SemanticDog FAQs

Question 1

What is SemanticDog and how does it protect my files?

Accepted Answer

SemanticDog is a tool that actively monitors your self-hosted media libraries for application-level file corruption. Unlike traditional checksums, it verifies if images, videos, documents, and other files are actually openable and usable, alerting you to silent corruption before it's too late.

Question 2

How is SemanticDog different from ZFS or RAID checksums?

Accepted Answer

While ZFS and RAID ensure the bits on disk match what was written (block-level integrity), SemanticDog checks for *application-level* integrity. This means it verifies if a JPEG can be decoded, a PDF opened, or a video played – issues that checksums alone won't catch but render your files unusable.

Question 3

What types of files can SemanticDog scan for corruption?

Accepted Answer

SemanticDog supports a wide range of file types, including common images (JPEG, PNG, HEIC, WebP), RAW photos (CR2, NEF, ARW), documents (PDF, DOCX, XLSX), and media files (MP4, MOV, MP3, FLAC).

Question 4

Can SemanticDog integrate with AI agents for library management?

Accepted Answer

Yes, SemanticDog features a built-in MCP (Model Context Protocol) server. This allows AI agents like Claude to conversationally query scan results, trigger new scans, and reason about the health and integrity of your media library.

Question 5

How do I get notified when corrupt files are found?

Accepted Answer

SemanticDog can send notifications via email or webhooks (supporting platforms like Gotify, Ntfy, Pushover, and Slack) when it detects new corrupt or unreadable files. It also provides a CLI to list detailed error reports.

SemanticDog

SemanticDog

Key Features

Use Cases

Key Features

Use Cases