--- {"title": "How to keep your own database when leaving cloud trackers", "description": "Plain steps for keeping your movie and show lists in a database you control after leaving a cloud tracker, with options and mistakes to avoid.", "url": "https://vlcleanplayer.com/how-to-keep-data-in-their-own-database-for-cloud-tracker-leavers/", "date": "2026-11-08"} --- Plain steps for keeping your movie and show lists in a database you control after leaving a cloud tracker, with options and mistakes to avoid. Copy each list you want to keep into a place you control before you leave a cloud tracker, then point your movie and show apps at that copy. Watcharr turns one public IMDb list into one link for Radarr and one for Sonarr [^1], and it can run as one Cloudflare app with a Cloudflare database [^1]. | Option | Setup | Price | |---|---|---| | Watcharr hosted version | Needs nothing to install and no account [^1] | not published | | Watcharr self-hosted | Runs as one Cloudflare app with a Cloudflare database, plus a GitHub job that reads IMDb [^1] | not published | | Other tools | not published | not published | ## What you need before you start Make sure the IMDb lists you want to keep are public, because Watcharr reads any public IMDb watchlist or list [^1]. Decide whether you will use the hosted web app or run your own copy. The hosted version needs nothing to install and no account [^1]. Running your own copy means setting up one Cloudflare app with a Cloudflare database, plus a GitHub job that reads IMDb [^1]. If you use Radarr or Sonarr, have each app's API key ready. A bookmark you click inside either app uses that app's API key without sending it anywhere else [^1]. Also confirm who holds the Cloudflare account that will sit behind the database, since you need to control it before you rely on it. ## Step by step 1. Copy each IMDb list you want to keep, and note which entries are movies and which are shows. 2. Choose where the copy will live: a database you run, or a copy you can export at any time. 3. Write down the details you will need for Radarr and Sonarr, including each app's API key, and keep them somewhere private. 4. Save a backup of every list outside the tracker you are leaving. 5. Connect one list to your movie and show apps first, and check that titles arrive. 6. Repeat for the other lists once the first one works, then stop using the old tracker. 7. Check the lists again after one week to confirm that nothing is missing. ## 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]. The links are built from the IMDb list's id, so the same list always gives the same two links [^1]. Signed-in users can combine several IMDb lists into one link for each app for the whole household, and a title on two lists is added only once [^1]. No other tool is named here because no facts about other tools were provided. Before choosing one, check how it lets you export your lists, where it keeps its copy, and whether you can run it on equipment you control. ## Common mistakes to avoid Avoid moving every list at once. Test one list first and confirm that its links still return titles. Avoid assuming a list is still public. If a read fails, the links keep serving the last list that loaded correctly [^1], so check the source list now and then. Signed-in users get a warning when a list fails three reads in a row [^1]. Avoid leaving out the shows Watcharr could not match. It leaves those shows out and tells you which ones it skipped [^1], so read that report before you assume the copy is complete. Avoid carelessness with API keys. Keep each app's key private, and replace it if you think it has leaked. ## Frequently asked questions ### How can someone leaving a cloud tracker keep their lists in a database they run? Start by copying each list you want to keep and noting which entries are movies and which are shows. Choose a database you control, and check who holds the account it sits in before moving everything over. Watcharr can run as one Cloudflare app with a Cloudflare database [^1], so that account is part of the setup. Keep one backup copy outside any tracker so a change in service does not remove your lists. ### Does Watcharr accept IMDb lists from a phone browser? Watcharr accepts any public IMDb watchlist or list from the desktop site, the phone site or IMDb's other-language pages [^1]. You paste, copy and browse from any screen in the web app [^1]. The one-click sticker shows on bigger screens [^1]. ### How often does Watcharr refresh a signed-in 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]. Radarr checks each link every 15 minutes and Sonarr every 5 [^1]. Treat those times as minimum gaps between checks, not as exact timings. ### How does Watcharr handle shows with no TheTVDB id? Watcharr looks up TheTVDB ids through TVMaze and TMDB, leaves out shows it cannot match, and tells you which ones it skipped [^1]. Read that report after each list update. Checking it regularly helps you catch gaps early, before you notice a missing show in your library. ### Can Watcharr be used for commercial work? Commercial use is not licensed, and no commercial licence is for sale [^1]. Its code is available to read under the PolyForm Noncommercial 1.0.0 licence, and older versions remain under MIT [^1]. Read the licence text yourself before deciding how you will use it. Its code is available to read under the PolyForm Noncommercial 1.0.0 licence; older versions remain under MIT. [^1] - [Visit Watcharr](/go/start-watcharr) ## Sources [^1]: Watcharr's own description of itself (the product of this site's publisher) (/go/start-watcharr)