Profiles
Profiles define how Alchemist handles files in a given directory. Each watch directory gets its own profile.
Built-in presets
| Profile | Codec | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Space Saver | AV1 | Old TV, content you rarely rewatch |
| Balanced | AV1 | General libraries (default) |
| Quality First | HEVC | Movies, anything you care about |
| Streaming | H.264 | Remote access, older or limited devices |
What profiles control
- Output codec — AV1, HEVC, or H.264
- Quality profile — speed/quality tradeoff preset
- BPP threshold — minimum bits-per-pixel to transcode
- Size reduction threshold — minimum predicted savings
- Min file size — skip files below this (MB)
- Stream rules — which audio tracks to keep or strip
- Subtitle mode — copy, burn, extract, or drop
- HDR mode — preserve metadata or tonemap to SDR
Assigning profiles
Select a profile when adding a directory in Settings → Library. Changeable at any time — jobs already queued use the profile they were planned with.
Smart skipping
Files already meeting the profile's targets are skipped automatically. Every skip is recorded with a reason. See Skip Decisions.