Yamtrack
Yamtrack is an open-source, self-hosted media tracker for movies, TV (season/episode), anime, manga, games, books and comics. It consolidates progress and status tracking, ratings, lists and activity history in a single Django application and integrates with media servers (Jellyfin, Plex, Emby) and external trackers (Trakt, MyAnimeList, AniList) for imports and periodic syncs.
The tool is aimed at self-hosting enthusiasts and small home-server operators who want control over their tracking data, flexible deployment (Docker + SQLite/Postgres), and integrations like iCal export and Apprise notifications. It suits people comfortable managing containers, reverse proxies and backups rather than users who prefer managed SaaS products.
Use Cases
- Personal consolidation: one place to track movies, TV, anime, manga, games, books and comics instead of multiple trackers.
- Media-server users: automatically sync watched status from Jellyfin, Plex or Emby to avoid manual updates.
- Migration and continuity: import existing data from Trakt, Simkl, MyAnimeList, AniList or CSV and set up periodic imports to keep records up to date.
- Shared lists and collaboration: create private/public or collaborative lists for friends, family or small communities.
- Release tracking and notifications: use calendar view/iCal export and Apprise to get release alerts via Discord, Telegram, Slack, email, etc.
- Offline or niche collections: add custom media entries for local or uncommon items that don’t appear in public metadata sources.
Strengths
- Multi-media coverage: supports a broad set of media types so diverse collections can be tracked in one app.
- Media-server integration: automatic watched-status sync (Jellyfin/Plex/Emby) reduces manual bookkeeping.
- Container-friendly deployment: Docker-first approach and community guides make installation on NAS, VPS or home servers straightforward.
- Data portability: import/export options (CSV, imports from major services) and periodic sync simplify migration and backups.
- Flexible notifications and calendar export: Apprise support and iCal make it easy to integrate alerts into existing chat and calendar workflows.
- Authentication and admin controls: django-allauth support for OIDC and social logins plus an admin UI for site/user management.
- Open-source transparency: source on GitHub and a public demo let you review code and test before deploying.
Limitations
- Smaller community footprint: fewer online guides and community threads than larger projects, which means less peer troubleshooting and fewer integrations.
- Documentation gaps: official docs are concise; some deployment and edge-case guidance appears only in community write-ups.
- Requires self-hosting knowledge: expected familiarity with Docker, reverse proxies, SSL and optionally PostgreSQL for production setups.
- Intentionally lightweight feature set: focuses on core tracking rather than heavy social features, discovery algorithms or review ecosystems found in commercial services.
- Scalability and HA unclear: while Postgres is supported, there’s limited documentation or community evidence for large-scale or high-availability deployments.
Final Thoughts
Yamtrack is a practical choice when you want a consolidated, privacy-friendly tracker you can run yourself. It fits home servers and small groups that value control over convenience. The integration with media servers and import tools reduces friction when migrating from other services.
Practical advice: try the public demo first, start small with Docker + SQLite to validate workflow, and move to Docker + Postgres if you expect multiple users or heavier automation. Keep regular CSV exports and database backups, and consult community guides for platform-specific installs (Synology, Umbrel, Coolify) to shorten the onboarding curve.