--- {"title": "How private ratings keepers can keep reviews on their own server", "description": "Want to keep your reviews on a server you run? Check how a list tool stores ratings, and where it runs, before you move anything over.", "url": "https://vlcleanplayer.com/how-to-keep-reviews-on-their-own-server-for-private-ratings-keepers/", "date": "2026-11-12"} --- Want to keep your reviews on a server you run? Check how a list tool stores ratings, and where it runs, before you move anything over. Watcharr turns a public IMDb list into one Radarr link and one Sonarr link [^1]. Check whether it stores ratings and reviews, and whether it runs on a server you control, before you choose. | Option | What it does | Cost details | |---|---|---| | Watcharr | Turns a public IMDb list into one Radarr link and one Sonarr link [^1] | The hosted version needs nothing to install and no account [^1] | | Other tools (not covered here) | not published | not published | ## What you need before you start If you plan to send a list to Radarr and Sonarr, start with the IMDb list you want to send, and use a public one. Watcharr accepts any public IMDb watchlist or list from the desktop site, the phone site or IMDb's other-language pages [^1]. Next, note that Watcharr gives you one link for Radarr with the movies and one for Sonarr with the shows [^1]. Radarr checks each link every 15 minutes and Sonarr checks every 5 [^1]. Decide who will use the links. Combining several lists for a household is open to signed-in users [^1]. Finally, ask where your ratings and reviews are stored, and whether Watcharr keeps them at all. Decide what a private copy means for the information being kept. Ratings, written reviews, watch history and lists are different kinds of information, so check each one separately. Make a note of which information must remain on hardware under your control. Keep an existing copy of important reviews until the chosen tool has confirmed what information it can preserve. Also decide how reviews will be backed up and how they can be recovered if the server stops working. ## Step by step 1. Pick the IMDb list you want to keep and confirm that it is public, since Watcharr reads public lists [^1]. 2. Decide whether one person or a household will use the links. Signed-in users can combine several lists into one link for the household, and a title on two lists is added only once [^1]. 3. Use the hosted version of Watcharr, which needs nothing to install and no account [^1]. 4. Add the list link in the web app, which you can copy and browse from any screen [^1]. 5. Copy the two links Watcharr gives you, one for movies and one for shows [^1]. The same IMDb list always gives the same two links [^1]. 6. Add the links to Radarr and Sonarr. A bookmark you click inside Radarr or Sonarr adds the list for you [^1]. 7. Check which shows were left out. Watcharr leaves out shows it cannot match, and tells you which ones it skipped [^1]. 8. If you signed in, watch for warnings. 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 fails, the links keep serving the last list that loaded correctly [^1]. ## Tools that can do it Watcharr is made by VLClean, the team that publishes this site. It runs as one Cloudflare app with a Cloudflare database, plus a GitHub job that reads IMDb [^1]. Its 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]. The web app shows a list's covers in a row, each opening TMDB's plot, genres, rating, backdrop and trailer [^1]. Before you pick one, check how it reads your list, whether it stores ratings or reviews, whether it runs on a server you control, and what it costs to use. ## Common mistakes to avoid Avoid assuming that a list's ratings travel with the list. Check the ratings question with the tool before you move anything over. Choose a public IMDb list as the source, since Watcharr accepts any public IMDb watchlist or list [^1]. Check which ones Watcharr skipped before you rely on the list [^1]. Check how often each app looks at its link. Radarr checks every 15 minutes and Sonarr every 5 [^1]. Avoid ignoring warnings after you sign in. Watcharr warns you when a list fails three reads in a row, so a warning is the signal to look at the list again [^1]. ## Frequently asked questions ### Does Watcharr keep ratings or reviews on your own server? Check whether Watcharr stores ratings and reviews before you rely on it for them, and whether it can run on a server you control before you choose. This page cannot answer either question, so put both to the tool itself before you decide. ### 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]. The hosted version needs nothing to install and no account [^1]. ### How does Watcharr connect a list to Radarr and Sonarr? From a public IMDb list, Watcharr gives you one link for Radarr with the movies and one for Sonarr with the shows [^1]. Radarr and Sonarr look at each link automatically, Radarr every 15 minutes and Sonarr every 5 [^1]. A bookmark you click inside Radarr or Sonarr adds the list for you [^1]. ### Can Watcharr combine several 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]. For signed-in users, Watcharr also re-reads the list about every 15 minutes [^1]. ### What happens to Watcharr's links if Watcharr cannot load an IMDb list? The links continue to provide the last list that loaded correctly [^1]. If you signed in, Watcharr warns you when a list cannot be loaded three times in a row [^1]. 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)