serato-doctor/docs/design/orphaned-audio.md

Orphaned audio detection

Problem

“Not in a crate” does not mean unused. Many DJs keep active tracks in Serato's main library without placing them in a crate. Treating those files as orphans would create dangerous deletion pressure.

Design

Serato Doctor now separates two read-only findings:

• Not in crates: scanned tracks whose normalized filename is absent from all loaded crate references. These may still be ordinary Serato library tracks.
• Possible orphan files: tracks absent by normalized filename from both loaded crates and database V2.

When database V2 is unavailable, orphan status is reported as not assessed—not zero. Orphan candidates include preview and Finder controls but no delete or repair action.

Edge cases

• Filename comparison is case- and Unicode-normalized.
• A track in several folders may still require duplicate review separately.
• Smart-crate materialized references count as crate evidence.
• Missing database V2 prevents a defensible orphan conclusion.

Tests

• Tracks known only to database V2 are excluded from orphan candidates.
• Tracks in crates are excluded even if absent from database V2.
• A track absent from both sources is counted once.
• No database produces a not-assessed result.