About CrossWatch

CrossWatch in 2 minutes: what it does, how it works, where to start.

CrossWatch (CW) keeps your watch state aligned across services.

It connects media servers and trackers.

It runs locally and stores state on disk.

You control it from a web UI.

CW can feel overwhelming at first. The default settings are good enough for most users.

Start with one pair and one feature. Then expand. Keep it easy!

What you can do

• Sync watchlists, history, and ratings.

• Scrobble plays in real time with Watcher.

• Improve matching using TMDb metadata.

• Use local state + snapshots for safer planning.

The mental model

• Providers: Plex, Jellyfin, Emby, Trakt, SIMKL, MDBList, AniList, TMDb.

• Pairs: one source + one target.

• Runs: manual or scheduled.

• State: local JSON files CW uses to plan changes.

Where to go next

• Platform-specific install (Portainer, NAS, Windows/Linux): Container installation

• Install / run in Docker: Docker setup

• Your first clean run: First-time setup

• Syncing vs scrobbling: What do you need?

• How syncing works: Syncing

• Enable real-time plays: Watcher

• Use safe defaults: Best practices

• Browse integrations: Providers

Limits (quick)

CW stores state as JSON files (no database).

That keeps installs simple, but very large libraries can slow planning.

Soft size guidance (varies by hardware)

• Watchlist: stable up to ~2,500 items total across providers.

• History (plays): stable up to ~10,000 play events total.

• Ratings: stable up to ~10,000 ratings total.

Prefer incremental windows for big backfills.

Ratings reads are not cached by design.

If something breaks, file an issue:

File issues here

Summary

CW syncs watchlists, history, and ratings between services.

It can also scrobble plays in real time with Watcher.

Start small: one pair, one feature, dry run.

Next steps

• Install it (platform-specific): Container installation

• Install / run it: Docker setup

• Do a first clean run in the UI: First-time setup

• Pick periodic syncing vs real-time scrobbling: What do you need?

• Use safer defaults before two-way sync: Best practices