# Adapter: TMDb

TMDb adapter lets CrossWatch sync with your TMDb account. It supports watchlist and ratings.

{% hint style="info" %}
Connect TMDb first. Use: [TMDb](/crosswatch/providers/authentication/auth-trackers/auth-tmdb.md).
{% endhint %}

### What it supports

* Direction: source or target in a pair (one-way or two-way)
* Features:
  * **Watchlist** (movies and shows)
  * **Ratings** (movies, shows, and episodes)
  * **History / Playlists** (not supported)
* Rating scale: **1–10**
* Indexing: present-state snapshot (reads “what exists now”)

### How matching works

TMDb writes need a TMDb media ID.

CrossWatch resolves IDs in this order:

1. `ids.tmdb` (best)
2. `ids.imdb` via TMDb `/find`
3. `ids.tvdb` via TMDb `/find` (TV only)

CrossWatch UI features like **Insights/Overview** depend on `ids.imdb`.

So the TMDb adapter will also do an external lookup when it has a TMDb ID.

It calls TMDb `external_ids` and attaches `ids.imdb` when available.

{% hint style="warning" %}
If an item has no `tmdb`, `imdb`, or `tvdb` ID, it can’t be written to TMDb.
{% endhint %}

### Watchlist behavior

* Read: your TMDb watchlist for movies and TV.
* Write: add/remove items from the watchlist.

CrossWatch does not sync TMDb custom lists.

### Ratings behavior

* Read: your rated movies and TV shows.
* Write: set or clear ratings.

Ratings are integers from **1** to **10**.

{% hint style="info" %}
TMDb has API support for episode ratings. CrossWatch may index them. Some UIs hide episode rating writes based on feature gates.
{% endhint %}

### Settings (advanced)

TMDb (Sync) stores credentials under `tmdb_sync`.

<details>

<summary>Important config keys</summary>

* `tmdb_sync.api_key` (TMDb v3 API key)
* `tmdb_sync.session_id` (session from the connect flow)
* `tmdb_sync.account_id` (optional, auto-discovered if missing)
* `tmdb_sync.timeout` (seconds)
* `tmdb_sync.max_retries`

</details>

<details>

<summary>Endpoints used (for debugging)</summary>

Watchlist:

* `GET /account/{account_id}/watchlist/movies`
* `GET /account/{account_id}/watchlist/tv`
* `POST /account/{account_id}/watchlist`

Ratings:

* `GET /account/{account_id}/rated/movies`
* `GET /account/{account_id}/rated/tv`
* `GET /account/{account_id}/rated/tv/episodes` (episode ratings)
* `POST /movie/{id}/rating` and `DELETE /movie/{id}/rating`
* `POST /tv/{id}/rating` and `DELETE /tv/{id}/rating`
* `POST /tv/{show}/season/{s}/episode/{e}/rating` and `DELETE .../rating`

ID resolution:

* `GET /find/{external_id}` (`imdb_id` / `tvdb_id`)

ID enrichment (adds `ids.imdb` / `ids.tvdb` when TMDb provides them):

* `GET /{media_type}/{tmdb_id}/external_ids`

</details>

### Diagnostics

* Logs include `TMDB` and the feature name (example: watchlist, ratings).
* Health check probes `GET /account`.

Common unresolved reasons:

* Missing IDs for writes.
* Invalid rating (must be `1–10`).
* Episode rating missing `season` or `episode`.

### State and caching (advanced)

TMDb sync uses local state files under `/config/.cw_state/`.

These files are typically scoped per pair run, so different pairs don’t collide.

Scope details: [Scope](/blueprint-architecture/orchestrator/scope.md).

### Notes and limitations

* TMDb has no history sync. It is watchlist + ratings only.
* For better matching, enable [Meta: TMDb](/crosswatch/providers/metadata/meta-tmdb.md).
* Start one-way + dry run. Add removals only once runs are clean.

Deep dive (module-level): [TMDb (Sync) module overview](/blueprint-architecture/sync/_mod_tmdb/overview.md).


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