Help

Arkiv is your place to track and organize your physical film and TV collection. Everything is tied to The Movie Database (TMDB) for one consistent identity per title.

The app is designed around one core idea: the catalog record stays consistent (title, poster, release details), while your copy-level details stay personal (format, edition, condition, purchase data, lending, and watch history).

Reviews and ratings are tied to each format or season row, so the default intent is a collector-style review of that release (transfer quality, sound mix, packaging, extras, and special features). You can still use the review field for your thoughts on the work itself if that is how you prefer to log it.

If you are new, the fastest path is: search for a title, add the format you own, and then organize it later with shelves and filters. You do not need to set up everything at once.

On Login and Register, your host may offer Continue with Google when the API is configured with Google OAuth. Otherwise use email and password as usual.

• Home - Signed-in landing: collection snapshot, achievements, and Latest stories.
• Discover - Search TMDB for films and TV. When the search field is empty, shows your Collection DNA profile and personalised picks.
• Collection - Everything you own. Main grid, filters, lending, box sets.
• Shelves - Curated lists (manual or smart templates), optional public links.
• Pick - Random title from your library or a shelf with optional genre or filmmaker filters.
• Radar - Wishlist for titles you do not own yet.
• Releases - Upcoming physical releases to plan buys.
• Lent - Track what you lent out and due dates.
• Friends - Connect with collectors you know, browse their shelves, and react to what they add.
• Add - Add by search, barcode, or experimental scans.
• Stats - Charts and collection analytics (see below).
• Achievements - Progress, Collector Rank, and milestones.

The Discover page has two modes depending on whether you are searching.

Search: Type three or more characters to search TMDB for films and TV titles. Results appear as you type. Click any result to open the title page where you can add a copy to your shelf or save it to Radar.

Collection DNA (shown when signed in and the search field is empty): A collapsible panel that builds a taste profile from your shelf. It shows your top genres and directors (with average ratings and title counts), your collection's decade spread, and your format mix. A one-line identity summary, for example “Blu-ray collector · Drama & Action · 2000s era”, appears in the header even when collapsed. You need at least 10 titles on your shelf to unlock the panel; until then, a prompt tells you how many more to add.

For You: “Worth adding to your shelf” (shown below Collection DNA when signed in): A grid of physical release recommendations matched to your Collection DNA. These are titles not already on your shelf that align with the genres, directors, and formats you collect. Each card shows the match context. You can dismiss individual picks; dismissed titles do not return. Recommendations are computed in the background and may take a moment to appear on first load.

Both panels are only visible when signed in and the search field is empty. Typing in the search box hides them and shows TMDB results instead.

Your Collection is the main view of everything you own. Use the toolbar to filter by format, genre, people (director, actor, etc.), watched status, and whether an item is lent out.

Counts and what they mean

Movies = different films (unique titles; four editions of the same film count as one). On shelf = physical items (each standalone case = 1; a combo pack with multiple discs in one case = 1). Formats = total disc/edition entries (that combo pack counts as 3 if it has Blu-ray, DVD, and digital).

View options and poster badges

You can sort and switch between grid and list view. In grid on your main Collection, use Poster only to show just covers (no title row under the poster). The three poster badge buttons control overlays on the art: always show watched, rating, box-set count, copy count, and lent; hide them for a clean wall; or show them when you hover the card or move keyboard focus into it. Turn on Group box sets to pull every title that shares a box set into one contiguous block (films in the set are ordered by release date); titles not in a set stay in your chosen sort order. Poster-only and group-box-sets are remembered on this device; poster badge mode is also used on curated shelf grids.

If a copy belongs to one or more box sets, the card shows that (for example a box-set pill on the poster and “Part of … box set(s)” under the title in the default grid layout). Use the summary control to see the set names without leaving the shelf.

Multiple copies

When a movie has more than one physical copy, they appear as a single grouped card whose poster comes from the shelf cover copy. Open the movie's detail page to change which copy's art leads the card. Use Set as shelf cover on any copy row. If you want each case to have its own card, enable Show copies split on the detail page; a per-movie toggle separates them into individual shelf cards showing each copy's own poster, format, and condition. Toggle it off to re-group them.

Add another copy of a movie (or a new format) from a title card. Mark items as lent from here and open the full movie page for details, format-level reviews, and watch history.

Filters

Filters are meant to be combined. For example: Format = 4K + Watched = Unwatched + Person = Director. This helps narrow large libraries quickly when you are deciding what to watch or checking what you own.

If results look unexpectedly empty, clear filters first, then re-apply one filter at a time. Most “missing title” confusion comes from stacked filters.

Shelves are curated subsets of your collection, like “To Watch,” “4K only,” or “Top Rated.” They can be manual (you add and remove items) or based on a template that auto-updates (e.g. unwatched, high ratings).

Create a shelf from the Shelves page. You can share a shelf via a public URL (set in Settings → General). Shelves are separate from your full Collection; think of Collection as “everything” and Shelves as “lists” you build or maintain.

Shelves are also a place to have fun and organize the way collectors do in real life. You can create themed shelves like “Horror,” “Movies for a Rainy Day,” “Sunday Comfort Rewatches,” or “Date Night Picks” to match how you actually browse and watch.

When a shelf appears out of date, check whether it is template-based or manual. Template shelves update from rules; manual shelves require you to add or remove items directly.

On an individual shelf page, grid view offers the same Poster only and poster badge controls as your main Collection (the badge setting is shared on this device). Group box sets is only on the full Collection page, not on curated shelves.

Add titles from the Add page. For the most reliable entry, use the text search box: TMDB results usually return very quickly, so most films and TV series can be found and added in seconds.

TV series

Search finds the show; choose a specific season row when you want one season on the shelf, or use the full add flow to set a season range or mark the complete series. A generic “series” row without a season number cannot be quick-added; pick a season or open the full form from the search row.

Scanning (experimental)

All scanning modes are currently experimental: spine scan, barcode scan, cover scan, and shelf scan. They can work well in the right conditions, but accuracy can vary by lighting, artwork, and print quality.

A good workflow is to use text search first, confirm the correct poster/year, then set your format and optional edition. This gives the best balance of speed and reliability.

When adding, choose format (4K, Blu-ray, DVD, etc.) and optionally edition. You can add multiple versions of the same film. Each is tracked separately with its own condition, lending, and watch history.

Quick add

On the Add page and in the Add movie search on your Shelf, each result has a Quick add action. It adds one copy with today's date as purchase date and default condition. Fast when you don't need combo packs, box sets, or extra fields. If you set a quick-add default format in Settings → General, that format is used automatically; if you choose Ask each time, a short dialog lets you pick the format and optionally save it as your default. Full add (tap the row) is still there for combo packs and rich metadata.

Custom poster art

When adding a copy or editing an existing one, use Pick poster to browse alternative TMDB posters for that title and set one for that specific copy. You can also upload your own image. Combo packs support a custom poster independently of their individual discs. The selected art appears on the shelf card for that copy and on the movie detail page. Use Set as shelf cover on the detail page to control which copy's poster shows when copies are grouped into one card.

Combo packs

You can still add multiple formats in one go when adding a title. After something is on your shelf, use Edit Combo Pack on the movie page to check or uncheck formats in the same case (adding or removing discs). Removing all but one disc turns it back into a normal single-format copy. For a standalone copy, use the stack icon on the movie page to add more formats and merge into one combo. Edit media item lets you change format for standalone copies; combo members use Edit Combo Pack so discs stay in sync.

You can optionally link a new item to an existing box set (for example when adding from the shelf modal or Add page): check the box-set option and pick the set so the title groups correctly on your shelf and in Group box sets view. Create or edit sets from movie pages or box set management as before.

Radar is your wishlist. Add titles from Discover or from a movie page when you don't own them yet. You can set a preferred format and edition so when you add the movie to your collection, you have a starting point.

When you add a Radar item to your Collection, it drops off Radar automatically. Radar is only for titles you don't own.

Use notes in Radar for buying intent (for example: “wait for sale,” “steelbook only,” or “upgrade if transfer is better”). This keeps your wishlist actionable, not just aspirational.

If something disappears from Radar, check your Collection for a recent add. Auto-removal is expected behavior after ownership is recorded.

Not sure what to watch? Pick gives you a random title from a scope you choose: your full collection, a specific shelf, a genre, or by filmmaker (director/actor). Use it to break decision fatigue and land on something to watch.

For better results, narrow the scope first. “Whole collection” is useful for variety, while shelf/genre/filmmaker scope is better when you have a specific mood.

If Pick returns no result, confirm you selected at least one required filter for that scope (for example, a shelf for shelf mode or one or more genres for genre mode).

Open Stats for collection analytics: estimated value, format and genre mix, ratings, watches and rewatches, lending snapshot, and growth over time. Many charts and headline numbers respect the page context.

Use the scope control (often labeled for all titles vs films only vs TV only) to focus the dashboard. Totals, some breakdowns, and several visuals update to match, handy when you want film-specific trends or TV season units without mixing the two.

Your scope choice is remembered on this device so the page opens the way you left it. Switch back to all titles anytime for the full library picture.

Arkiv can show a cinema-style poster for one movie or a slow rotation of your whole collection. Typical uses are a lobby TV, a tablet on a shelf, or a second monitor. You do not need to mirror your phone screen; the TV just opens a web page.

Single-movie poster

From any movie page (your shelf or Discover), choose Start digital poster (monitor icon). A new tab opens in a tall frame with title, optional showtime, rating, runtime, and year. Set showtime when you open it or from the gear icon. After idle time, an optional screen saver can show rotating TMDB backdrops. Anyone with the link can view that tab (no sign-in). Good for sharing or a dedicated screen.

Paired TV setup

Recommended for casting from your phone:

1. On the TV browser, open your normal Arkiv site and add /display to the address. A 4-digit code appears.
2. On your phone or computer, sign in, open Settings → Integrations, then under Digital posters on your TV choose Manage TVs and poster appearance.
3. Enter a name for the TV and the code, then tap Pair with code.
4. Arkiv shows a short address (easy to type) and a QR code. Open that on the TV and keep it as the page the TV usually loads (bookmark or kiosk start URL). Pairing may redirect the TV there automatically.
5. On movie pages, use the cast control. Collection and curated shelf casts use the same paired-TV path when you are signed in (so HTTPS sites are not blocked by mixed content); Fully Kiosk on the digital posters page stays optional for LAN and kiosk setups.
6. When casting a single-movie poster, you can optionally schedule a return to your collection rotation after showtime plus runtime (with a few minutes buffer), or after a simple delay, so the TV does not stay on one title indefinitely.

Long backup address: The digital posters page can show a longer URL as well. If you use New backup link, old long URLs stop working, but the short address stays the same.

Fully Kiosk (optional): On the digital posters page, expand Optional: Fully Kiosk Browser on the TV to enter TV IP, port, and password. That lets Arkiv try to reach the TV when the usual web connection is not enough.

Collection rotation

Signed-in slideshow only: Collection poster slideshow needs the TV browser logged into your Arkiv account. It only cycles posters; it does not receive casts from your phone. From the digital posters page you can tap Show collection rotation on a paired TV to leave a single poster and return that TV to rotating your library.

On Shelf, choose Display collection posters. A new tab runs a signed-in slideshow (same look as the paired TV when it is not showing one cast movie). You must be logged in.

On poster views, move the mouse to see Esc to close. Press Escape to leave. Navigation and the site footer stay hidden for a clean full-screen look.

Features, fixes, and improvements are summarized on the Release notes page (newest first, with version numbers and dates).

The Lent page lists items you've lent out. Record who borrowed a title, the date, and condition when lending. When they return it, mark it returned. You can note condition on return. Overdue items are highlighted so you can follow up.

You can start a lending from a movie's page or from a title card on your Collection.

Consistency matters more than detail. Even basic borrower name + lend date is enough to prevent most “where did this go?” moments.

If you routinely lend to the same people, include a short note standard (for example: “case returned cracked”) to keep returns easier to reconcile.

Friends lets you connect with collectors you know and browse each other's shelves. You connect in two ways: by sharing your invite link, or through an introduction Arkiv suggests. Friends is open to every signed-in collector.

Invite link: Go to Friends → Invite and settings and use Copy link to share your personal link. It doesn't expire and works for as many people as you share it with. Anyone with it can become your friend, except people you've removed or blocked. Reset link stops the old link from working; friends you already have stay friends.

Accepting an invite: If you're signed in, tap Accept on the invite page and you're friends right away. If you're new to Arkiv, sign up first, then tap Accept on the prompt that appears on your home page. Signing up alone doesn't make you friends. Not now on that prompt declines quietly, and the other person isn't told.

Introductions: Turn on Introduce me to collectors with similar taste under Invite and settings (it's off by default). Both collectors have to opt in, and Arkiv reviews each introduction before it shows. Introductions appear under Requests and introductions with a Why you two note naming directors, themes or genres you have in common, plus Connect and No thanks. No thanks is never shown to the other person, and the two of you won't be suggested again. Introductions expire after 30 days.

What friends see: Your collection, including formats, editions and season ranges, plus your ratings, public reviews, whether you've watched something, and your recent activity (adds, watches, reviews, Radar adds and level-ups). To keep a shelf to yourself, open it in Shelves, choose Edit and tick Hide from friends. Everything on that shelf stays out of view, and a combo pack or box set on it is hidden whole.

What friends never see: Friends never see prices, purchase details, condition, value, notes, tags, where you bought something, or your lending. They also don't see your Radar list, your Stats, your achievement list, or your friend list.

Your friend's page: Open a friend to see their Shelf, their Activity, and an Overlap tab showing what you both own and what they own that you don't. Title pages show Friends who own this, and a Friends card on your home page shows what friends have been up to. That card only appears when your friends have done something recently.

Reactions: React to a friend's activity with Thumbs up, Heart, Fire, or Want it, which also adds that title to your Radar. Only the person whose activity it is sees who reacted, and reactions never send email.

Remove and Block: Both are on each row of your Friends list, and neither is announced to the other person. Block also stops friend requests, introductions and invite links in both directions. Your Removed and Blocked lists live under Invite and settings, where you can choose Allow invites again or Unblock.

Friend emails: Arkiv only emails you about a new friend request or an introduction, and sends at most one introduction email a week. There is no email when someone accepts, reacts, or adds to their shelf. To stop them, untick Email me about friend requests and introductions under Invite and settings, or use the unsubscribe link in the email. This is separate from Arkiv's marketing email.

Achievements and XP: Friends has its own achievements, including Plus One for your first friend, Word of Mouth when a collector you invited joins and verifies their account, Kindred Shelves for a friendship that started as an introduction, and badges for giving and receiving reactions. You also earn XP for your first friend, for each collector you invite who joins and builds a shelf, and for reactions you give and receive.

Releases shows upcoming physical releases (e.g. new Blu-ray or 4K editions). Use it to see what's coming out and plan additions to your collection or Radar.

A common workflow is to review Releases weekly, move interesting titles to Radar, and then add to Collection only when purchased. This keeps acquisition tracking clean.

If a title is not listed, search in Discover and add it to Radar manually. Release availability can vary by region and data source timing.

Achievements reward how you use Arkiv. You unlock them by doing what you already do: adding titles, writing reviews, logging watches, building shelves, lending items, and using Radar and Pick. There are no separate “achievement actions”; your normal activity is what counts.

Open the Achievements page to see all achievements, your progress toward each, and a Collector Rank. You can filter by All, Unlocked, In progress, or Locked. “Next up” highlights the achievement you are closest to unlocking. Some achievements are secret: they stay hidden until you earn them, with no hints beforehand.

Achievements are grouped by category (e.g. collection, watching, organization, sharing, viewing sessions, collector milestones). Unlocks are evaluated automatically in the background after relevant actions; you do not need to claim them. Your score and badge also appear in the nav and on your profile so you can see your progress at a glance.

If an achievement does not unlock when you expect, give it a moment. Evaluation runs after each action. Refreshing the Achievements page will show the latest state. Progress is based on your account data (e.g. number of titles, reviews, watch logs); meeting the target value for an achievement unlocks it once.

What is the Collector Rank?

Your Collector Rank is a lifetime record of your engagement with your collection. It grows as you add films, write reviews, log watches, unlock achievements, lend discs, and visit daily. The score never drops, so it always reflects the full history of your collecting journey, not just what you currently own.

How do I level up?

You earn XP by doing what you already do: adding films earns XP per title, writing reviews and ratings earns XP based on depth, logging a watch earns XP, unlocking achievements earns a larger bonus, lending a disc earns XP, Friends earns XP (your first friend, inviting a collector who joins and builds a shelf, and giving or receiving reactions), and visiting Arkiv daily earns a small amount each day with streak bonuses for consistency. Your total XP determines your level on the 1 to 30 scale.

What is my Collector Archetype?

Your archetype reflects your collecting personality, computed from how you actually use the app. If you review almost everything you add, you might be a Critic. If you build meticulous shelves and hit every achievement, you might be a Completionist. If your collection covers a wide range of genres and eras, you might be a Curator. Your archetype is not something you choose: it is something you earn through your behaviour.

Why does my score not drop when I remove a film?

Your Collector Rank is a record of your collecting journey, not a count of what you currently own. The XP you earned by adding a title, reviewing it, or logging a watch stays with you. Removing a copy from your shelf does not erase that history.

What are daily streaks?

Visiting Arkiv on consecutive days builds a streak and earns small daily XP. A 7-day streak earns a bonus on top of your daily amount. A 30-day streak earns a larger bonus. Streaks reset if you miss a day, so consistency compounds your score over time.

What is the engagement ratio?

On your profile, you will see what percentage of your collection you have actively engaged with: titles you have logged a watch for, written a review on, or rated. A high engagement ratio shows that your shelf is not just a catalogue of things you own but a record of films you have genuinely connected with.

Chronicle is where your collecting history becomes a story. Where XP and Levels is your score, Chronicle is the narrative behind it: how your shelf grew, what you kept coming back to, and how your taste shifted over time.

XP Activity chart: A timeline of your collecting pace, showing the bursts of new additions, the quieter stretches, and the steady build of a maturing shelf.

Collector Milestones: The moments worth remembering, from your first disc to your hundredth and beyond, laid out as a timeline you can scroll back through.

Archetype Spectrum: How your Collector Archetype has evolved as your collection deepened, so you can see the shape of your taste rather than just a single label.

Shareable card: A tap of the share button generates a card of your full collector profile that you can save or share. Chronicle is a read-only view of your own data; it does not change your collection.

The Latest stories section on your home page shows a curated feed of film and TV news: headlines, release announcements, and industry updates. Stories are pulled from trusted sources and displayed with a lead story, a grid of featured items, and a “More headlines” list for quick scanning.

When you are signed in, stories are ordered and scored with Shelf Resonance so items that line up with your collection tend to appear first. Each card can show a resonance meter; see that section for how the score works and how to read the breakdown.

Each story links to the full article on the original site (opens in a new tab). The feed is cached for a short period to keep the home page fast; if you do not see brand new stories immediately, they will appear after the cache refreshes.

If the section is empty or shows an error, the feed may be temporarily unavailable. Check back later or refresh the page. Latest stories are for discovery and convenience. Your collection, shelves, and other data are unchanged.

Shelf Resonance measures how much each news item overlaps with your physical collection, not a generic taste profile. Arkiv builds a weighted picture from your shelf (for example, genres weighted by how many copies you own, plus people, studios, keywords, and titles you already have), then compares that to each story's headline and summary.

On the home page Latest stories feed, items are ranked so higher-resonance pieces are easier to spot. Each story shows a Shelf resonance bar from 0–100. The number is relative to the current batch (the strongest match in that group reads as 100%), so it is a quick visual comparison rather than an absolute grade.

Hover, keyboard focus, or tap the meter to open a breakdown of what matched: directors, cast, genres, franchise cues, owned titles mentioned in the text, and more. If nothing specific matched, the bar may still be low and the panel will say so.

Resonance uses your library data; logging more films and formats (and keeping metadata accurate) gives the matcher more to work with. It does not change your collection, only how stories are sorted and labeled on the home feed.

Signed-out visitors see the same headlines without personalization. Shelf Resonance appears when you are signed in.

If you already track your physical collection in a spreadsheet or another app, you can bring the whole thing over at once instead of adding titles one at a time. Go to Settings → Integrations → Collection import. This is the fastest path for migrating a large existing catalogue.

Your file: Export a CSV with a title column and a format column, plus a year column (recommended) and an optional purchase date. The first row must be column names, and the format column should hold one format per row. Without a year (no year column, or an empty year cell), a title is added automatically only when it matches exactly one film, and a wrong match is possible. The next step shows how we read your columns so you can confirm or correct them before anything is added. You can download a sample CSV from the import panel to see the expected shape.

Confirm the mapping: After you upload, Arkiv shows how it matched each column to title, year, format, and purchase date. Adjust anything that looks off, then start the import. Nothing lands on your shelf until you confirm.

What to expect: Import captures less than manual entry: title, year, format, and purchase date only (no per-copy condition, edition art, or reviews). A title listed twice becomes two separate copies; we do not merge duplicates. Re-uploading the same file adds those copies again, so Arkiv warns you if it recognises a file you have already imported.

CSV import is for building out the physical side of your collection in bulk. To bring over watch history, ratings, and reviews instead, see Import from Letterboxd below.

If you already log films on Letterboxd, you can bring your watch dates, ratings, and reviews into Arkiv. Go to Settings → Integrations → Letterboxd import. This brings over your history for titles you already own; to bulk-add the titles themselves, see Import a collection (CSV) above.

Get your data: Export your data from Letterboxd at letterboxd.com/settings/data/. Download the ZIP (or individual CSVs). We read ratings.csv, diary.csv, reviews.csv, and watched.csv from the export.

What we import: You choose one or more: watch dates, ratings, and reviews. We only import films that are already in your Arkiv collection. Films we can't match or that you don't own in Arkiv are not added.

Review and apply: After the import finishes, you'll see a review page listing each matched film. For each film you can choose which copy (format/edition) to apply the data to, and you can skip any title you don't want added (e.g. cinema-only diary entries that don't match a disc you own). A summary shows how many films will be added and how many skipped. Click Apply to collection to write watch dates, ratings, and reviews to your chosen copies. Staging is cleared after apply; you can run a new import anytime (e.g. after more Letterboxd activity).

Re-importing the same or an updated export is supported. New watch dates and updated ratings/reviews will apply; we avoid duplicating watch logs for the same day on the same copy.

Your Profile is where you edit your name, avatar, bio, location, and Letterboxd username, and see your collector stats. Everything else lives in Settings, split across three tabs: General, Account, and Integrations. Profile links straight to each one.

Settings → General: Set a Quick add default format to skip the format picker when you use Quick add on Add or Shelf search, or leave Ask each time (no default) to choose (and optionally save) a format each time. Also here: turn on a public shelf and set its URL slug (e.g. my-collection), which gives you a shareable link (e.g. /shelf/my-collection) so others can view that shelf without signing in.

Settings → Account: Update your password and email, and Export your data: your collection, shelves, shelf items, reviews, and watch history. Choose JSON (one file) or CSV (ZIP of spreadsheets). Your data belongs to you. Export anytime and take it with you.

Settings → Integrations: Bulk-import an existing catalogue from a CSV (see Import a collection (CSV)), bring over Letterboxd history (see Import from Letterboxd), and pair displays for Digital posters via Manage TVs and poster appearance.

Choose a stable public shelf slug early if you plan to share it often. Changing slugs later can break old links you already sent to others.

For backups, schedule exports periodically (for example, monthly). JSON is best for full fidelity; CSV is best for spreadsheets and quick audits.