Check the release and the point where the scan stops
The current Kodi library-settings manual describes v22 controls, and Team Kodi’s October 2026 release announcement calls v22 RC 1 a prerelease. Confirm that you are actually using a matching build. A scan waiting at a version-selection question is a different state from a crash or an unavailable source. Record the prompt instead of repeatedly restarting the application.
Understand what automation changes
The documented Group the different versions of videos control offers Off, Ask and Auto. Ask waits for the user; Auto can create a version when the matching process finds a single existing match, using the configured default version type. That is a decision about library organisation, not a test that two files have identical pictures or represent the same cut. Keep a small sample whose intended relationship you already know before automating a large collection.
Review the default playback choice as well
The manual exposes a further option to make the most recently added version the default when Ask or Auto is selected. Someone preserving a preferred theatrical cut may not want a newly scanned alternative to replace that default. Inspect the resulting version list and default on the sample item, then retain the setting that matches the intended workflow. No change to these library controls converts one video file into another resolution or edit.
Questions, answered
Does Auto prove two files are the same edit?
No. It applies the documented matching and grouping rules; inspect the actual editions and default choice yourself.