CW

Local backup adapter that stores watchlist/history/ratings on disk for rollback and restore.

CW adapter is a local backup provider. It stores watchlist, history, and ratings as JSON in your config folder.

Use it as a safety net:

• Backup: Plex/Emby/Jellyfin/Trakt/SIMKL/MDBList/TMDb → CW
• Restore: CW → any provider

Nothing runs “automatically”. CW adapter only does work when it’s used in a pair.

What it supports

• Features: Watchlist, History, Ratings
• Auth: none (local only)
• Storage:

  • Current state: /config/.cw_provider/
  • Snapshots: /config/.cw_provider/snapshots/
• Restore granularity: per feature (pick different snapshots per feature)

Storage layout

Current state files:

• /config/.cw_provider/watchlist.json
• /config/.cw_provider/history.json
• /config/.cw_provider/ratings.json

Snapshots are timestamped:

• YYYYMMDDThhmmssZ-watchlist.json
• YYYYMMDDThhmmssZ-history.json
• YYYYMMDDThhmmssZ-ratings.json

When snapshots are created

Snapshots are only created when CW needs to change its local data.

Typical case:

• CW is the target in a run.
• The run applies add/remove operations.
• If Auto snapshot is enabled, CW snapshots the old state first.

Settings

Go to Settings → CrossWatch Tracker.

Basic behavior

• Enabled: toggles the provider for use in pairs.
• Retention (days): 0 keeps snapshots forever.
• Auto snapshot: snapshots before writes.
• Max snapshots per feature: 0 = unlimited.

Restore snapshots (per feature)

Pick one snapshot for each feature:

• Watchlist snapshot
• History snapshot
• Ratings snapshot

Latest (default) uses the most recent snapshot for that feature.

What gets written to config

"crosswatch": {
  "enabled": true,
  "retention_days": 30,
  "auto_snapshot": true,
  "max_snapshots": 64,
  "restore_watchlist": "latest",
  "restore_history": "latest",
  "restore_ratings": "latest"
}

What “restore” means

Selecting a snapshot does not push changes to other providers.

It only changes what CW exposes as its current state:

• The chosen snapshot is copied into the main JSON for that feature.
• A restore happens only when you run a pair where CW is the source.

Snapshot selection “arms” the restore. Running a pair “applies” the restore.

Common workflows

1

Undo a bad sync (restore ratings)

1. Open Settings → CrossWatch Tracker.
2. Set Ratings snapshot to a time before the bad run.
3. Save.
4. Run a pair: CW → target provider, enable Ratings only.

2

Roll back watchlist only

1. Set Watchlist snapshot to an older file.
2. Keep History/Ratings on Latest.
3. Run a pair: CW → target provider, enable Watchlist only.

3

Migrate state to a new provider

1. Pick snapshots you trust for the features you want.
2. Run a pair: CW → new provider.
3. Start one-way first. Use one feature. Then expand.

Tips and limitations

• CW is local. Remove /config/.cw_provider/ and you lose backups.
• Low retention + frequent runs will prune older snapshots quickly.
• CW history does not preserve multiple watch entries for one item.
• Trakt is currently the only provider with full multiple-play support.
• This is intentional. Provider-neutral history matters more than Trakt-specific workarounds.
• This is extra protection. It does not replace provider-side backups (if any).

Recommended baseline:

• Enabled: On
• Auto snapshot: On
• Retention: 30–90 days
• Max snapshots per feature: 64
• Restore selection: Latest, until you need a rollback