r = requests.post(f"{base_url}/api/v3/series", json=payload, headers=h, timeout=20)
+    if r.status_code == 400 and any(e.get("errorCode") == "SeriesExistsValidator" for e in (r.json() or [])):
+        existing = requests.get(f"{base_url}/api/v3/series", params={"tvdbId": tvdb_id}, headers=h, timeout=15).json()
+        if not existing:
+            raise RuntimeError("Sonarr reported series already exists but it could not be found")
+        series = existing[0]
+        requests.post(f"{base_url}/api/v3/series/editor", json={
+            "seriesIds": [series["id"]], "monitored": True,
+        }, headers=h, timeout=15)
+        requests.post(f"{base_url}/api/v3/command", json={"name": "SeriesSearch", "seriesId": series["id"]}, headers=h, timeout=15)
+        return {"sonarr_id": series["id"], "title": series.get("title"), "year": series.get("year")}
     r.raise_for_status()
     added = r.json()
     return {"sonarr_id": added["id"], "title": added.get("title"), "year": added.get("year")}

backend/transcode.py

@@ -54,6 +54,53 @@ async def probe_duration(source: Path) -> float:
         return 0.0
 
 
+async def probe_codecs(source: Path) -> Tuple[str, str]:
+    """Return (video_codec, audio_codec), lowercased, via ffprobe; ('', '') on failure."""
+    try:
+        proc = await asyncio.create_subprocess_exec(
+            "ffprobe", "-v", "error", "-show_entries", "stream=codec_type,codec_name",
+            "-of", "json", str(source),
+            stdout=asyncio.subprocess.PIPE, stderr=asyncio.subprocess.PIPE,
+        )
+        stdout, _ = await proc.communicate()
+        if proc.returncode != 0:
+            return ("", "")
+        data = json.loads(stdout.decode("utf-8", errors="ignore") or "{}")
+        video_codec = audio_codec = ""
+        for s in data.get("streams") or []:
+            if s.get("codec_type") == "video" and not video_codec:
+                video_codec = (s.get("codec_name") or "").lower()
+            elif s.get("codec_type") == "audio" and not audio_codec:
+                audio_codec = (s.get("codec_name") or "").lower()
+        return (video_codec, audio_codec)
+    except Exception:
+        return ("", "")
+
+
+BROWSER_NATIVE_AUDIO = {"aac", "mp3"}
+
+
+async def classify_source(source: Path) -> str:
+    """Decide the cheapest correct transcode path for a source file:
+      - 'native': H.264 video + AAC/MP3 audio — browsers already play this file as-is (the
+        raw-file stream endpoint serves it directly), so no transcode is needed at all.
+      - 'audio':  H.264 video but non-browser audio (AC3/DTS/EAC3/etc) — cheap audio-only
+        re-encode, video stream-copied untouched.
+      - 'abr':    anything else (HEVC/VP9/etc, or codec probing failed) — needs a real video
+        re-encode. Also the safe fallback on probe failure: it's the only mode that doesn't
+        assume the source is already H.264 — 'audio'/'quick' apply the h264_mp4toannexb
+        bitstream filter unconditionally, which makes ffmpeg hard-fail on non-H.264 input.
+    """
+    if not source.is_file():
+        return "abr"
+    video_codec, audio_codec = await probe_codecs(source)
+    if not video_codec or video_codec != "h264":
+        return "abr"
+    if audio_codec in BROWSER_NATIVE_AUDIO:
+        return "native"
+    return "audio"
+
+
 # (height, video_bitrate, max_bitrate, buffer, audio_bitrate)
 ALL_VARIANTS = [
     (1080, "5000k", "5500k", "7500k", "192k"),

frontend/src/App.js

@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@ import AdminUpload from "./pages/AdminUpload";
 import Settings from "./pages/Settings";
 import RadarrImport from "./pages/RadarrImport";
 import TranscodeQueue from "./pages/TranscodeQueue";
+import CodecCheckQueue from "./pages/CodecCheckQueue";
 import Shows from "./pages/Shows";
 import ShowDetail from "./pages/ShowDetail";
 import EpisodePlayer from "./pages/EpisodePlayer";
@@ -105,6 +106,7 @@ function App() {
                   <Route path="/admin/cleanup" element={<AdminGate><LibraryCleanup /></AdminGate>} />
                   <Route path="/admin/shows/:id/episodes" element={<AdminGate><AdminShowEpisodes /></AdminGate>} />
                   <Route path="/admin/queue" element={<AdminGate><TranscodeQueue /></AdminGate>} />
+                  <Route path="/admin/codec-check" element={<AdminGate><CodecCheckQueue /></AdminGate>} />
                   <Route path="*" element={<Navigate to="/" replace />} />
                 </Routes>
               </Shell>

frontend/src/pages/Admin.jsx

@@ -1,9 +1,67 @@
-import { useEffect, useState } from "react";
+import { useEffect, useState, useRef } from "react";
 import api from "../lib/api";
 import { toast } from "sonner";
-import { Trash2, Star, Film, Settings as SettingsIcon, Download, RefreshCcw, FolderSearch, Wrench } from "lucide-react";
+import {
+  Trash2, Star, Film, Settings as SettingsIcon, Download, FolderSearch, Wrench, ScanSearch,
+  Tv, ClipboardList, ChevronDown, Users as UsersIcon,
+} from "lucide-react";
 import { useNavigate, Link } from "react-router-dom";
 
+// Ordered to match the actual content pipeline: a request comes in, gets pulled into
+// Radarr/Sonarr (or uploaded/scanned in directly), gets codec-checked, then transcoded if
+// needed — after that it's just in the library. Everything else is a standing utility, not a
+// step content passes through, so it lives in its own group.
+const PIPELINE_LINKS = [
+  { to: "/requests", label: "Review Requests", icon: ClipboardList, testId: "admin-requests-link" },
+  { to: "/admin/radarr", label: "Radarr Import", icon: Download, testId: "admin-radarr-link" },
+  { to: "/admin/sonarr", label: "Sonarr Import", icon: Tv, testId: "admin-sonarr-link" },
+  { to: "/admin/upload", label: "Upload Movie", icon: Film, testId: "admin-upload-link" },
+  { to: "/admin/scan", label: "Library Scan", icon: FolderSearch, testId: "admin-scan-link" },
+  { to: "/admin/codec-check", label: "Codec Check Queue", icon: ScanSearch, testId: "admin-codec-check-link" },
+  { to: "/admin/queue", label: "Transcode Queue", icon: SettingsIcon, testId: "admin-queue-link" },
+];
+
+const UTILITY_LINKS = [
+  { to: "/admin/cleanup", label: "Library Cleanup", icon: Wrench, testId: "admin-cleanup-link" },
+  { to: "/admin/users", label: "Users", icon: UsersIcon, testId: "admin-users-link" },
+];
+
+function AdminMenu({ label, links }) {
+  const [open, setOpen] = useState(false);
+  const ref = useRef(null);
+
+  useEffect(() => {
+    const onClick = (e) => { if (ref.current && !ref.current.contains(e.target)) setOpen(false); };
+    document.addEventListener("mousedown", onClick);
+    return () => document.removeEventListener("mousedown", onClick);
+  }, []);
+
+  return (
+    <div className="relative" ref={ref}>
+      <button
+        onClick={() => setOpen((v) => !v)}
+        className="flex items-center gap-2 bg-white/10 hover:bg-white/20 text-white px-5 py-2 text-xs uppercase tracking-[0.2em] border border-white/10"
+        data-testid={`admin-menu-${label.toLowerCase()}`}
+      >
+        {label} <ChevronDown size={14} strokeWidth={1.5} className={`transition-transform ${open ? "rotate-180" : ""}`} />
+      </button>
+      {open && (
+        <div className="absolute left-0 top-full mt-1 min-w-[220px] bg-[#0F0F0F] border border-[#222] z-20 shadow-lg" data-testid={`admin-menu-${label.toLowerCase()}-panel`}>
+          {links.map(({ to, label: linkLabel, icon: Icon, testId }) => (
+            <Link
+              key={to} to={to} onClick={() => setOpen(false)}
+              className="flex items-center gap-2 px-4 py-3 text-xs uppercase tracking-[0.2em] text-[#8A8A8A] hover:text-white hover:bg-white/5 border-b border-[#222] last:border-b-0"
+              data-testid={testId}
+            >
+              <Icon size={14} strokeWidth={1.5} /> {linkLabel}
+            </Link>
+          ))}
+        </div>
+      )}
+    </div>
+  );
+}
+
 export default function Admin() {
   const nav = useNavigate();
   const [movies, setMovies] = useState([]);
@@ -79,27 +137,8 @@ export default function Admin() {
         <p className="text-[#8A8A8A] mt-4">Manage your library, requests, integrations.</p>
 
         <div className="mt-10 flex flex-wrap gap-3">
-          <Link to="/admin/upload" className="flex items-center gap-2 bg-[#D9381E] hover:bg-[#ED4B32] text-white px-5 py-2 text-xs uppercase tracking-[0.2em]" data-testid="admin-upload-link">
+          <AdminMenu label="Pipeline" links={PIPELINE_LINKS} />
-            <Film size={14} strokeWidth={1.5} /> Upload Movie
+          <AdminMenu label="Utilities" links={UTILITY_LINKS} />
-          </Link>
-          <Link to="/admin/radarr" className="flex items-center gap-2 bg-white/10 hover:bg-white/20 text-white px-5 py-2 text-xs uppercase tracking-[0.2em] border border-white/10" data-testid="admin-radarr-link">
-            <Download size={14} strokeWidth={1.5} /> Radarr Import
-          </Link>
-          <Link to="/admin/scan" className="flex items-center gap-2 bg-white/10 hover:bg-white/20 text-white px-5 py-2 text-xs uppercase tracking-[0.2em] border border-white/10" data-testid="admin-scan-link">
-            <FolderSearch size={14} strokeWidth={1.5} /> Library Scan
-          </Link>
-          <Link to="/admin/cleanup" className="flex items-center gap-2 bg-white/10 hover:bg-white/20 text-white px-5 py-2 text-xs uppercase tracking-[0.2em] border border-white/10" data-testid="admin-cleanup-link">
-            <Wrench size={14} strokeWidth={1.5} /> Library Cleanup
-          </Link>
-          <Link to="/admin/queue" className="flex items-center gap-2 bg-white/10 hover:bg-white/20 text-white px-5 py-2 text-xs uppercase tracking-[0.2em] border border-white/10" data-testid="admin-queue-link">
-            <SettingsIcon size={14} strokeWidth={1.5} /> Queue
-          </Link>
-          <Link to="/admin/users" className="flex items-center gap-2 bg-white/10 hover:bg-white/20 text-white px-5 py-2 text-xs uppercase tracking-[0.2em] border border-white/10" data-testid="admin-users-link">
-            <SettingsIcon size={14} strokeWidth={1.5} /> Users
-          </Link>
-          <Link to="/requests" className="flex items-center gap-2 bg-white/10 hover:bg-white/20 text-white px-5 py-2 text-xs uppercase tracking-[0.2em] border border-white/10">
-            Review Requests
-          </Link>
         </div>
 
         <div className="mt-12 border border-[#222]">

frontend/src/pages/CodecCheckQueue.jsx

@@ -0,0 +1,173 @@
+import { useEffect, useState } from "react";
+import api from "../lib/api";
+import { toast } from "sonner";
+import { RefreshCcw, X, RotateCcw, Pause, Play as PlayIcon, Trash2 } from "lucide-react";
+
+const STATUS_COLORS = {
+  pending: "text-[#fcd34d]",
+  running: "text-[#fcd34d]",
+  done: "text-[#86efac]",
+  failed: "text-[#fca5a5]",
+  cancelled: "text-[#8A8A8A]",
+  superseded: "text-[#8A8A8A]",
+};
+
+const CLASSIFICATION_LABEL = {
+  native: "Native (no transcode)",
+  audio: "Audio fix needed",
+  abr: "Full re-encode needed",
+};
+
+export default function CodecCheckQueue() {
+  const [jobs, setJobs] = useState([]);
+  const [stats, setStats] = useState({ pending: 0, running: 0, done: 0, failed: 0, cancelled: 0, paused: false });
+  const [runningJob, setRunningJob] = useState(null);
+  const [loading, setLoading] = useState(false);
+
+  const load = async () => {
+    setLoading(true);
+    try {
+      const [j, s] = await Promise.all([api.get("/codec-check/queue"), api.get("/codec-check/queue/stats")]);
+      setJobs(j.data);
+      setStats(s.data);
+    } finally { setLoading(false); }
+  };
+  const loadRunning = async () => {
+    try { const { data } = await api.get("/codec-check/queue/running"); setRunningJob(data); }
+    catch { /* ignore transient poll failures */ }
+  };
+  useEffect(() => { load(); loadRunning(); }, []);
+
+  useEffect(() => {
+    const pending = jobs.some((j) => j.status === "pending");
+    if (!runningJob && !pending) return;
+    const t = setInterval(() => { load(); loadRunning(); }, runningJob ? 2000 : 4000);
+    return () => clearInterval(t);
+  }, [jobs, runningJob]);
+
+  const listedJobs = jobs.filter((j) => j.status !== "running");
+
+  const cancel = async (id) => {
+    try { await api.delete(`/codec-check/queue/${id}`); toast.success("Job cancelled"); load(); }
+    catch (err) { toast.error(err.response?.data?.detail || "Could not cancel"); }
+  };
+
+  const retry = async (id) => {
+    try { await api.post(`/codec-check/queue/${id}/retry`); toast.success("Re-queued"); load(); }
+    catch (err) { toast.error(err.response?.data?.detail || "Could not retry"); }
+  };
+
+  const retryAllFailed = async () => {
+    try {
+      const { data } = await api.post("/codec-check/queue/retry-failed");
+      toast.success(`Re-queued ${data.retried} job(s)`);
+      load();
+    } catch (err) { toast.error(err.response?.data?.detail || "Could not retry"); }
+  };
+
+  const togglePause = async () => {
+    try {
+      const { data } = await api.post("/codec-check/queue/pause", { paused: !stats.paused });
+      toast.success(data.paused ? "Queue paused" : "Queue resumed");
+      load();
+    } catch { toast.error("Could not toggle pause"); }
+  };
+
+  const clearFinished = async () => {
+    if (!window.confirm("Remove all done/failed/cancelled jobs from the history?")) return;
+    try { const { data } = await api.post("/codec-check/queue/clear"); toast.success(`Cleared ${data.deleted}`); load(); }
+    catch { toast.error("Could not clear"); }
+  };
+
+  return (
+    <div className="min-h-screen bg-[#050505] pt-32 pb-24" data-testid="codec-check-queue-page">
+      <div className="px-6 md:px-12 max-w-[1500px] mx-auto">
+        <span className="text-xs uppercase tracking-[0.3em] text-[#D9381E]">Background · Step 1 of 2</span>
+        <h1 className="font-display text-5xl md:text-6xl font-black tracking-tighter text-white mt-3">Codec Check Queue</h1>
+        <p className="text-[#8A8A8A] mt-4 max-w-2xl">
+          Every newly imported movie/episode lands here first. A quick ffprobe decides whether it actually needs
+          transcoding at all: already-browser-native files (H.264 + AAC/MP3) skip straight to the library with
+          no transcode job ever created; everything else is handed off to the{" "}
+          <a href="/admin/queue" className="text-[#D9381E] hover:text-[#ED4B32]">Transcode Queue (step 2)</a>.
+        </p>
+
+        <div className="mt-8 grid grid-cols-2 sm:grid-cols-5 gap-3">
+          {["pending", "running", "done", "failed", "cancelled"].map((k) => (
+            <div key={k} className="border border-[#222] p-4" data-testid={`codec-stat-${k}`}>
+              <div className="text-[10px] uppercase tracking-[0.3em] text-[#8A8A8A]">{k}</div>
+              <div className={`mt-1 font-display text-3xl font-bold ${STATUS_COLORS[k]}`}>{stats[k] || 0}</div>
+            </div>
+          ))}
+        </div>
+
+        <div className="mt-6 flex flex-wrap gap-3">
+          <button onClick={load} disabled={loading} className="flex items-center gap-2 border border-[#222] hover:border-white text-[#8A8A8A] hover:text-white px-4 py-2 text-xs uppercase tracking-[0.2em] transition-colors disabled:opacity-50" data-testid="codec-queue-refresh">
+            <RefreshCcw size={14} strokeWidth={1.5} className={loading ? "animate-spin" : ""} /> Refresh
+          </button>
+          <button onClick={togglePause} className="flex items-center gap-2 border border-[#222] hover:border-white text-[#8A8A8A] hover:text-white px-4 py-2 text-xs uppercase tracking-[0.2em] transition-colors" data-testid="codec-queue-pause-toggle">
+            {stats.paused ? <PlayIcon size={14} strokeWidth={1.5} /> : <Pause size={14} strokeWidth={1.5} />}
+            {stats.paused ? "Resume" : "Pause"}
+          </button>
+          <button onClick={retryAllFailed} disabled={!stats.failed && !stats.cancelled} className="flex items-center gap-2 border border-[#222] hover:border-[#D9381E] hover:text-[#D9381E] text-[#8A8A8A] px-4 py-2 text-xs uppercase tracking-[0.2em] transition-colors disabled:opacity-50" data-testid="codec-queue-retry-all">
+            <RotateCcw size={14} strokeWidth={1.5} /> Retry All Failed
+          </button>
+          <button onClick={clearFinished} className="flex items-center gap-2 border border-[#222] hover:border-[#fca5a5] hover:text-[#fca5a5] text-[#8A8A8A] px-4 py-2 text-xs uppercase tracking-[0.2em] transition-colors" data-testid="codec-queue-clear">
+            <Trash2 size={14} strokeWidth={1.5} /> Clear Finished
+          </button>
+        </div>
+
+        {runningJob && (
+          <div className="mt-8 border border-[#D9381E]/40 bg-[#D9381E]/[0.04] p-5" data-testid="codec-now-processing">
+            <div className="flex items-center gap-2 text-[10px] uppercase tracking-[0.3em] text-[#D9381E]">
+              <span className="w-1.5 h-1.5 rounded-full bg-[#D9381E] animate-pulse" />
+              Checking Codec
+            </div>
+            <div className="mt-2 text-white text-lg truncate" title={runningJob.movie_title}>
+              {runningJob.movie_title || runningJob.movie_id.slice(0, 8)}
+            </div>
+            <div className="mt-1 text-[10px] uppercase tracking-[0.3em] text-[#8A8A8A]">{runningJob.triggered_by}</div>
+          </div>
+        )}
+
+        <div className="mt-6 border border-[#222]">
+          <div className="grid grid-cols-12 px-5 py-3 border-b border-[#222] text-[10px] uppercase tracking-[0.3em] text-[#8A8A8A]">
+            <span className="col-span-4">Title</span>
+            <span className="col-span-3">Result</span>
+            <span className="col-span-1">Trigger</span>
+            <span className="col-span-2">Status</span>
+            <span className="col-span-1">Created</span>
+            <span className="col-span-1 text-right">Actions</span>
+          </div>
+          {listedJobs.length === 0 ? (
+            <div className="p-8 text-center text-[#8A8A8A] text-sm" data-testid="codec-queue-empty">No jobs yet.</div>
+          ) : listedJobs.map((j) => (
+            <div key={j.id} className="grid grid-cols-12 items-center px-5 py-3 border-b border-[#222] last:border-b-0 hover:bg-[#0F0F0F] transition-colors" data-testid={`codec-queue-row-${j.id}`}>
+              <div className="col-span-4 text-white truncate" title={j.movie_title}>{j.movie_title || j.movie_id.slice(0, 8)}</div>
+              <span className="col-span-3 text-[10px] uppercase tracking-[0.2em] text-[#8A8A8A]">
+                {j.classification ? CLASSIFICATION_LABEL[j.classification] || j.classification : "—"}
+              </span>
+              <span className="col-span-1 text-[10px] uppercase tracking-[0.3em] text-[#8A8A8A]">{j.triggered_by}</span>
+              <span className={`col-span-2 text-[10px] uppercase tracking-[0.3em] ${STATUS_COLORS[j.status]}`} data-testid={`codec-queue-status-${j.id}`}>
+                {j.status}
+                {j.error && j.status === "failed" && <span className="block text-[#fca5a5]/70 normal-case truncate" title={j.error}>{j.error.slice(0, 40)}</span>}
+              </span>
+              <span className="col-span-1 text-xs text-[#8A8A8A]">{new Date(j.created_at).toLocaleDateString()}</span>
+              <div className="col-span-1 flex justify-end gap-2">
+                {j.status === "pending" && (
+                  <button onClick={() => cancel(j.id)} className="text-[#8A8A8A] hover:text-[#fca5a5]" data-testid={`codec-cancel-${j.id}`} aria-label="Cancel">
+                    <X size={14} strokeWidth={1.5} />
+                  </button>
+                )}
+                {(j.status === "failed" || j.status === "cancelled") && (
+                  <button onClick={() => retry(j.id)} className="flex items-center gap-1 text-[10px] uppercase tracking-[0.2em] text-[#8A8A8A] hover:text-[#D9381E]" data-testid={`codec-retry-${j.id}`}>
+                    <RotateCcw size={13} strokeWidth={1.5} /> Retry
+                  </button>
+                )}
+              </div>
+            </div>
+          ))}
+        </div>
+      </div>
+    </div>
+  );
+}

frontend/src/pages/Requests.jsx

@@ -40,6 +40,80 @@ function LiveStatus({ requestId }) {
   );
 }
 
+function CandidatePicker({ request, contentType, onClose, onPicked }) {
+  const [candidates, setCandidates] = useState(null);
+  const [picking, setPicking] = useState(false);
+
+  useEffect(() => {
+    let cancelled = false;
+    (async () => {
+      try {
+        const { data } = await api.get(`/requests/${request.id}/candidates`, { params: { content_type: contentType } });
+        if (!cancelled) setCandidates(data);
+      } catch (err) {
+        if (!cancelled) {
+          toast.error(err.response?.data?.detail || "Could not search Radarr/Sonarr");
+          onClose();
+        }
+      }
+    })();
+    return () => { cancelled = true; };
+  }, [request.id, contentType]);
+
+  const pick = async (c) => {
+    setPicking(true);
+    try {
+      await onPicked(c);
+    } finally {
+      setPicking(false);
+    }
+  };
+
+  return (
+    <div className="fixed inset-0 bg-black/80 flex items-center justify-center z-50 p-6" onClick={onClose}>
+      <div
+        className="bg-[#0F0F0F] border border-[#222] max-w-2xl w-full max-h-[80vh] overflow-y-auto"
+        onClick={(e) => e.stopPropagation()}
+        data-testid="candidate-picker"
+      >
+        <div className="px-5 py-4 border-b border-[#222] flex items-center justify-between">
+          <h3 className="text-white font-display font-bold">
+            Pick the right match for "{request.title}"{request.year ? ` (${request.year})` : ""}
+          </h3>
+          <button onClick={onClose} className="text-[#8A8A8A] hover:text-white text-xs uppercase tracking-[0.2em]">Close</button>
+        </div>
+        {candidates === null ? (
+          <p className="text-[#8A8A8A] text-sm px-5 py-6">Searching…</p>
+        ) : candidates.length === 0 ? (
+          <p className="text-[#8A8A8A] text-sm px-5 py-6">No results found.</p>
+        ) : (
+          <div>
+            {candidates.map((c) => (
+              <button
+                key={c.tmdb_id || c.tvdb_id}
+                onClick={() => pick(c)}
+                disabled={picking}
+                className="w-full flex items-start gap-4 px-5 py-4 border-b border-[#222] last:border-b-0 text-left hover:bg-[#1A1A1A] disabled:opacity-50"
+                data-testid={`candidate-${c.tmdb_id || c.tvdb_id}`}
+              >
+                {c.poster_url ? (
+                  <img src={c.poster_url} alt="" className="w-12 h-18 object-cover shrink-0 bg-[#1A1A1A]" />
+                ) : (
+                  <div className="w-12 h-18 shrink-0 bg-[#1A1A1A]" />
+                )}
+                <div className="min-w-0">
+                  <p className="text-white">{c.title} {c.year ? <span className="text-[#8A8A8A]">({c.year})</span> : null}</p>
+                  {c.overview && <p className="text-xs text-[#8A8A8A] mt-1 line-clamp-2">{c.overview}</p>}
+                </div>
+              </button>
+            ))}
+          </div>
+        )}
+      </div>
+    </div>
+  );
+}
+
 export default function Requests() {
   const { user } = useAuth();
   const [mine, setMine] = useState([]);
@@ -48,6 +122,7 @@ export default function Requests() {
   const [year, setYear] = useState("");
   const [notes, setNotes] = useState("");
   const [approving, setApproving] = useState({});
+  const [picker, setPicker] = useState(null); // { request, contentType }
 
   const load = async () => {
     const { data } = await api.get("/requests/mine");
@@ -59,11 +134,14 @@ export default function Requests() {
   };
   useEffect(() => { load(); }, [user?.is_admin]);
 
-  const approve = async (id, contentType) => {
+  const approveWithCandidate = async (request, contentType, candidate) => {
+    const id = request.id;
     setApproving((p) => ({ ...p, [id]: true }));
     try {
-      const { data } = await api.post(`/requests/${id}/approve`, { content_type: contentType });
+      const idField = contentType === "movie" ? { tmdb_id: candidate.tmdb_id } : { tvdb_id: candidate.tvdb_id };
+      const { data } = await api.post(`/requests/${id}/approve`, { content_type: contentType, ...idField });
       toast.success(`Searching for "${data.matched_title || data.title}"`);
+      setPicker(null);
       load();
     } catch (err) {
       toast.error(err.response?.data?.detail || "Could not approve request");
@@ -189,10 +267,10 @@ export default function Requests() {
                     <div className="flex gap-2 shrink-0">
                       {r.status === "pending" && (
                         <>
-                          <button onClick={() => approve(r.id, "movie")} disabled={approving[r.id]}
+                          <button onClick={() => setPicker({ request: r, contentType: "movie" })} disabled={approving[r.id]}
                             className="text-[10px] uppercase tracking-[0.2em] border border-[#222] hover:border-[#93c5fd] hover:text-[#93c5fd] text-[#8A8A8A] px-3 py-2 disabled:opacity-50"
                             data-testid={`approve-movie-${r.id}`}>Approve (Movie)</button>
-                          <button onClick={() => approve(r.id, "tv")} disabled={approving[r.id]}
+                          <button onClick={() => setPicker({ request: r, contentType: "tv" })} disabled={approving[r.id]}
                             className="text-[10px] uppercase tracking-[0.2em] border border-[#222] hover:border-[#93c5fd] hover:text-[#93c5fd] text-[#8A8A8A] px-3 py-2 disabled:opacity-50"
                             data-testid={`approve-tv-${r.id}`}>Approve (TV)</button>
                         </>
@@ -211,6 +289,14 @@ export default function Requests() {
           </div>
         )}
       </div>
+      {picker && (
+        <CandidatePicker
+          request={picker.request}
+          contentType={picker.contentType}
+          onClose={() => setPicker(null)}
+          onPicked={(c) => approveWithCandidate(picker.request, picker.contentType, c)}
+        />
+      )}
     </div>
   );
 }

frontend/src/pages/TranscodeQueue.jsx

@@ -92,10 +92,12 @@ export default function TranscodeQueue() {
   return (
     <div className="min-h-screen bg-[#050505] pt-32 pb-24" data-testid="queue-page">
       <div className="px-6 md:px-12 max-w-[1500px] mx-auto">
-        <span className="text-xs uppercase tracking-[0.3em] text-[#D9381E]">Background</span>
+        <span className="text-xs uppercase tracking-[0.3em] text-[#D9381E]">Background · Step 2 of 2</span>
         <h1 className="font-display text-5xl md:text-6xl font-black tracking-tighter text-white mt-3">Transcode Queue</h1>
         <p className="text-[#8A8A8A] mt-4 max-w-2xl">
-          One job runs at a time, moderate CPU priority, capped threads so it can't starve the rest of the stack. Auto-transcode is currently:{" "}
+          Only files the <a href="/admin/codec-check" className="text-[#D9381E] hover:text-[#ED4B32]">Codec Check Queue (step 1)</a> flagged
+          as needing work land here — already browser-native files skip this queue entirely. One job runs at a time, moderate CPU priority,
+          capped threads so it can't starve the rest of the stack. Auto-transcode is currently:{" "}
           <span className="text-white">{stats.auto_transcode === "off" ? "off" : `auto · ${stats.auto_transcode}`}</span>
           {" — "}<a href="/admin/settings" className="text-[#D9381E] hover:text-[#ED4B32]">change in Settings</a>. Failed and cancelled jobs never delete the movie — retry re-queues the same file.
         </p>