Tags

Tags are metadata labels automatically extracted from media filenames and used to filter, search, and identify games in Zaparoo. They're a core part of the title ID system and make it possible to handle conflicts and preferences when matching games.

What Are Tags?

Tags work like search filters on a website. You have your main search query (the game name), and then you can add tags to narrow down results. For example, if you have both European and US versions of a game, you can use a region:eu tag to specifically launch the European version.

Tags are organized into types (categories) and values:

• Tag type: region (the category)
• Tag value: eu (the specific region)
• Full tag: region:eu

Where Tags Come From

Automatic Extraction

Tags are automatically extracted from filenames during media database updates. Zaparoo recognizes common naming conventions from ROM sets like No-Intro and TOSEC.

For example, this filename:

Sonic the Hedgehog (USA, Europe) (En,Fr,De) (Rev A).md

Generates these tags:

• region:us
• region:eu
• lang:en
• lang:fr
• lang:de
• rev:a

Future: Scraped Metadata

In the future, tags will also be generated from scraped metadata sources for additional information like game genres, player counts, and ratings.

Using Tags

In Title IDs

Tags are used in title IDs to resolve conflicts and specify preferences:

Basic title ID (no tags):

@SNES/Super Mario World

With region filter (launches US version):

@SNES/Super Mario World (region:us)

With multiple tags (launches German language, European region):

@SNES/Super Mario World (region:eu) (lang:de)

Excluding unwanted versions (exclude beta versions):

@SNES/Super Mario World (-unfinished:beta)

Tag Operators

Tags support two operators:

• No operator or +: MUST have this tag (AND filter)
• -: MUST NOT have this tag (NOT filter)

Examples:

@Genesis/Sonic (+region:us)      # Must be US region
@Genesis/Sonic (-unfinished:demo) # Must not be a demo
@N64/Mario 64 (+lang:en) (-dump:bad)  # English, not a bad dump

In Web UI Search

Tags can be used as search filters in the Web UI media search page. Select tag filters to narrow down results when browsing your media library.

Common Tag Types

Here are the most useful tag types extracted from filenames:

Region

Where the game was released:

• region:us - United States
• region:eu - Europe
• region:jp - Japan
• region:world - Global release
• region:au, region:br, region:cn, region:fr, region:de, region:it, region:kr, etc.

Language

Language(s) the game supports:

• lang:en - English
• lang:fr - French
• lang:de - German
• lang:es - Spanish
• lang:ja - Japanese
• lang:pt, lang:it, lang:ru, lang:zh, etc.

Multiple languages in a filename like (En,Fr,De) generate separate tags for each language.

Unfinished

Development status and unofficial versions:

• unfinished:alpha - Alpha version
• unfinished:beta - Beta version
• unfinished:demo - Demo version
• unfinished:proto - Prototype
• unfinished:sample - Sample version

Dump Quality

ROM dump quality (from No-Intro/TOSEC naming):

• dump:verified - Verified good dump
• dump:good - Good dump
• dump:bad - Bad dump (corrupted)
• dump:overdump - Overdumped ROM
• dump:underdump - Underdumped ROM

Revision

Game revision or version:

• rev:a, rev:b, rev:c - Alphabetic revisions
• rev:1, rev:2, rev:3 - Numeric revisions

Video Format

Video standard:

• video:ntsc - NTSC (North America, Japan)
• video:pal - PAL (Europe, Australia)
• video:pal-60 - PAL at 60Hz

Year

Release year:

• year:1991
• year:1996
• year:2004

Unlicensed

Unofficial releases:

• unlicensed:pirate - Pirated game
• unlicensed:bootleg - Bootleg version
• unlicensed:hack - ROM hack
• unlicensed:translation - Fan translation
• unlicensed:trainer - Game trainer

Disc/Media

Multi-disc games:

• disc:1, disc:2, disc:3 - Disc number
• disctotal:2, disctotal:3 - Total discs in set
• media:side-a, media:side-b - Tape/disc sides

How Tag Matching Works

When you launch a game using a title ID with tags, Zaparoo uses a multi-step resolution process:

1. Exact match with all tags: Looks for games matching the title AND all specified tags
2. Fuzzy matching: Uses algorithms to find close matches if exact fails
3. Tag preferences: Ranks results based on your config language/region preferences
4. Quality filtering: Automatically filters out bad dumps, demos, etc. (unless you specifically request them)
5. Caching: Results are cached so subsequent scans are instant

This happens in under a second, usually instantly.

Tag Format

Tags use this format:

type:value

• All lowercase
• Spaces become dashes
• Colons separate type from value
• Hierarchical values use more colons (e.g., gamegenre:rpg:action)

When writing tags in title IDs, wrap them in parentheses:

@SNES/Game Name (tag1:value1) (tag2:value2)

Examples

Handling Conflicts

Problem: You have multiple versions of Street Fighter II

Street Fighter II (USA).md
Street Fighter II (Europe).md
Street Fighter II (Japan).md

Solution: Use region tags

@SNES/Street Fighter II (region:us)   # Launch US version
@SNES/Street Fighter II (region:eu)   # Launch EU version
@SNES/Street Fighter II (region:jp)   # Launch JP version

Language Preference

Problem: You want the German version of a multilingual game

@SNES/Super Mario World (lang:de)

Avoiding Bad Dumps

Problem: You want to make sure you never launch a bad dump

@Genesis/Sonic (-dump:bad)

Specific Revision

Problem: You want a specific revision of a game

@N64/Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time (rev:a)

Advanced: Setting Default Preferences

You can set your preferred languages and regions in the config file so Zaparoo automatically prioritizes them when resolving titles without explicit tags:

[preferences]
languages = ["en", "de"]
regions = ["us", "eu"]

With these preferences set, searching for @SNES/Super Mario World will automatically prefer English language and US/EU regions if multiple versions exist.

Complete Tag Type Reference

Automatically Extracted from Filenames

These tags are extracted during media database updates:

Tag Type	Description	Examples
region	Release region	us, eu, jp, world
lang	Language	en, fr, de, ja
year	Release year	1991, 1996, 2004
unfinished	Development status	alpha, beta, demo, proto
dump	ROM dump quality	verified, good, bad
rev	Revision number	a, b, 1, 2
video	Video format	ntsc, pal, pal-60
unlicensed	Unofficial releases	pirate, hack, translation
disc	Disc number (multi-disc games)	1, 2, 3
disctotal	Total discs in set	2, 3, 4
media	Media type/side	disc, tape, side-a
alt	Alternate version	1, 2
set	Set number	1, 2
edition	Edition markers	Detected from "Edition" keywords

Future: Scraped Metadata Tags

These will be available when metadata scraping is implemented:

Tag Type	Description	Examples
gamegenre	Game genre	action, rpg, racing:driving
players	Player count/modes	1, 2, 4, coop, vs
input	Input devices	joystick:4, lightgun, paddle
save	Save mechanism	backup, password
supplement	DLC/expansions	dlc, expansion, update
based	Source material	movie, manga, anime

See Also

• Launch Commands - Using title IDs with tags
• Media Titles Documentation - Technical deep dive into the matching system
• Config File - Setting language/region preferences