How-To Guides

What would you like to do?

Start a library

Getting started: save one title

1. Try the workflow or create an account. The interactive demo uses fictional entries and needs no account. To keep your own library, sign up with your email and a password, verify your email, then sign in.
2. Choose a category and add a title. Open Movies, TV Shows, Anime, Video Games, Music, or Books. Open the category's Add form and enter a title. Use title search where available, then check the returned details: editions and similarly named titles can differ.
3. Save what you know. Leave the rating blank if you have not formed an opinion. Check Watched, Played, Listened, or Read only when you want to record completion. Save the entry; use Edit later when you have more to add.

Your first library can be just three titles: something you finished, something you are partway through, and something you want to try. Completion, rating, and saved progress describe different things.

Bring an existing list

Import and export: choose the right file

A CSV from another tracker is a migration source. An OmniTrackr JSON export is a backup. Keep the original source file and export a backup before making a large change.

1. Open Import Studio in account settings. Choose the export file from your old service (Letterboxd and Trakt ZIPs, MyAnimeList XML, and IMDb, Goodreads, or StoryGraph CSVs are all read as they come), fetch a public AniList list by username, or use a generic spreadsheet. Start with a small sample and preview it. Opening the importer or previewing a file does not save titles.
2. Check what each row means. Inspect converted ratings, completion, and notes. Imported reviews are not published to public review pages, but friends can read them if you share that category. Use the row filter and page controls to review every outcome. Fix unexpected results in your file and preview again.
3. Confirm all ready rows when satisfied. Filtering the preview does not select rows for import. Matching records are skipped by the CSV importer, never overwritten, so use Edit when you intend to correct an existing entry. Compare the imported titles, completion, and ratings afterward.

JSON restore is a separate workflow and can update matching records. JSON backups include progress checkpoints and their private reminders; protect those files. CSV import does not create saved episode, page, or chapter checkpoints.

Resume a title

Tracking media: save your place

1. Find the saved title. Use your library search, or open a title shown in Continue or Next Up. On phones and tablets, More details expands the library card; View review opens the longer note or review.
2. Choose Update progress. TV shows and anime accept the last episode watched, with an optional season. Books accept the last page or chapter read. Add a Private reminder if you need context for next time.
3. Save and keep completion separate. For an unfinished item, leave completion unchecked. Updating your place does not mark the item Watched or Read. The completion checkbox does not have separate paused and dropped options.

Example: returning to a show after a break

Choose Update progress on the saved show, enter episode 4 and season 2, and save. This means episode 4 is the last one watched. Add a Private reminder such as “Watch episode 5 with Sam.” Keep Watched unchecked until the show is finished; the progress control does not change it, your rating, your review, or the show's episode count.

Books, specials, and clearing a checkpoint

For a book, choose page or chapter and enter the last one read. A book keeps one position, so changing the unit replaces its previous page or chapter when saved. TV and anime seasons are optional; season 0 is available for specials. Clear progress removes only the checkpoint and its reminder. These details stay private even if you share the category with friends or publish a review. You can practice in the demo.

Why tracking helps

Keeping a list of what you've watched or played helps you avoid forgetting titles, spot gaps in a series, and see how your tastes change over time. It also makes it easier to recommend things to friends and to get recommendations based on your real history.

Share selectively

Social features and friends: choose an audience

1. Choose which categories friends may view. Review the category privacy controls in account settings. Open Friends, then Add Friend to send a request by username. Accept incoming requests through the notification bell.
2. Review each public review separately. The Public Review checkbox is in an item's Add or Edit form. Leave it unchecked to keep the review off public review pages; friends can still read it when its category is shared. Select it only for a review you intend to publish, subject to the site's review-quality and moderation rules.
3. Check a collection before publishing it. A curated public collection has its own publishing controls. Review its title, description, selected entries, and notes for anything you do not want to share.

Hiding a tab is a layout preference, not a privacy setting. Category privacy, individual public reviews, and collection publishing are separate decisions. Saved progress checkpoints and their reminders stay private.

Find the right part of your library

Use the completion buttons below a category's search and sort controls to show all titles, unfinished titles, or completed titles. Labels fit the category: for example, Books has Not read and Read. Add Unrated to find blank ratings; a score of zero still counts as rated. These filters cover the whole library, including titles on later pages, and combine with search and sorting.

Example: books you finished but haven't rated

Open Books, choose Read, then check Unrated. Edit a matching book when you are ready to rate it; after saving a score, it leaves this view because it is now rated. You can try this with a fictional book in the interactive demo.

TV shows, anime, and books also offer Has saved progress. This finds a saved episode, page, or chapter checkpoint; it does not infer whether you are actively watching or reading. Each category remembers its filters while this page stays open. Opening a specific title from global search or Next Up clears the destination's filters so that title can be shown. Clear search & filters restores all titles while keeping your sort order.

Ratings and reviews

OmniTrackr ratings use a 0–10 scale. A blank rating means unrated; zero is an actual score. Pick a scale you can stick to: for example, 5 for mixed feelings, 7 for something you enjoyed, and 9 for a personal favorite. These are only suggestions for your own scale. Nobody is grading the work itself. If you previously used five stars, doubling a score is a simple conversion, but leave uncertain scores blank instead of inventing precision.

The Public Review checkbox belongs to each item's Add or Edit form. Leave it unchecked to keep the review off public review pages. Friends can still read reviews and notes in a category you share with them. Checking it opts that review into public sharing, subject to the site's review-quality and moderation rules, so it may not appear right away. Category privacy and tab visibility are separate controls, and neither one decides who can read a particular review.

For example, “Watch with Sam next Friday” belongs in your private journal or a checkpoint reminder if you want it visible only to you. A public review should say what you thought and why: “The slower first half gives the final decision weight; a good fit if you enjoy character conversations more than action.” Avoid personal details and mark spoilers. The review guide has fuller before-and-after examples.

Statistics

The Statistics tab shows overview numbers and charts: how many items you've added per category, average ratings, and trends. Use it to see which categories you use most, how your ratings are spread out, and how your activity has grown. The dashboard updates as you add or edit entries.

Tips

• Add items soon after you finish them so you don't forget.
• Rate on the same scale every time so your statistics compare like with like.
• Choose Public Review only on entries you want strangers to read.
• Export periodically as a backup.
• Adjust privacy per category so friends see only what you're comfortable sharing.

Guide library

Longer guides for specific tasks. They're all public, so you can read them before you create an account.