Well, there's no reason you couldn't provide a passive mode for automation system integration, without having to do your own directory scanning slash metadata loading scheme. The existence of support for accepting a file path would have to be there one way or another, so it could be done in the short term to accommodate automation systems, and leave the bigger issue until such time as it becomes apparent it's required. You wouldn't have to undo anything later if/when you decided to do the other work. And, that way, you'll think about up front the requirements of automation systems as separate from your own app's needs and insure that you support both modes. Many folks using an automation system would never use your app, since the automation system will provide that functionality.