How to pool movie picks across several relatives for shared list managers in 2026

Learn how shared family list managers can combine movie and show picks from several relatives into one list for the household.

By VLClean · 2026-10-26

VLClean is published by the makers of Askarr and Watcharr, which are compared here alongside other tools.

Shared family list managers pool movie picks by agreeing on one shared list where everyone adds titles, then moving approved picks into the library tool that adds them.

Option	How picks are pooled	Cost details
Watcharr	Paste one public IMDb list and get one link for Radarr with the movies and one for Sonarr with the shows. ^[1] A signed-in user can combine several IMDb lists into one Radarr link and one Sonarr link for the whole household, and a title on two lists is added once. ^[1]	No price is published; commercial use is not licensed, and no commercial licence is for sale. ^[1]
Shared IMDb list	Relatives add movie and show picks to one public list that everyone reads from.	not published
Shared note or thread	Relatives add movie and show picks to one note or message thread.	not published

What you need before you start

Decide on the single place where every family member adds movie and show picks, so the pool stays in one list instead of scattered messages. Agree on which relatives belong to the group and who is allowed to add a title to the shared pool.

Set one simple rule for what counts as a pick, such as any title or only titles not already in the library, so the list stays useful to the household. Decide who will move approved picks out of the pool and into the library, and whether a pick needs approval before it is added.

Radarr and Sonarr are free helper programs that many home servers run to find and add movies (Radarr) and shows (Sonarr) to the library. Have them ready if they are part of how pooled titles are added. Choose the shared list the family will use, such as a public list everyone can add to or a simple shared note, and give every relative a clear place to put picks.

Step by step

Choose one shared list where every family member adds picks, such as a public list or a simple shared note, and tell everyone to use only that place.

Write down who can add titles, who approves a pick before it reaches the library, and how often the pool gets reviewed.

If the shared list feeds a movie and show tool, set it up so movies go to the movie program and shows go to the show program, and confirm which app holds the access code or password for the shared list.

Send each relative the short link or location of the shared list and one line on how to add a pick, so nobody guesses the way in.

Look through new picks on a regular day each week, move the ones you approve into the library, and remove picks you do not want so the pool stays tidy.

After the first week, ask a few family members what confused them, and edit the shared note or rules to fix those points.

Tools that can do it

Watcharr is made by the team that publishes this site. With Watcharr you paste one public IMDb list and get one link for Radarr with the movies and one for Sonarr with the shows. ^[1] Each link acts like a small Radarr or Sonarr server, so Radarr checks it every 15 minutes and Sonarr every 5. ^[1] A bookmark you click inside Radarr or Sonarr adds the list for you, using that app's API key without sending it anywhere else. ^[1]

Watcharr accepts any public IMDb watchlist or list from the desktop site, the phone site or IMDb's other-language pages. ^[1] The links are built from the IMDb list's id, so the same list always gives the same two links. ^[1] It looks up TheTVDB ids through TVMaze and TMDB, leaves out shows it can't match, and tells you which ones it skipped. ^[1] If you sign in, it re-reads your list about every 15 minutes and warns you when a list fails three reads in a row. ^[1]

Signed-in users can combine several IMDb lists into one Radarr link and one Sonarr link for the whole household, and a title that is on two lists is added only once. ^[1] If a read of the list fails, the links keep serving the last list that loaded correctly. ^[1] Watcharr runs as one Cloudflare app with a Cloudflare database, plus a GitHub job that reads IMDb. ^[1] Its code is available to read under the PolyForm Noncommercial 1.0.0 licence; older versions remain under MIT. ^[1] You paste, copy and browse from any screen in the web app, and the one-click sticker shows on bigger screens. ^[1] The hosted version needs nothing to install and no account. ^[1] Commercial use is not licensed, and no commercial licence is for sale. ^[1]

A shared IMDb list families use directly is an option when relatives are happy to add titles to one public list and read it themselves. A shared note or message thread works when the household only needs to collect names and no library tool reads them. Before picking one, check how it handles movie and show titles, who can edit it, and how approved picks reach the library.

Common mistakes to avoid

Avoid pooling picks in several places. When family members add titles to different threads or lists, the pool splits and approved titles get missed; agree on one shared place.

Avoid choosing a list tool without checking how it moves picks into the library. Confirm which movie and show programs it talks to, and check whether it adds any fee on top of what Stripe, the card payment service, charges.

Avoid leaving the pool unmanaged. A shared list becomes harder to use if old or unwanted picks are never reviewed or removed.

Avoid skipping privacy checks. Review what the tool asks for, which passwords or access codes it uses, and who can see or change the shared list before relatives add picks to it.

Frequently asked questions

How can a shared family list manager pool movie picks from several relatives?

A shared family list manager pools picks by choosing one place where every relative adds titles, agreeing on who can add and who approves, and then moving approved picks into the library tool that adds them. The key parts are one shared list, a clear rule for what counts as a pick, and a regular review step so no title gets missed.

Can Watcharr combine several family members' IMDb lists into one?

Yes. Signed-in Watcharr users can combine several IMDb lists into one Radarr link and one Sonarr link for the whole household, and a title that is on two lists is added only once. ^[1] Watcharr accepts any public IMDb watchlist or list from the desktop site, the phone site or IMDb's other-language pages. ^[1]

Does Watcharr need anything installed or an account?

The hosted Watcharr version needs nothing to install and no account. ^[1] It runs as one Cloudflare app with a Cloudflare database, plus a GitHub job that reads IMDb. ^[1] Its code is available to read under the PolyForm Noncommercial 1.0.0 licence; older versions remain under MIT. ^[1] Commercial use is not licensed, and no commercial licence is for sale. ^[1]

What happens when a family member's IMDb list fails to load in Watcharr?

If a read of the list fails, the Watcharr links keep serving the last list that loaded correctly. ^[1] When signed in, Watcharr re-reads a list about every 15 minutes and warns when a list fails three reads in a row. ^[1] It also looks up TheTVDB ids through TVMaze and TMDB, leaves out shows it cannot match, and tells you which ones it skipped. ^[1]

What should be checked before choosing a list tool for pooling picks?

Check how the tool moves approved movie and show picks into the library, which movie and show programs it works with, and whether it adds any fee on top of what Stripe, the card payment service, charges. Check what the tool asks for, which passwords or access codes it uses, and who can view or change the shared list. Compare those details with the way the household already manages its library before choosing a pool tool.

Its code is available to read under the PolyForm Noncommercial 1.0.0 licence; older versions remain under MIT. ^[1]

Try Watcharr

Sources

Watcharr's own description of itself (the product of this site's publisher)