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How to track anime and live action shows in one place for anime and live action trackers

Track anime and live action shows in one place from one public IMDb list, with what to prepare and what to check before you choose a tool.

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

Put the anime and live action shows you want to follow on one public IMDb list, then connect that list to a tool that feeds Sonarr. Watcharr is one option. You paste one public IMDb list and get one link for Radarr with the movies and one for Sonarr with the shows. [1]

OptionWhat it does for your showsCost details
WatcharrGives one link for Sonarr with the shows from one public IMDb list. [1]The hosted version needs nothing to install and no account. [1]
Other list tools (not named here)not publishednot published

What you need before you start

Start with one public IMDb list that holds the anime and live action shows you want to follow. Watcharr accepts any public IMDb watchlist or list from the desktop site, the phone site or IMDb's other-language pages. [1]

Have Sonarr ready if you want the shows added to a library on your server. Have Sonarr ready if you want to use the show link Watcharr provides. [1] Decide whether the anime and live action shows belong on one list or on separate lists, and write down which list belongs to which person so the links stay clear when you share them.

If you want the list to refresh by itself, plan to sign in. 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]

Households can combine several lists into one set of links. 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]

Step by step

  1. Build one public IMDb list of the anime and live action shows you want to track, and remove any titles you do not follow.
  1. Choose a tool that reads a public IMDb list and gives you a link for Sonarr.
  1. Paste the list address into that tool, and check that the page shows the covers you expect.
  1. Copy the link the tool gives for Sonarr, which holds the shows from your list.
  1. Add the link to Sonarr so that Sonarr reads the list. A bookmark you click inside Sonarr adds the list for you, using Sonarr's API key, the code that lets the two programs talk, without sending that key anywhere else. [1]
  1. Check how often Sonarr reads the link. Each link acts like a small Radarr or Sonarr server, so Radarr checks it every 15 minutes and Sonarr every 5. [1]
  1. Read the list of skipped shows. A show that cannot be matched is left out, so compare the list you expected with what arrived. Watcharr looks up each show in outside databases, leaves out shows it cannot match, and tells you which ones it skipped. [1]
  1. Keep the list address with your links, since the same list always gives the same two links. [1]
  1. After one week, look at the shows that arrived and edit the IMDb list to match what you want to watch.

Tools that can do it

Watcharr is made by the team that publishes this site. You paste, copy and browse from any screen in the web app, and a one-click button that shows on bigger screens. [1]

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

The page shows the list's covers in a row, and each cover opens TMDB's plot, genres, rating, backdrop and trailer. [1] Watcharr is a hosted service on Cloudflare, a web hosting company, and GitHub, a site where code is kept, runs the IMDb-reading job. [1]

The hosted version needs nothing to install and no account. [1] Commercial use is not licensed, and no commercial licence is for sale. [1]

No other tool is named here, because this page has no checked facts about other tools. Before choosing one, check how it reads a public list, how it handles shows that cannot be matched, how often it refreshes, and whether its licence allows the use you have in mind.

Common mistakes to avoid

Avoid pasting a list without checking that it is public. Watcharr accepts any public IMDb list, so check the list's visibility before you paste it. [1]

Avoid expecting a change to show up right away. Each link is read on a schedule, so Radarr checks every 15 minutes and Sonarr every 5. [1]

Avoid assuming every show arrived. Shows that cannot be matched are left out, and the tool tells you which ones it skipped, so read that report after each change. [1]

Avoid mixing up the two links. The Radarr link carries the movies and the Sonarr link carries the shows, so give each link to the right app. [1]

Avoid sharing one list with the household without signing in first. Combining several lists into one set of links is open to signed-in users. [1]

Avoid leaving old lists in place. Remove titles and lists you no longer follow, so the links only carry what the household wants to watch.

Frequently asked questions

How can Watcharr track anime and live action shows in one place?

Put the shows on one public IMDb list, then paste that list into a tool that gives you a link for Sonarr. Watcharr is one such tool. [1] You paste one public IMDb list and get one link for Radarr with the movies and one for Sonarr with the shows. [1] The links are built from the list's id, so the same list always gives the same link. [1]

Can Watcharr add anime and live action shows to Sonarr?

Watcharr gives you one link for Sonarr that holds the shows from your public IMDb list. [1] Each link acts like a small Radarr or Sonarr server, so Radarr checks it every 15 minutes and Sonarr every 5. [1] A bookmark you click inside Sonarr adds the list for you, using Sonarr's API key without sending it anywhere else. [1] It leaves out shows it cannot match and tells you which ones it skipped. [1]

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, so signing in is only needed for that automatic refresh. [1] The hosted version needs nothing to install and no account. [1] Commercial use is not licensed, and no commercial licence is for sale. [1]

What happens to shows that Watcharr cannot match from the list?

Watcharr looks up each show in outside databases, leaves out shows it cannot match, and tells you which ones it skipped. [1] Check that report after each change to the list, so you know which shows did not arrive. The page shows the list's covers in a row, and each cover opens TMDB's plot, genres, rating, backdrop and trailer. [1]

Can Watcharr keep the list up to date without manual steps?

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] If a read of the list fails, the links keep serving the last list that loaded correctly. [1] Radarr and Sonarr then read the links on their own schedule. Each link acts like a small Radarr or Sonarr server, so Radarr checks it every 15 minutes and Sonarr every 5. [1]

Its code is available to read under the PolyForm Noncommercial 1.0.0 licence; older versions remain under MIT. [1]

Try Watcharr

Sources

  1. Watcharr's own description of itself (the product of this site's publisher)

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