How to decide which titles to add to the home library for streaming service cancelers

Learn how streaming service cancelers can decide which titles to add to a home library, with setup steps, tool options and common mistakes to avoid.

By VLClean · 2026-11-11

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

Agree on a rule for what counts as a title worth adding, gather the titles people already want into one list, approve each one against the rule, and review the list on the same day each week. Watcharr is one option that reads a public IMDb list and gives Radarr and Sonarr one link each. ^[1]

Option	What it does	Cost details
Watcharr	Turns a public IMDb list into one link for Radarr with the movies and one for Sonarr with the shows. ^[1]	The hosted version needs nothing to install and no account, and no price is published here. ^[1]
Another list tool	not published	not published

What you need before you start

Start by agreeing on what the home library is for. Write down the kinds of titles you want, such as movies only, shows only, or both, and note the titles you already own or stopped watching when you cancelled. Decide who in the household gets a say, since each person may want different things.

Set one rule for what counts as a title worth adding, such as a genre or a rating you both accept, so the list does not grow with every passing idea. Choose one place to keep the list, such as a single shared list that everyone can read. Name one person who reviews additions each week and approves them before they reach the library.

A short written note that covers who decides and how often the list changes will prevent disagreements later. Finally, check that the library tools you plan to use are already set up on the computer or server that holds the files, because a list only helps once those tools can read it.

Step by step

Follow these steps in order, whichever tool you use.

Write the household rule in one sentence, such as 'add a title that two people in the house want to see'.
Collect the titles people already want from earlier favorites, watch notes and shared ideas.
Remove duplicates and any titles that are already in the library.
Sort the rest into movies and shows, so each one goes to the right part of the library.
Check each title against the household rule and mark it approved or set aside.
Add the approved titles to the library through the tool you chose.
Confirm the titles arrived. If any were skipped, find out why and decide whether to add them by hand.
Review the list on the same day each week, remove titles that no longer fit, and note new requests from the household.

Keep the same rule and the same review day from week to week, so the list stays easy to follow.

Tools that can do it

Watcharr is made by the team that publishes this site. Watcharr turns one public IMDb list into a Radarr link for movies and a Sonarr link for shows. ^[1] Each link acts like a small Radarr or Sonarr server. ^[1] Radarr re-checks the link about every 15 minutes and Sonarr about every 5. ^[1] A one-click button you press inside Radarr or Sonarr adds the list for you, using that app's access key, which is its API key, without sending it anywhere else. ^[1]

It accepts any public IMDb watchlist or list from the desktop site, the phone site or IMDb's other-language pages. ^[1] The links are built from the IMDb list's id, so the same list always gives the same two links. ^[1] It looks up TheTVDB ids through TVMaze and TMDB, leaves out shows it cannot match, and tells you which ones it skipped. ^[1]

The page shows the list's covers in a row, and each cover opens TMDB's plot, genres, rating, backdrop and trailer. ^[1] You paste, copy and browse from any screen in the web app, and the one-click button shows on bigger screens. ^[1] Signed-in users can combine several IMDb lists into one Radarr link and one Sonarr link for the whole household. ^[1] A title that is on two lists is added only once. ^[1] If you sign in, it re-reads your list about every 15 minutes and warns you when a list fails three reads in a row. ^[1]

This page names only Watcharr, because no facts about other tools were supplied for it. Before choosing another tool, check how it reads a list, how often it updates, and what it does with titles it cannot match.

Common mistakes to avoid

Avoid starting without a rule for additions. Without one, the list grows until nobody can tell which titles still matter, and the household ends up arguing over each addition.

Avoid pasting a list that is not public into a tool that reads public lists. Watcharr accepts public IMDb lists, so confirm the list is public before you paste it. ^[1]

Avoid assuming a list will update on its own without signing in. Signed-in users get a re-read about every 15 minutes, so a list that is not signed in to the tool may stay out of date. ^[1]

Avoid ignoring skipped shows. Watcharr leaves out shows it cannot match and tells you which ones it skipped, so check that message before assuming a show is in the library. ^[1]

Avoid adding the same title by hand after it has come through a list. A title that is on two lists is added only once, so a second copy is not needed. ^[1]

Frequently asked questions

How can streaming service cancelers decide which titles to add to the home library?

Start with a household rule for what counts as a title worth adding, then collect the titles people already want into one list. Remove duplicates and titles already in the library, sort the rest into movies and shows, and approve each one against the rule. Add the approved titles through the tool you choose, confirm they arrived, and review the list on the same day each week so it stays current.

Does Watcharr need an account to start?

The hosted version needs nothing to install and no account. ^[1] Signing in is a separate choice. A signed-in user gets a re-read of the list about every 15 minutes, along with a warning when a list fails three reads in a row. ^[1] Each household can decide whether that automatic updating is worth signing in for.

Can Watcharr combine lists for the whole household?

Signed-in users can combine several IMDb lists into one Radarr link and one Sonarr link for the whole household. ^[1] A title that is on two lists is added only once, so people who want the same film do not create a duplicate. Each list still needs to be public so the tool can read it. ^[1]

What happens if Watcharr cannot read an IMDb list?

If a read of the list fails, the links keep serving the last list that loaded correctly. ^[1] The links keep serving the last list that loaded correctly. ^[1] Signed-in users also get a warning when a list fails three reads in a row. ^[1]

Can Watcharr be used for commercial work?

Commercial use is not licensed, and no commercial licence is for sale. ^[1] The code is available to read under the PolyForm Noncommercial 1.0.0 licence, and older versions remain under MIT. ^[1] Anyone planning a business use should read those licence terms before using the tool.

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)