Adapter: AniList

Anime specific adapter

AniList sync is built for anime watchlists. It syncs AniList’s Planning list and tries to keep IDs usable elsewhere.

CrossWatch is optimized for movies and shows. Anime works well for common titles. Edge cases can still fail matching.

What it supports

• Feature: Watchlist

• List used: AniList “Planning” (ANIME only, no manga)

• Writes: add and remove

• Sync model: present-state snapshot

Prerequisite: connect AniList

Set up AniList in Settings → Authentication first. Use this guide: AniList (Authentication provider).

How matching works (bridging)

Most providers prefer IMDb/TMDb IDs. AniList prefers AniList/MAL IDs.

CrossWatch tries these steps when it needs an AniList ID:

1. Use an existing anilist ID.

2. Else use a mal ID and resolve it to AniList.

3. Else do a title search and require a strong match.

Good metadata helps. Add TMDb in Settings → Metadata.

Limitations you should expect

• TMDb anime coverage is incomplete.

• Some titles will map wrong or not at all.

• Unmappable items can cause duplicates across providers.

Snapshot model (why it behaves “all-or-nothing”)

AniList watchlist is treated as a full snapshot:

• No watermarks.

• No date_from.

• Each run re-reads the full Planning list.

Shadow state (stability across runs)

CrossWatch keeps a local mapping file to avoid re-guessing every run:

/config/.cw_state/anilist_watchlist_shadow.json

It is used to:

• reuse stable mappings

• avoid retrying known no-match titles

• keep multi-provider sync paths stable

What gets stored in the shadow file

• AniList IDs, optional MAL IDs

• AniList list entry IDs

• source IDs from the originating provider

• ignored markers and ignore reasons (for “not anime / no match”)

Rate limits and token lifecycle

• Run daily for normal usage.

• Avoid rapid re-runs while debugging.

• AniList tokens are valid for 1 year.

• AniList has no refresh token flow in CrossWatch.

• Reconnect yearly in Authentication to get a new token.

Best practices

• Use separate pairs for anime vs movies/shows.

• Whitelist libraries to keep non-anime out of the pair.

• Start one-way. Validate matches. Then go bidirectional.