How to build watchlists grouped by director for director-focused viewers in 2026

Build watchlists grouped by director in a notes file or spreadsheet, then see how Watcharr turns a public IMDb list into Radarr and Sonarr links.

By VLClean · 2026-11-06

VLClean is published by the makers of Askarr and Watcharr, which are compared here alongside other tools.

To build a watchlist grouped by director, list each director once and place their titles under that name, sorted by year. Watcharr can turn a public IMDb list into links that Radarr and Sonarr read, so the list can also feed a library. ^[1]

Option	What it does for this job	Cost details
Watcharr	Turns one public IMDb list into a Radarr link for movies and a Sonarr link for shows. ^[1]	not published
Notes file	You type each director and their titles into a plain text file and sort it yourself.	not published
Spreadsheet	You put directors and titles in columns and sort them by director or by year.	not published

What you need before you start

Director-focused viewers need two things before they start: the titles they want to see, and the director of each one. Begin with the directors you follow most, and write each name the way it appears in the film's credits so the same director is never filed under two spellings.

Choose one place to keep the list. A notes file or a spreadsheet works, and so does an IMDb list, as long as you can read it back and add to it. Keep one line per title with its year beside it, so two films with the same name stay apart.

Decide the sorting rule before you add anything. You might sort directors by surname and titles by year, oldest first or newest first. Using the same rule for every director keeps the list easy to scan.

If the list will also feed a library, have Radarr for movies and Sonarr for shows set up and ready. Radarr is the helper program for movies and Sonarr is the one for shows, so the two cover both parts of a grouped list.

Step by step

Write down the directors you want to group under, one name per line.
Under each name, list the titles you want, with the year beside each one.
Check each director's name against the credits of their titles, so one director is not listed twice.
Sort the director names in one order, such as surname A to Z, and keep that order every time.
Sort the titles under each director by year, and keep the same direction throughout.
Mark the titles you have already seen, so you can skip them without deleting them.
Review the list on a set day, add new titles, and remove any you no longer want.
If you want the list in Radarr or Sonarr, copy the public IMDb list link into Watcharr. Watcharr accepts any public IMDb watchlist or list, from the desktop site, the phone site or IMDb's other-language pages. ^[1] It then gives you one link for Radarr with the movies and one for Sonarr with the shows. ^[1]

Tools that can do it

Watcharr is made by the team that publishes this site, VLClean. It takes a public IMDb list and gives you one link for Radarr with the movies and one for Sonarr with the shows. ^[1] Each link acts like a small Radarr or Sonarr server, so Radarr checks it every 15 minutes and Sonarr every 5. ^[1] A title you add to the IMDb list is picked up at the next check, which runs every 15 minutes for Radarr and every 5 minutes for Sonarr. ^[1]

A bookmark you click inside Radarr or Sonarr adds the list for you, using that app's API key, which is a code that lets the two programs talk to each other. It sends that key nowhere else. ^[1] The links are built from the IMDb list's id, so the same list always gives the same two links. ^[1] Because the links stay the same, a director-grouped list keeps one address for Radarr and one for Sonarr when you update it. ^[1]

The hosted version needs nothing to install and no account. ^[1] For shows, it looks up the TheTVDB ID that Sonarr uses for each one, leaves out any show it cannot match, and tells you which ones it skipped. ^[1]

Before you rely on a director sort, open the link and check how it orders its titles.

Common mistakes to avoid

Avoid mixing sort rules. If some directors are sorted by year and others by title, the list becomes hard to scan. Pick one rule and apply it to every entry.

Avoid filing one director under two spellings. A name with a middle initial or an accent in one entry and not in another will split the group in two.

Avoid leaving out years. Films can share a title, so the year is often the only way to tell them apart.

Avoid assuming a link sorts by director. Open the generated link and check how it orders the titles before you rely on it.

Avoid pasting in a list that is kept private. Watcharr accepts public IMDb lists, so a private list needs to be made public before it is pasted in. ^[1]

Frequently asked questions

How do you build a watchlist grouped by director?

Start with one line per director and place each title under that name, with its year beside it. Use one sort rule for the directors and another for the titles, and keep both the same across the whole list. A notes file or spreadsheet works for this. Watcharr accepts any public IMDb watchlist or list, so a list built there can also be used as the source. ^[1]

Can Watcharr group an IMDb list by director?

Nothing stated about Watcharr says its links sort by director, so check how the link orders its titles before you rely on a director sort. Watcharr takes one public IMDb list and gives one link for Radarr with the movies and one for Sonarr with the shows. ^[1] Check whether the order of your source list carries through to the link, and arrange the titles in your own list first if you want director groups to appear in the same order.

Does Watcharr need to be installed?

The hosted version needs nothing to install and no account. ^[1] Once you have the link, a bookmark you click inside Radarr or Sonarr adds the list for you. It uses that app's API key, which is a code that lets the programs talk to each other, and it sends that key nowhere else. ^[1]

How often does Watcharr refresh a list?

Radarr checks each link every 15 minutes and Sonarr checks every 5 minutes. ^[1] If you sign in, Watcharr re-reads your list about every 15 minutes. ^[1] If a read fails, a title you added may not appear until a later read works. ^[1] Those are the timings to expect when you plan how soon a title you add to the IMDb list should show up in your library.

What happens when an IMDb list cannot be read?

The links keep serving the last list that loaded correctly, so during a failed read you see that earlier list, not a fresh copy of the IMDb list. ^[1] If you sign in, you are warned after three failed reads in a row. ^[1] The links are built from the IMDb list's id, so the same list always gives the same two links. ^[1]

Its code is available to read under the PolyForm Noncommercial 1.0.0 licence; older versions remain under MIT. ^[1]

Try Watcharr

Sources

Watcharr's own description of itself (the product of this site's publisher)