How watch party organizers can record what the group watched

Steps for watch party organizers to record what the group watched, what to prepare first, and what to check before picking a tool.

By VLClean · 2026-11-09

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

Pick one shared place for the record, add each title after the group watches it, and check the record after each session. The sections below cover what to prepare, how to keep the record, and which tools to compare.

Option	What it does	Setup needed
Watcharr	Turns one public IMDb list into one link for Radarr with the movies and one for Sonarr with the shows. ^[1]	The hosted version needs nothing to install and no account. ^[1]
Other tools for this job	not published	not published

What you need before you start

Have one shared place where the group's record will live, and decide who will add titles to it. Gather the titles from earlier sessions first, so the record starts complete. For each title, write down the date the group watched it and who picked it, so anyone reading the record later can follow it.

Decide who can see the record and who can change it. A record that many people edit needs one owner who checks it, or repeats and gaps build up over time. Agree on one way to add titles, so nothing is kept in two places.

Step by step

Choose one place for the group's record, and ask everyone to add titles only there.
Name the person who adds titles and the person who checks the record after each session.
After each watch party, add the title, the date and a short note on who picked it.
Keep the entries in the same order each time, so the record is easy to scan.
When the group takes a break, read the record from start to finish and fix any repeats or gaps.
Share the record with the group, and ask whether anything is missing.

Tools that can do it

Watcharr is made by the team that publishes this site. It works from one public IMDb list: you paste the list and get one link for Radarr with the movies and one link for Sonarr with the shows. ^[1] Radarr and Sonarr are the two programs that add titles to a media library.

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]

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] If you sign in, the list is re-read about every 15 minutes, and you are warned 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]

The page shows the list's covers in a row, and each cover opens TMDB's plot, genres, rating, backdrop and trailer. ^[1] TMDB is a database of movies and shows. From any screen in the web app, you can paste a public IMDb list and copy the resulting movie link for Radarr and show link for Sonarr. ^[1] ^[1] You can also browse the list's covers and open a title's plot, genres, rating, backdrop and trailer on TMDB. ^[1] ^[1]

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

The sources for this page do not say that Watcharr records dates or notes for each watch party, so check that on the tool's own page before relying on it.

No other tool is named here because no source facts about other tools were provided. Before choosing one, check whether it keeps the record in one place, lets more than one person add titles, and shows the dates you want.

Common mistakes to avoid

Avoid keeping the record in several places. A title added to one copy will be missing from the others, and nobody will know which copy is current.

Avoid skipping the question of who adds titles. A record that anyone can change without an owner tends to collect repeats and gaps, so name one person to check it after each session.

Avoid assuming a tool keeps dates or notes unless its page says so. The sources for this page do not say that Watcharr keeps watch dates or notes.

Avoid assuming what the licence allows. Watcharr's code is available to read under the PolyForm Noncommercial 1.0.0 licence, and older versions remain under MIT. ^[1] Check the licence terms for the kind of use planned before building on the code.

Frequently asked questions

How can watch party organizers record what the group watched?

Choose one shared place for the record, add each title after the group watches it, and note the date and who picked it. Keep one owner who checks the record after each session, so repeats and gaps are caught early. Write down the titles from earlier sessions first, so the record starts complete.

Can Watcharr keep one list for the whole group?

Signed-in users can combine several IMDb lists into one Radarr link and one Sonarr link for the whole household, and a title on two lists is added only once. ^[1] The sources for this page do not say whether Watcharr keeps watch dates or notes, so check that on the tool's own page before relying on it.

Does Watcharr need to be installed before it can be used?

The hosted version of Watcharr can be used without installing anything or creating an account. ^[1] From any screen in the web app, you can paste a public IMDb list and copy the resulting movie link for Radarr and show link for Sonarr. ^[1] ^[1] You can also browse the list's covers and open a title's plot, genres, rating, backdrop and trailer on TMDB. ^[1] ^[1]

Which IMDb lists can Watcharr read?

It 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] If a read of the list fails, the links keep serving the last list that loaded correctly. ^[1]

What should be checked before choosing a tool for a watch party list?

Check whether the tool keeps the record in one place, lets more than one person add titles, and shows the dates and notes you want. The sources for this page do not cover those points for Watcharr or for other tools, so the tool's own page is the place to confirm them. Check the licence as well before using any code for paid or commercial work.

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)