How private ratings keepers export ratings to a file

Learn how to export your ratings to a file, with the steps to follow, what to prepare, and the tool options to check before choosing one.

By VLClean · 2026-11-11

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

Private ratings keepers can export ratings to a file by listing what to export, choosing a file type, running the export, and checking the result against the original. Check each tool's export options before you choose one, since the facts on this page do not describe a ratings file export for every tool.

Option	What it does	Setup or cost
Watcharr	You paste one public IMDb list and get one link for each app, one link for Radarr with the movies and one link for Sonarr with the shows. ^[1]	The hosted version needs nothing to install and no account. ^[1]
Other export tools	Not described on this page; check whether it writes a file of ratings.	not published
Your own spreadsheet	A file you fill in yourself, with no outside tool.	not published

What you need before you start

Start by deciding which ratings you want to export, such as movie ratings, show ratings, or both. Find the account or list where those ratings are kept and confirm you can sign in to it. Choose the file type you need, such as a spreadsheet file or a plain text file, and make sure the program you will open it with is ready.

Make a folder for exports with a clear name and the date, so each file is easy to find later. Before you run anything, save a copy of the current list or count the ratings you can see, so you have something to compare the file against. A ratings file records the titles you rated and the scores you gave, and a rating does not by itself prove you watched a title. Decide who will keep the file and where it will be stored, because it holds a record of what you rated and how you scored it.

Step by step

Open the account or list where your ratings are kept and check that you can see all of them.
Choose the file type you want for the export.
Run the export using the option your tool offers and save the file to the folder you made.
Open the file and count the rating entries, leaving out headings, then compare that count with the number of ratings you saw in step one.
Check a handful of titles in the file against the original scores to confirm they match.
Keep the dated file and store a copy somewhere separate, so one lost file does not remove your record.

If the counts or scores do not match, do not delete the original. Run the export again, note which titles differ, and check whether the tool skipped any of them.

Tools that can do it

Watcharr is made by the team that publishes this site. It takes any public IMDb watchlist or list from the desktop site, the phone site or IMDb's other-language pages. ^[1] You paste one public IMDb list and get one link for each app, one link for Radarr with the movies and one link for Sonarr with the shows. ^[1] The links are built from the IMDb list's id, so the same list always gives the same two links. ^[1] The hosted version needs nothing to install and no account. ^[1]

Other tools that export ratings are not described on this page, so look at each one's export options, file types and cost before you decide. Check the file against your list for completeness whichever tool you use.

Common mistakes to avoid

Avoid exporting once and assuming the file is complete. Check the number of rating entries and a few scores against the original, because a missing title is easy to overlook.

Avoid overwriting the only copy. Save each export under a new name with the date, and keep the older file until the new one has been checked.

Avoid skipping the report of skipped titles when a tool gives one. Watcharr leaves out shows it cannot match and tells you which ones it skipped, so read that report before you rely on a file built from its results. ^[1]

Avoid storing ratings in a shared folder without thinking about who can open it. A ratings file can show what you watched and how you scored it, so keep it somewhere only you can reach.

Frequently asked questions

How can private ratings keepers export ratings to a file?

Start by listing which ratings you want and choosing a file type, such as a spreadsheet or a plain text file. Run the export with the option your tool offers, save the file to a folder you prepared, and then count the rating entries and compare a few scores with the original. Keep a dated copy so an older export can still be checked later.

Does Watcharr export ratings to a file?

The facts on this page describe Watcharr as a way to turn a public IMDb list into one link for Radarr with the movies and one for Sonarr with the shows. ^[1] Check whether it writes a ratings file before you choose it for that job. The hosted version needs nothing to install and no account. ^[1]

How often does Watcharr refresh an IMDb list?

If you sign in, Watcharr re-reads your list about every 15 minutes and warns you when a list fails three reads in a row. ^[1] If a read of the list fails, the links keep serving the last list that loaded correctly. ^[1] If you use a separate export tool to make a file from that list, check the time of your last export before relying on it.

Does Watcharr work on a phone?

You paste, copy and browse from any screen in the web app, and the one-click sticker 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, and a title that is on two lists is added only once. ^[1]

What should be checked before exporting ratings to a file with any tool?

Check which titles the file includes, which columns it uses, and whether the tool reports any titles it skipped. Watcharr looks up TheTVDB ids through TVMaze and TMDB, leaves out shows it cannot match, and tells you which ones it skipped. ^[1] Compare a few rows against your original ratings before you rely on the file, and keep the original until the check is done.

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)