How to mark anime and live action episodes as watched in bulk

Steps to mark anime and live action episodes as watched in bulk, what to prepare first, and which tools fit this job.

By VLClean · 2026-11-13

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

Marking episodes as watched in bulk goes best when your episode list is in order, you pick one rule for whole seasons or blocks, and you check the result before moving on. The source describes Watcharr as turning a public IMDb list into one link for Radarr with the movies and one for Sonarr with the shows, but does not describe bulk episode marking. ^[1]

Option	What it does	Fit for this job
Watcharr	Turns a public IMDb list into one link for Radarr with the movies and one for Sonarr with the shows. ^[1]	The source describes turning a public IMDb list into links for Radarr and Sonarr, but does not describe bulk episode marking. ^[1]
Other watch trackers	not published	Check how each one marks episodes as watched in bulk before choosing.

What you need before you start

Before you mark anything in bulk, have your episode list open, grouped by show and then by season, so you can see what has been watched and what has not.

For anime, check whether your list uses the original Japanese title, the English title, or both. Pick one name for each show, so the same series is not entered twice under two names. For live action shows, check the season numbers against the show's episode listing, because some sources divide a season differently.

Decide the rule before you start. Choose whether you will mark a whole season at once, a block of episodes, or one show at a time, and write the rule down so you do not switch methods halfway through.

Make a copy of your current progress first. Export it or save a copy, so a bulk change can be undone if it marks the wrong episodes.

Finally, decide how specials, recaps and movies that sit alongside a series will count. Anime often has extra episodes numbered apart from the main run, so settle that question before you begin.

Step by step

Open your list and sort it by show, then by season, so every episode sits under the season it belongs to.

Pick one rule and keep it. Mark a whole season at once, or mark a block of episodes that ends at a point you choose.

Mark the first season as a test. Check that the episodes you meant to mark are marked, and that nothing outside that season changed.

Handle specials and recaps last. Decide whether they count toward your progress, then mark them one at a time or as a separate block.

Work through the next season the same way. After each season, compare the number of marked episodes with the season listing.

Scan the whole list at the end. Look for gaps, duplicate shows, and any season that is marked further along than you watched.

Save the result, so you have a copy to return to if a later change goes wrong.

If a bulk change marks the wrong episodes, stop, restore your saved copy, and work through the same steps in smaller blocks.

Tools that can do it

The sources for this page give no facts about other named tools, so no other tool is named here. Check any tool you consider for how it marks episodes in bulk, whether it marks a whole season at once, and whether it can undo a change.

Watcharr is made by the team that publishes this site. It takes a public IMDb list and gives you two links, one for Radarr with the movies and one for Sonarr with the shows. ^[1] A bookmark you click inside Radarr or Sonarr adds the list for you, using that app's API key without sending it anywhere else. ^[1]

The hosted version needs nothing to install and no account. ^[1] The page shows a list's covers in a row, and each cover opens details from TMDB, including plot, genres, rating, backdrop and trailer. ^[1]

Watcharr turns a public IMDb list into one link for Radarr with the movies and one for Sonarr with the shows. ^[1]

Common mistakes to avoid

Avoid marking a whole season without checking its episode count first. Specials and recaps can make a season look complete when it is not.

Avoid trusting a bulk change without scanning the result. A single wrong block can mark a show further along than you watched, and the error is easy to miss in a long list.

Avoid mixing anime and live action rules in one pass. Each kind of show can split seasons and extra episodes differently, so set a rule for each before you start.

Avoid assuming one tool behaves the same way in every app. Check how each tool handles seasons, specials and undo before you rely on it for a large batch.

Avoid skipping the saved copy. A copy takes a minute to make and can save you from a long clean-up after a bad change.

Frequently asked questions

Can Watcharr mark episodes as watched in bulk?

Watcharr turns a public IMDb list into one link for Radarr with the movies and one for Sonarr with the shows. ^[1] It accepts any public IMDb watchlist or list from the desktop site, the phone site, or IMDb's other-language pages. ^[1] For bulk marking, check the tool that keeps your episode progress, because the sources for this page do not describe that job.

Does Watcharr need an account or an install?

The hosted version needs nothing to install and no account. ^[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] Its code is available to read under the PolyForm Noncommercial 1.0.0 licence, and older versions remain under MIT. ^[1]

How often does Watcharr refresh a list for Sonarr?

Each link acts like a small Radarr or Sonarr server, so Radarr checks it every 15 minutes and Sonarr every 5. ^[1] For a signed-in list, the page re-reads it about every 15 minutes. ^[1] If a read fails, the links keep serving the last list that loaded correctly. ^[1]

Can Watcharr combine lists for a 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 appears on two lists is added only once. ^[1] The links are built from the IMDb list's id, so the same list always gives the same two links. ^[1]

What should be checked before choosing a tool for bulk episode marking?

Check whether the tool marks a whole season at once, whether it can undo a bulk change, and whether it keeps anime specials apart from the main episode run. The sources for this page give no facts on those points for any named tool, so each tool has to be checked on its own. Compare the answers with how your episode list is organised before you commit to one.

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)