How to keep a simple watchlist for light tracker seekers in 2026

Q: What happens to shows that Watcharr cannot match?

Watcharr looks up TheTVDB ids through TVMaze and TMDB. It leaves out shows it cannot match and tells you which ones it skipped. The page also shows the list's covers in a row, and each cover opens TMDB's plot, genres, rating, backdrop and trailer. Check the skipped list after each change to your watchlist, so you know which shows still need attention.

Keep one simple movie and show watchlist with a short set of steps, and see which tools can send the list to Radarr or Sonarr.

By VLClean · 2026-11-03

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

Keeping a simple watchlist comes down to choosing one public IMDb list, keeping one place for notes, and reviewing what gets added. Watcharr reads a public IMDb list and gives one link for Radarr with the movies and one for Sonarr with the shows. ^[1]

Option	What it does	Cost details
Watcharr	Reads one public IMDb list and gives a Radarr link and a Sonarr link. ^[1]	The hosted version needs nothing to install and no account. ^[1]
Notes app or paper list	You type each title in by hand and check it off yourself.	Cost is not published; check the app's own price page before you choose.
Shared chat or document	The group adds titles to one shared message thread or document.	Cost is not published; check the price page of the chat or document tool you pick before you choose.

What you need before you start

Start with one public IMDb watchlist or list that holds the titles you want to keep track of. A public list is the kind Watcharr accepts, so check that yours is public before you begin. ^[1]

Pick a single place to keep notes on what you have watched, such as a notes app or a paper list, so you are not juggling several copies of the same titles.

Decide whether one person will use the list or whether the household will share it. That choice decides how many lists you need to combine later.

If you plan to send titles to Radarr for movies or Sonarr for shows, have both apps running and know where their settings are. Watcharr gives one link for Radarr with the movies and one for Sonarr with the shows. ^[1]

Step by step

Open your public IMDb list and remove any titles that are already finished, so the list only holds what you still plan to watch.

Choose one place for notes, and write down which list is the source of truth for your titles.

Paste the public IMDb list into the tool you have chosen, and copy the links it gives you for Radarr and Sonarr.

Add each link to the matching app. If you use a one-click bookmark inside the app, the app adds the list for you. ^[1]

Look at the list on one day each week, add new titles you want, and remove titles you have watched.

After any change, check the page for shows that were left out, and decide whether to match them by hand or drop them.

Tools that can do it

Watcharr is made by the team that publishes this site. You paste one public IMDb list and get 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]

Watcharr 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]

The hosted version needs nothing to install and no account. ^[1]

Before choosing another tool, check how it reads your list, how it handles shows it cannot match, how often it re-reads the list, and what it does when a read fails.

Common mistakes to avoid

Avoid using a list that is not public, since Watcharr accepts public IMDb lists. Confirm your list is one of them before you build your links. ^[1]

Avoid keeping titles in several places at once. The links each app reads come from one list, and a second copy of the list can drift away from it.

Avoid ignoring the notice about skipped shows. Watcharr leaves out shows it cannot match and tells you which ones it skipped. ^[1]

Avoid letting the list grow without a review. Remove titles you have finished so the list stays useful to the person who reads it.

Frequently asked questions

How do you keep a simple watchlist with Watcharr?

Paste one public IMDb list into Watcharr and it gives you one link for Radarr with the movies and one for Sonarr with the shows. ^[1] Each link is built from the IMDb list's id, so the same list always gives the same two links. ^[1] If you sign in, the list is re-read about every 15 minutes, and the page warns you when a list fails three reads in a row. ^[1] That gives you one steady place to check for new titles.

Does Watcharr need an account to start?

The hosted version needs nothing to install and no account. ^[1] 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 get automatic re-reading of a list. ^[1] Signed-in users can also combine several lists into one set of links. ^[1]

Can Watcharr combine several IMDb lists for a 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. ^[1] If a read of a list fails, the links keep serving the last list that loaded correctly. ^[1] Use public IMDb lists for this, since those are the lists Watcharr accepts. ^[1]

What happens to shows that Watcharr cannot match?

Watcharr looks up TheTVDB ids through TVMaze and TMDB. ^[1] It leaves out shows it cannot match and tells you which ones it skipped. ^[1] The page also shows the list's covers in a row, and each cover opens TMDB's plot, genres, rating, backdrop and trailer. ^[1] Check the skipped list after each change to your watchlist, so you know which shows still need attention.

Is Watcharr licensed for commercial use?

Watcharr's code is available to read under the PolyForm Noncommercial 1.0.0 licence, and older versions remain under MIT. ^[1] Commercial use is not licensed, and no commercial licence is for sale. ^[1] Read the licence text itself before using the code for anything beyond personal use, since the licence terms are the authority on what is allowed.

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)