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Stremio Setup Guide - Complete Tutorial & Documentation

Clean Library Best Practices

A well-organized Stremio library makes it easier to find content, track your viewing progress, and enjoy a better streaming experience. This guide covers best practices for maintaining a clean library.

Understanding Your Library

Your Stremio library consists of:

  • Library Tab: Content you’ve added or started watching
  • Watchlist: Content you plan to watch later
  • Continue Watching: Partially watched content
  • History: All content you’ve viewed

Your library syncs across all devices when you’re logged into your Stremio account. Changes on one device appear on all devices within minutes.

Best Practices

1. Use the Watchlist Effectively

Add content you plan to watch later instead of adding everything to your library:

Steps

  1. Hover over content and click the bookmark icon
  2. Add to Watchlist instead of Library
  3. Move to Library only when you start watching
  4. Remove from Watchlist after watching

Benefits:

  • Library stays focused on active content
  • Easier to find what you’re currently watching
  • Watchlist acts as a “plan to watch” list

2. Remove Finished Content

Keep your library current by removing completed shows and movies:

Steps

  1. Open your Library tab
  2. Right-click (or long-press on mobile) on finished content
  3. Select “Remove from Library”
  4. Content stays in your history but leaves the main library
Tip

Removing from library doesn’t delete your watch history or progress. You can always find previously watched content in the History section.

3. Manage Continue Watching

The “Continue Watching” section shows partially watched content:

To keep it clean:

  • Finish or remove content you won’t complete
  • Right-click content and select “Remove from Library” if you’re done
  • Completed content automatically moves out after finishing

4. Handle Duplicates

Sometimes the same content appears multiple times due to different metadata sources:

How to identify duplicates:

  • Same poster but different year
  • Slightly different titles for the same content
  • Multiple language versions

How to fix:

Steps

  1. Check IMDb IDs to verify if they’re actually different
  2. Remove the incorrect version from your library
  3. Keep only the correct entry (usually with the right year and IMDb ID)
  4. See Fix Wrong Posters/Titles for metadata issues

5. Organize by Categories

While Stremio doesn’t have folders, you can organize using:

Watchlist as Categories:

  • Use Trakt lists for different categories
  • Create multiple Trakt lists (e.g., “Action Movies”, “Comedies”)
  • Access via Trakt add-on integration

Calendar for TV Shows:

  • Install calendar add-ons to track upcoming episodes
  • View release schedules for shows in your library
  • Plan your viewing accordingly

Advanced Organization

Use Trakt for Enhanced Organization

Trakt.tv provides powerful organization features:

Steps

  1. Create a Trakt account at trakt.tv
  2. Install the Trakt add-on in Stremio
  3. Create custom lists:
    • “Currently Watching”
    • “Plan to Watch”
    • “Completed”
    • Custom categories (genres, themes, etc.)
  4. Sync automatically with Stremio

Trakt Benefits:

  • Multiple lists: Organize by genre, mood, priority, etc.
  • Automatic tracking: Scrobbles your viewing automatically
  • Statistics: See what you’ve watched and when
  • Recommendations: Get personalized suggestions
  • Calendar: Track upcoming episodes

Use External Tools

Complement Stremio with external organization tools:

Letterboxd (for movies):

  • Track movies separately
  • Write reviews and ratings
  • Create lists and collections
  • Visit letterboxd.com

MyAnimeList (for anime):

  • Dedicated anime tracking
  • Detailed statistics
  • Community features
  • Visit myanimelist.net

Simkl:

  • Alternative to Trakt
  • Tracks movies, TV, and anime
  • Calendar and recommendations
  • Visit simkl.com

Maintenance Routine

Weekly Maintenance

Steps

  1. Review Continue Watching

    • Remove content you won’t finish
    • Finish partially watched content

  2. Update Watchlist

    • Add new releases you want to watch
    • Remove content you’re no longer interested in

  3. Check for Duplicates

    • Remove any duplicate entries
    • Verify metadata is correct

Monthly Deep Clean

Steps

  1. Review Entire Library

    • Remove finished content
    • Archive content to external lists (Trakt, Letterboxd)

  2. Check Metadata

    • Fix any wrong posters or titles
    • Update outdated information

  3. Organize Watchlist

    • Prioritize what you want to watch next
    • Remove content you’ll never watch

  4. Sync Check

    • Verify library syncs correctly across devices
    • Re-login if sync issues occur

Tips for Specific Content Types

TV Series

Best Practices:

  • Add to library when you start watching
  • Remove after finishing the series
  • Use Trakt calendar to track new episodes
  • Keep ongoing series in library
  • Archive completed series to Trakt lists

Movies

Best Practices:

  • Use Watchlist for “plan to watch”
  • Add to library only when actively watching
  • Remove immediately after watching
  • Use Letterboxd or Trakt for permanent records

Anime

Best Practices:

  • Use MyAnimeList or AniList for tracking
  • Keep seasonal anime in library
  • Remove completed series
  • Use specialized anime add-ons for better metadata

Documentaries & Shorts

Best Practices:

  • Create separate Trakt lists for different types
  • Tag or categorize using external tools
  • Remove after watching unless reference material

Common Issues and Solutions

Issue: Library is Too Cluttered

Solution:

Steps

  1. Remove all finished content (moves to history)
  2. Move “plan to watch” content to Watchlist
  3. Keep only actively watching content in library
  4. Use Trakt for long-term organization

Issue: Can’t Find Content

Solution:

  • Use the search function instead of browsing
  • Check different sections (Library, Watchlist, History)
  • Search by actor, director, or year
  • Check if you removed it from library

Issue: Duplicate Entries

Solution:

Issue: Sync Not Working

Solution:

Steps

  1. Check internet connection
  2. Log out and log back in
  3. Clear cache (Settings → Advanced → Clear Cache)
  4. Wait a few minutes for sync to complete
  5. See Login & Sync Issues

Quick Reference Checklist

✅ Do:

  • Remove content after watching
  • Use Watchlist for “plan to watch”
  • Keep library focused on active content
  • Regular maintenance (weekly/monthly)
  • Use Trakt or similar for long-term organization
  • Verify metadata is correct

❌ Don’t:

  • Add everything you might watch to library
  • Keep finished content in library
  • Ignore duplicates
  • Mix “watched” and “plan to watch” content
  • Forget to sync across devices

Integration with Other Services

Trakt.tv Integration

Steps

  1. Create account at trakt.tv
  2. Install Trakt add-on in Stremio
  3. Enable automatic scrobbling
  4. Create custom lists
  5. Access via Stremio sidebar

Third-Party Apps

Compatible organization tools:

  • Trakt.tv: Universal tracking (movies, TV, anime)
  • Letterboxd: Movie-specific tracking and social features
  • MyAnimeList: Anime tracking and discovery
  • TVTime: TV show tracking and calendar
  • Simkl: Alternative to Trakt with similar features

Sources: