Simkl

Best Self Hosted Alternatives to Simkl

A curated collection of the 7 best self hosted alternatives to Simkl.

Simkl is an online tracking service for TV shows, anime, and movies. It provides watchlists, viewing history, recommendations, and syncs watched status across apps and devices, with integrations and API access for cross‑platform tracking.

Alternatives List

#1
Sonarr

Sonarr

Sonarr is a smart PVR for TV series that monitors RSS/indexers, grabs releases via Usenet or BitTorrent clients, and organizes your library with renaming and upgrades.

Sonarr screenshot

Sonarr is a smart PVR and automation service for managing TV series downloads via Usenet and BitTorrent. It monitors indexers and feeds for new episodes, sends downloads to clients, and keeps your library organized and up to date.

Key Features

  • Monitors RSS feeds and indexers to automatically detect new episodes
  • Searches for missing episodes by scanning existing libraries
  • Quality profiles and automatic upgrades when better releases become available
  • Failed download handling with automatic retries on alternate releases
  • Configurable episode naming and sorting for consistent libraries
  • Integrations with download clients (e.g., SABnzbd, NZBGet) and media servers (e.g., Plex, Kodi) via notifications and library updates
  • Supports specials and multi-episode releases
  • Web-based UI and API for automation and integrations

Use Cases

  • Automate TV series downloads and organization for a home media server
  • Maintain consistent naming and folder structures across a large TV library
  • Continuously upgrade existing episodes to preferred quality profiles

Limitations and Considerations

  • Requires external indexers and download clients to fetch content
  • Correct filesystem permissions are important to avoid import/rename issues

Sonarr is a mature automation tool commonly used in media server setups to keep TV libraries complete, neatly organized, and aligned with preferred quality settings. It fits well alongside download clients and media server software for end-to-end automation.

13.1kstars
1.7kforks
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#2
Gaseous Server

Gaseous Server

Open-source .NET-based ROM and title manager that organizes ROMs, fetches metadata from external sources, and provides in-browser emulation.

Gaseous Server is an open-source server application for organizing and managing game ROM collections, providing title management, metadata lookup, and in-browser emulation of supported ROMs. It is implemented as an ASP.NET Core (.NET) application and is distributed with Docker Compose deployment artifacts. (github.com)

Key Features

  • ROM and title library management with import and signature matching for identification.
  • Built-in browser-based emulation (EmulatorJS) to run supported ROMs from the web UI.
  • Metadata retrieval from external sources (IGDB and others) with optional Hasheous proxy support for hashed lookups.
  • Background tasks such as library scanning and metadata/signature refresh.
  • User authentication and account support added in later releases (noted since v1.7.0).
  • Container-friendly deployment with Docker Compose and CI automation for builds.

Use Cases

  • Personal retro game library: organize and browse large ROM collections with metadata and cover art.
  • Lightweight in-browser play: run supported games directly from a home server via the integrated emulator.
  • Metadata enrichment and archival: use signature imports and external metadata sources to catalog ROM collections.

Limitations and Considerations

  • Database migration between MySQL and MariaDB may require rebuilding the database due to earlier MySQL-specific schema choices; re-import via library scan may be needed. (github.com)
  • IGDB access requires an API key unless you use a proxy service; offline metadata workflows depend on available signature DATs and the Hasheous project.
  • The project maintainers recommend caution when exposing the server directly to the internet; use VPN or other secure access methods if remote exposure is required. (github.com)

Gaseous Server is a focused tool for retro gaming enthusiasts who want a web-accessible, metadata-rich ROM management system with integrated emulation. Its .NET-based architecture and container deployment make it suitable for home servers and small self-hosted environments.

800stars
33forks
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#3
Movary

Movary

Movary is a self-hosted web app to track, rate, and explore your movie watch history with statistics, integrations, and automatic scrobbling from media servers.

Movary is a free and open source web application for tracking, rating, and exploring your personal movie watch history. It focuses on owning your data while providing rich insights, imports/exports, and automated tracking integrations.

Key Features

  • Personal movie watch history with ratings and management tools
  • Detailed statistics (for example most watched actors, directors, genres, languages, and years)
  • Dashboard customization (layout preferences and date formats)
  • Import/export integrations for services such as Trakt, Letterboxd, and Netflix
  • Scrobbling support to automatically record plays/ratings from Plex, Jellyfin, Emby, and Kodi
  • User management and privacy controls, including data export/import/deletion
  • Locally stored movie metadata sourced from providers such as TMDB and IMDb
  • Progressive Web App (PWA) support for an app-like mobile experience

Use Cases

  • Maintain a private Letterboxd-like movie diary you fully control
  • Automatically log what you watch on your home media server and analyze viewing trends
  • Consolidate watch history from multiple platforms into a single personal hub

Limitations and Considerations

  • The project is described as experimental (though usable) and may introduce breaking changes before a 1.0 release

Movary works well for individuals or households that want a centralized, privacy-friendly record of movie watching. With its statistics and integrations, it can serve as a long-term personal archive and discovery companion.

675stars
25forks
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#4
Mydia

Mydia

Mydia is a Phoenix LiveView-based media manager for tracking, organizing, and automating downloads of movies and TV shows with TMDB/TVDB metadata.

Mydia is a modern, self-hosted media management platform built with Elixir and Phoenix LiveView. It provides a real-time web UI to track, organize, and automate downloads for movies and TV shows, including metadata enrichment and library management.

Key Features

  • Unified media library for movies and TV shows with TMDB and TVDB metadata enrichment.
  • Automated download workflows with quality profiles, smart release scoring and ranking.
  • Native integrations with common download clients (qBittorrent, Transmission, SABnzbd, NZBGet).
  • Indexer support via Prowlarr and Jackett, plus experimental built-in Cardigann indexer library.
  • Multi-user roles (admin/guest) and request-approval workflow for content requests.
  • SSO support via OIDC/OpenID Connect alongside local authentication.
  • Real-time interface powered by Phoenix LiveView for instant updates and responsive UI.
  • Storage and import conveniences: relative library paths, hardlink support for efficient storage, and import/sync from TMDB lists.
  • Multi-architecture Docker images and variants for SQLite (default) and PostgreSQL.
  • Background job processing with Oban, migrations with automatic pre-migration backups, and CI-driven test coverage including end-to-end tests.

Use Cases

  • Replace or complement desktop/cloud tools by managing a home movie and TV library with metadata and automated downloads.
  • Run automated release searching and downloading for preferred quality profiles and codecs for a household media server.
  • Provide multi-user access with role-based controls and SSO for families or small groups who share a media collection.

Limitations and Considerations

  • Project is early-stage (0.x.x): expect breaking changes between releases and potential instability in experimental features.
  • Several capabilities are marked experimental (built-in Cardigann indexers, playback/HLS streaming, subtitles) and may be incomplete or unreliable.
  • PostgreSQL support requires using the PostgreSQL-specific image variant; image variants are not interchangeable at runtime.

Mydia focuses on library management and download automation rather than full-featured streaming server functionality. It is oriented toward users who want an extensible, real-time web UI for maintaining and automating a local movies/TV collection.

615stars
15forks
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#5
CrossWatch

CrossWatch

CrossWatch synchronizes watchlists, history, ratings and live scrobbles between Plex, Jellyfin, Emby and trackers like Trakt, SIMKL, AniList and MDBlist.

CrossWatch is a local synchronization engine and web UI that keeps media metadata consistent across media servers and tracker services. It syncs watchlists, history, ratings and provides live scrobbling and snapshots via an internal tracker for Movies and TV (seasons/episodes).

Key Features

  • Sync watchlists, ratings and play history one- or two-way between media servers and trackers
  • Live scrobble (real-time) from Plex/Jellyfin/Emby to trackers such as Trakt, SIMKL, MDBlist and AniList
  • Internal CW Tracker that stores snapshots/backups of server and tracker state for recovery and auditing
  • Multi-server and multi-tracker support in a single interface with flexible sync directions
  • Scheduling support for headless or recurring runs and manual synchronizations from the web UI
  • Analyzer and Editor tools to find mismatches, inspect and adjust items, export CSV reports, and review history and logs
  • Watcher mode and webhooks for near realtime updates without server plugins

Use Cases

  • Maintain a unified watchlist and consistent ratings across Plex, Jellyfin, Emby and external trackers
  • Ensure play history and scrobbles are synchronized to a preferred tracker for cross-device viewing stats
  • Create snapshots and recover or revive items that disappear from a media server using the internal tracker

Limitations and Considerations

  • Focused on a single user/server context: multi-user or multi-server workflows are explicitly not supported
  • Supports only Movies and TV (seasons/episodes); other media types are not covered
  • Matching between providers can be imperfect; manual review with the Analyzer/Editor may be required for ambiguous items

CrossWatch is suited for users who run one or more personal media servers and want a single place to manage syncs, scrobbles and snapshots. It is designed for self-hosted/home setups and emphasizes configurability and recoverability.

332stars
7forks
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#6
SonaShow

SonaShow

Web-based GUI that recommends similar TV shows from TMDB based on selected Sonarr shows; supports filters and can add recommendations back to Sonarr via its API.

SonaShow is a web GUI that discovers and recommends TV shows similar to those managed in Sonarr, using metadata from TMDB and optional TVDB lookups. It integrates with Sonarr's API to present recommendations and can optionally add selected shows back into Sonarr.

Key Features

  • Integrates with Sonarr via its API to read managed shows and add recommendations
  • Uses TMDB metadata to find similar shows and fallback matching logic for lookups
  • Configurable filters: minimum rating, minimum votes, language, quality/profile IDs, and search timeouts
  • Docker and docker-compose friendly with environment-variable configuration and persistent config volume support
  • Options for auto-start discovery, auto-start delay, dry-run mode, and searching for missing episodes when adding shows
  • Lightweight web interface for browsing, filtering, and selecting recommendations

Use Cases

  • Discover new TV series to add to a Sonarr-managed library based on shows you already track
  • Curate recommendations that meet quality and popularity thresholds before adding to Sonarr
  • Automate adding missing shows or episodes to Sonarr after reviewing TMDB-based suggestions

Limitations and Considerations

  • Requires a running Sonarr instance and valid API keys for Sonarr and TMDB (TVDB API optional); functionality depends on those services
  • Recommendation accuracy is dependent on TMDB metadata and matching heuristics; incorrect or missing metadata can produce poor matches
  • Focused on TV show discovery for Sonarr; not a general-purpose recommendation engine or personalized ML system

SonaShow is a practical tool for Sonarr users who want an easy way to discover similar TV series and manage additions from a single web interface. It is configurable via environment variables and aims to be simple to deploy with Docker.

80stars
0forks
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#7
Flox

Flox

Flox is a Laravel + Vue.js self-hosted watchlist for movies, TV shows and anime with episode tracking, calendar, reminders, Plex sync and ActivityPub federation.

Flox screenshot

Flox is a self-hosted application for tracking movies, TV shows and anime. It provides a centralized watchlist, episode tracking and calendar views, and integrates with external services for sync and federation.

Key Features

  • Watchlist and library management for movies, TV shows and anime with color-coded types
  • Episode tracking with per-episode seen state and calendar view for releases
  • Calendar and reminders with configurable daily and weekly email summaries
  • ActivityPub federation for sharing reviews and activities to the Fediverse
  • Plex integration and webhook-based sync to import playback and ratings from Plex
  • Background queues for importing, refreshing and federated delivery (supports database or Redis queues)
  • Import/export of library data (JSON export; import downloads posters and replaces local DB)
  • Uses The Movie Database (TMDb) as the metadata source

Use Cases

  • Maintain a personal watchlist and track watched episodes across multiple devices
  • Sync viewing activity from a Plex server into a centralized catalog and rating system
  • Share reviews and activity with Fediverse followers while keeping a local catalog

Limitations and Considerations

  • Requires a TMDb API key for metadata and does not include bundled metadata providers
  • Import and refresh operations rely on a queue worker and a cron scheduler; long-running tasks need workers configured
  • Database compatibility: MariaDB/MySQL are recommended; Postgres is known to have issues
  • Ratings for seasons or individual episodes from Plex are not supported; only movie/show ratings are synced
  • Large import files may be limited by PHP upload settings and require adjusting php.ini

Flox is a focused, lightweight option for users who want a local movie/TV catalog with Plex sync and Fediverse sharing. It emphasizes simple ratings, reminders and background processing for periodic updates.

31stars
3forks
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Why choose an open source alternative?

  • •Data ownership: Keep your data on your own servers
  • •No vendor lock-in: Freedom to switch or modify at any time
  • •Cost savings: Reduce or eliminate subscription fees
  • •Transparency: Audit the code and know exactly what's running