A Dispatcharr plugin that automatically matches and assigns streams to channels using fuzzy matching, quality prioritization, and OTA callsign recognition.
Before installing or using this plugin, create a backup of your Dispatcharr database. This plugin modifies channel and stream assignments.
This plugin uses background threading to prevent browser timeouts during long operations.
- The frontend shows a green "Started in background" notification immediately — this does not mean the task is finished
- Buttons re-enable instantly. Do not click again; the task is running
- Monitor progress and completion in Docker logs:
docker logs -f dispatcharr | grep Stream-MapparrLook for COMPLETED or CSV EXPORT CREATED to know when the process is finished.
- Multi-stage fuzzy matching: Exact, substring, and token-sort matching with configurable sensitivity (Relaxed/Normal/Strict/Exact)
- US OTA callsign matching: Dedicated action for matching US broadcast channels by callsign against authoritative database (5,900+ callsigns)
- Multi-country channel databases: US, UK, CA, AU, BR, DE, ES, FR, IN, MX, NL
- Normalization cache: Pre-normalizes stream names once for batch matching performance
- rapidfuzz acceleration: Uses C-accelerated Levenshtein when available (20-50x faster), with pure Python early-termination fallback
- Quality-based stream sorting: 4K > UHD > FHD > HD > SD, using probed resolution (from IPTV Checker) or name-based detection
- M3U source prioritization: Prefer streams from specific M3U providers
- Dead stream filtering: Skip streams with 0x0 resolution (requires IPTV Checker)
- Auto-deduplication: Removes duplicate stream names during assignment
- Built-in scheduler: Configure daily runs with timezone and HHMM time support
- Rate limiting: Configurable throttling (None/Low/Medium/High)
- Operation lock: Prevents concurrent tasks; auto-expires after 10 minutes
- Dry run mode: Preview results with CSV export without making changes
- CSV exports: Detailed reports with threshold recommendations and token mismatch analysis
- Channel visibility management: Auto-enable channels with streams, disable those without
- Dispatcharr v0.20.0+
- A Channel Profile (other than "All")
- Navigate to Plugins in Dispatcharr
- Click Import Plugin and upload the plugin zip
- Enable the plugin
| Setting | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overwrite Existing Streams | boolean | True | Replace existing streams vs append-only |
| Match Sensitivity | select | Normal (80) | Relaxed (70), Normal (80), Strict (90), Exact (95) |
| Channel Profile | select | - | Profile to process channels from (dropdown from DB) |
| Channel Groups | string | (all) | Specific groups to process, comma-separated |
| Stream Groups | string | (all) | Specific stream groups to use, comma-separated |
| M3U Sources | string | (all) | Specific M3U sources, comma-separated (order = priority) |
| Prioritize Quality | boolean | False | Sort by quality first, then M3U source priority |
| Custom Ignore Tags | string | (none) | Tags to strip before matching (e.g., [Dead], (Backup)) |
| Tag Handling | select | Strip All | Strip All / Keep Regional / Keep All |
| Channel Database | select | US | Channel database for callsign and name matching |
| Visible Channel Limit | number | 1 | Channels per group to enable and assign streams |
| Rate Limiting | select | None | None / Low / Medium / High |
| Timezone | select | US/Central | Timezone for scheduled runs |
| Filter Dead Streams | boolean | False | Skip 0x0 resolution streams (requires IPTV Checker) |
| Scheduled Run Times | string | (none) | HHMM times, comma-separated (e.g., 0400,1600) |
| Dry Run Mode | boolean | False | Preview without making database changes |
| Action | Description |
|---|---|
| Validate Settings | Check configuration, profiles, groups, databases |
| Load/Process Channels | Load channel and stream data from database |
| Preview Changes | Dry-run with CSV export |
| Match & Assign Streams | Fuzzy match and assign streams to channels |
| Match US OTA Only | Match US broadcast channels by callsign |
| Sort Alternate Streams | Re-sort existing streams by quality |
| Manage Channel Visibility | Enable/disable channels based on stream count |
| Clear CSV Exports | Delete all plugin CSV files |
- Set Timezone (e.g.,
US/Central) - Set Scheduled Run Times in 24-hour format (e.g.,
0400,1600for 4 AM and 4 PM) - Enable CSV Export if desired
- Click Update Schedule
The scheduler runs in a background thread and restarts automatically with the container.
Preview and scheduled exports are saved to /data/exports/. Reports include:
- Threshold recommendations ("3 additional streams available at lower thresholds")
- Token mismatch analysis ("Add 'UK' to Ignore Tags")
- Match type breakdown (exact, substring, fuzzy)
Operation seems stuck? Check Docker logs. If another operation is running, wait for completion (lock auto-expires after 10 min) or click Clear Operation Lock.
No matches found?
- Lower Match Sensitivity from Strict to Normal or Relaxed
- For US OTA channels, use Match US OTA Only instead of fuzzy matching
- Check that the correct Channel Database is selected
System slow during scanning? Set Rate Limiting to Medium or High.
# Monitor plugin activity
docker logs -f dispatcharr | grep Stream-Mapparr
# Check CSV exports
docker exec dispatcharr ls -lh /data/exports/
# Check plugin files
docker exec dispatcharr ls -la /data/plugins/stream-mapparr/See CHANGELOG.md for full version history.
MIT