RipFoundry for Windows

RipFoundry for Windows is the Windows-native GUI companion to RipFoundry for Linux, the original project this version grew from. It rips DVDs and creates Jellyfin-ready movie versions while keeping the ripping, encoding, validation, and staging work on the Windows PC. Only completed and verified files are finalized in the configured media library.

Version 1.4.0 adds built-in MKV subtitle inspection and extraction, protects detected DVD subtitle tracks throughout ripping and encoding, and improves collision handling when an Original file already exists.

Download and run

RipFoundry is distributed as a portable Windows application.

1. Download the latest RipFoundry-Windows-*-portable.zip from Releases.
2. Extract the entire ZIP to a permanent folder.
3. Keep RipFoundry.exe and the _internal folder together.
4. Double-click RipFoundry.exe.
5. Open Settings, confirm the required tools, and choose the media library and local staging folders.

The portable EXE includes the Python runtime and opens without a console window. Users do not need to install Python or run the source-code batch launcher.

To create a desktop shortcut, keep Install-Shortcut.ps1 beside RipFoundry.exe, right-click the script, and choose Run with PowerShell. The shortcut launches the EXE directly.

Windows may show a first-run reputation warning for an unsigned community application. Confirm that the ZIP came from the official RipFoundry repository before running it.

Windows requirements

• 64-bit Windows 10 or Windows 11
• MakeMKV for scanning and ripping DVDs
• FFmpeg and FFprobe for 1080p creation, extras title metadata, media inspection, and validation
• HandBrakeCLI when creating an Enhanced output
• MKVToolNix when inspecting or extracting embedded subtitle tracks
• Enough local free space for staging the source and selected outputs

RipFoundry checks PATH and common Windows installation locations. The Settings tab reports Ready or Not found for each tool and provides controls to locate the executable manually.

For MakeMKV, select makemkvcon64.exe or makemkvcon.exe, not the regular MakeMKV.exe desktop interface. FFmpeg and FFprobe normally live together in the same extracted bin folder. For MKVToolNix, select mkvmerge.exe; RipFoundry also verifies that mkvextract.exe is beside it.

What RipFoundry does

• Scans MakeMKV DVD titles and supports single-title or multi-title selection.
• Uses TMDb-assisted metadata with a manual fallback.
• Creates Jellyfin folders using Movie Name (Year) [tmdbid-ID] naming.
• Rips bonus features into a lossless review area so they can be played, named, and categorized before being added to Jellyfin extras folders.
• Retains the untouched MakeMKV remux when ripping a DVD.
• Optionally creates a playback-friendly H.264 Enhanced version at the source resolution.
• Optionally creates a separate H.264 1080p version with aspect-ratio-preserving scaling.
• Temporarily selects every MakeMKV track during a rip, embedding all detected DVD audio and subtitles without permanently changing the user's MakeMKV preference.
• Shows the detected subtitle count during DVD selection and logs each subtitle language and type.
• Validates codec, resolution, duration, audio tracks, and subtitle tracks with FFprobe; a rip is not published if detected subtitles are missing.
• Inspects and extracts selected MKV subtitle tracks with MKVToolNix while leaving the source video unchanged.
• Copies completed files through a temporary .partial destination.
• Verifies SHA-256 checksums before finalizing a media-library file.
• Processes existing MKV, MP4, and M4V sources without changing the original.

First-time setup

Open Settings after launching RipFoundry.exe.

Media Library Destination

Choose the folder where completed movies should be finalized. Supported examples include:

\\server\share\Movies
M:\Movies
D:\Media\Movies

Click Test Destination to confirm that Windows can reach the folder and create a temporary file. A UNC path is generally more reliable than a mapped drive because it does not depend on a drive-letter mapping.

Local staging

Rips and encodes are created locally before they are validated and copied. The default is:

%USERPROFILE%\Videos\RipFoundry Staging

Choose a drive with enough free space for the source plus every output selected for the job.

DVD drive

RipFoundry lists detected Windows DVD/CD drives by drive letter and maps them to MakeMKV sources. For example:

D: - DVD/CD drive - MakeMKV disc:0

Click Refresh Drives after connecting a USB optical drive. Advanced users can enter a disc:N source directly.

TMDb

Paste a TMDb API Read Access Token into Settings. RipFoundry stores its configuration in:

%APPDATA%\RipFoundry\config.json

Rip a DVD

1. Insert the DVD and click Scan DVD.
2. Select the main title. The Subs column shows its detected subtitle-track count; the activity log lists the languages and types. Ctrl-click supports discs containing multiple titles.
3. Choose one processing mode:
   • Original DVD + Enhanced DVD keeps the untouched remux and creates a native-resolution H.264 copy with HandBrakeCLI.
   • Original DVD + 1080p keeps the untouched remux and creates a separate 1080p H.264 copy with FFmpeg.
   • Original DVD only keeps only the untouched MakeMKV remux.
4. Click Rip Selected as Movie(s).
5. Match each selected title to TMDb and confirm the plan.

If the correctly named Original already exists but the selected Enhanced or 1080p version does not, RipFoundry preserves the existing Original and publishes only the missing processed version. If the processed destination already exists, the job stops before starting the expensive encode.

Completed files use Jellyfin multi-version naming such as:

Movie Name (Year) [tmdbid-123]\
    Movie Name (Year) [tmdbid-123] - 480p.mkv
    Movie Name (Year) [tmdbid-123] - 480p Enhanced.mkv
    Movie Name (Year) [tmdbid-123] - 1080p.mkv

Rip DVD extras and featurettes

DVD title records normally contain runtimes, sizes, and chapter counts but not the human names shown on the disc menu. Bonus features inherit the parent movie's TMDb identity; they do not get separate TMDb matches.

1. Scan the DVD and select one or more bonus-feature titles.
2. Click Rip Selected as Extras.
3. Match the parent movie once in TMDb.
4. Confirm the selected title numbers. RipFoundry losslessly remuxes them into a local review folder. The DVD stays inserted so you can rip the main movie afterward without rescanning.
5. Click Play beside each staged title, enter its descriptive name, and choose a Jellyfin folder such as featurettes, behind the scenes, deleted scenes, interviews, or trailers. If an extra is a duplicate or not worth keeping, click Remove & Delete and confirm; RipFoundry deletes only that temporary staged MKV and excludes it from the batch.
6. Review the exact destination paths and click Add Extras to Library.

Each remaining extra is stream-copied without re-encoding, and the reviewed name is written into the MKV's embedded title so Jellyfin displays it consistently. RipFoundry validates the duration, video details, audio and subtitle track counts, and embedded title before finalizing the temporary .partial file and removing its staged source. Cancelling the review keeps the remaining staged MKVs and makes no library changes.

Movie Name (Year) [tmdbid-123]\
    Movie Name (Year) [tmdbid-123] - 480p.mkv
    featurettes\
        Making the Movie.mkv
    interviews\
        Interview with the Director.mkv
    trailers\
        Theatrical Trailer.mkv

Process an existing video

Analysis and processing are deliberately separate decisions.

1. Open Process Existing Video.
2. Search the configured library or click Choose Video....
3. Select an MKV, MP4, or M4V file.
4. Click Analyze Selected Video. Analysis reads media details but does not encode, copy, rename, or otherwise change the source.
5. Review the source details and RipFoundry's recommendation. The analysis panel has its own scrollbar when the complete reason is longer than the visible area.
6. Choose Enhanced, 1080p, both outputs, or stop without processing.
7. Click Process Video, review the exact filenames, and confirm the job.

The analyzer considers the container, video codec, resolution, display aspect ratio, field order, audio tracks, and subtitle tracks. Its conservative recommendations are:

• Interlaced or non-H.264 SD: Enhanced + 1080p
• Progressive H.264 SD or 720p: 1080p
• Progressive H.264 near 1080p: no additional encode
• Interlaced or non-H.264 near 1080p: Enhanced native-resolution
• Above 1080p: a separate 1080p compatibility version

When both outputs are selected, each output is encoded directly from the unchanged original. RipFoundry never creates the 1080p version from the Enhanced version.

MP4 and M4V text subtitles are converted to SubRip for MKV compatibility. Unsupported subtitle conversion fails safely instead of silently dropping the track.

Inspect and extract subtitles

Subtitle extraction is optional and never removes tracks from the MKV.

1. Install MKVToolNix and confirm it shows Ready under Settings.
2. Open Subtitles and click Choose MKV....
3. Click Analyze Subtitles to list each embedded track's language, format, name, and default or forced flags.
4. Select one or more tracks and click Extract Selected....
5. Choose an output folder, review every filename, and confirm.

RipFoundry extracts into local staging first, verifies that every expected file exists, then copies each output through a .partial file and verifies its SHA-256 checksum. Existing output files are never overwritten.

• SubRip tracks are exported as .srt.
• DVD VobSub tracks are exported as matching .idx and .sub files.
• PGS, ASS, SSA, WebVTT, USF, and DVB subtitle tracks retain their native extractable formats.

VobSub and PGS subtitles are images. Extracting them preserves the original subtitle pictures; converting them into editable SRT text requires a separate OCR step.

Activity, progress, and cancellation

The Activity area remains visible at the normal window size and reports:

• The current processing phase
• Live FFmpeg or HandBrake percentage
• Copy progress
• SHA-256 verification progress
• Encoder and validation messages in a vertically scrollable log

RipFoundry permits one background job at a time. Analysis, mode selection, and processing controls are disabled while a job is active, preventing the same source from being submitted twice.

Click Cancel Active Job to stop the current encoder or copy operation. RipFoundry asks for confirmation, stops the active process, prevents FFmpeg from starting a fallback retry, removes that job's partial staging and destination files, and leaves the original source unchanged.

Encoding settings

• CRF controls H.264 quality. The default 18 produces high quality and larger files; higher values reduce size and quality.
• 1080p x264 preset controls speed versus compression efficiency. slow is the recommended balance.
• Local staging controls where temporary working files are created.

A DVD-to-1080p encode is conventional scaling. It can improve compatibility but cannot recover HD detail that was not present on the DVD. The untouched MakeMKV remux remains the archival version.

Safety behavior

RipFoundry does not place unfinished encoder output directly in the media library. It validates local output first, copies to a .partial filename, compares SHA-256 checksums, and only then assigns the final filename.

• A normal processing failure retains local staging files for troubleshooting.
• An intentional cancellation removes the cancelled job's partial staging and destination files.
• Existing completed outputs are never overwritten.
• The original MKV, MP4, or M4V remains unchanged.

Build the EXE from source

This section is for contributors and users who want to build RipFoundry themselves. Building requires Python 3.10 or newer.

From the repository folder, run:

powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File .\Build-EXE.ps1

The script installs or updates PyInstaller and creates:

dist\RipFoundry\RipFoundry.exe

Run the built executable from inside dist\RipFoundry; keep its _internal folder beside it. Launch-RipFoundry.bat remains available only as a source-development launcher.

Changelog and roadmap

See CHANGELOG.md for release details.

A traditional signed Windows installer remains a possible future improvement. The current 1.3.1 release is portable: extract the complete folder and run RipFoundry.exe.

Support RipFoundry

If RipFoundry has been useful and you want to support future updates, you can contribute through any of these optional links:

Project origins

RipFoundry for Windows grew from RipFoundry for Linux. The Windows edition keeps the original project's Jellyfin-focused ripping, naming, validation, and verified-transfer ideas while providing a native Windows interface and Windows-local encoding workflow.

Project attribution

RipFoundry is built by Kyle Reddoch (CybersecKyle).

Website: https://www.kylereddoch.me

Repository: https://github.com/kylereddoch/RipFoundry-for-Windows

The application's About tab includes this attribution, the RipFoundry mark, the current version, and a link to the repository.