Ready-to-use metadata sidecars (.nfo) and the tooling that builds them, so you can turn the U.S. Government's officially released UAP videos into a rich, browsable library in Plex, Jellyfin, Emby, or Kodi — with real titles, dates, agencies, and the full official descriptions instead of bare DOD_######### filenames.

Companion to wearenotalone.space.

No invented data. Every title and description comes from the video's own embedded metadata (Release 01) or its official DVIDS page (Releases 02–03). If a fact can't be sourced, it isn't here.

nfo/            93 ready-to-use sidecars, by release
  release-01/   28  (DoW/AARO, May 8 2026)
  release-02/   56  (DoW/AARO + NASA audio, May 22 2026)
  release-03/   9   (FBI recreations + NASA, June 12 2026)
data/
  catalog.csv         index: id, title, agency, type, year, DVIDS link, filename
  catalog.json        full 93-video dataset
  docs_index.json     199 released documents/images (FBI, CIA, NASA, DoW, NARA)
tools/          the Python pipeline that generated everything (stdlib only)
nfo_pack.zip    one-click bundle: all 93 sidecars + catalog.csv + a rename helper

The videos are distributed by the DoD on DVIDS:

• Browse the AARO unit: https://www.dvidshub.net/unit/AARO, or
• Open the DVIDS link for any specific video in data/catalog.csv.
• Click Download — files arrive named DOD_<id>.mp4 (e.g. DOD_111688723.mp4).
• Bulk batches are also mirrored at https://www.war.gov/ufo/.

Sort them into folders if you like (the sidecars are grouped release-01/02/03).

A media server reads a sidecar when the .nfo basename exactly matches the video basename, in the same folder:

DOD_111688723.mp4   ←→   DOD_111688723.nfo   ✓

The sidecars here are already named DOD_<id>.nfo to match DVIDS downloads — just place each next to its video. If your downloads were renamed by a mirror, run the included helper (matches by the 9-digit DOD id inside the filename):

python tools/rename_nfo.py  /path/to/your/videos

• Plex — use a Movies library + the XBMCnfoMoviesImport agent (the default Plex Movie agent ignores .nfo). Put it above Local Media Assets, enable “Import movie.nfo”, then Refresh Metadata.
• Jellyfin / Emby — NFO reading is built in. Enable the Nfo metadata reader for the library and Refresh Metadata.
• Kodi — uses the .nfo directly via the local information provider.

That's it — your UAP library now shows proper titles, dates, agencies, and the official descriptions.

Pure Python 3 (standard library only — no pip install). Point the scripts at your media with environment variables (defaults are relative):

export UAP_MEDIA=./media      # holds Season 01/02/03 folders (mp4s + bundles)
export UAP_DATA=./data        # where indexes / dvids_map.json are written

# Release 01 — read embedded XMP metadata from each mp4:
python tools/gen_nfo.py

# Releases 02/03 — recover metadata from the official DVIDS pages:
python tools/dvids_crawl.py <comma,separated,DOD,ids>
python tools/gen_nfo_s23.py
python tools/finalize_s23.py && python tools/gen_nfo_s23.py

# Rebuild the indexes + the public pack:
python tools/build_catalog.py
python tools/build_docs_index.py
python tools/make_public_pack.py

See tools/README.md for what each script does and the method behind it.

• The UAP records (videos, documents, images, and the descriptions quoted in the sidecars) are U.S. Government works in the public domain.
• The code in tools/ is released under the MIT License (see LICENSE).

Compiled from official AARO / DVIDS / War.gov sources. Share freely. 🛸