Imports, export and Time Machine

Portability update — 15 September 2026

Rewatch history: the native TV Chaud JSON format (schema 9) backs up explicit “Rewatch” sessions; Time Machine preserves them as well.
Respecting the source: a rewatch is never invented from a third-party import. It stays private, is not sent to third-party services and does not change progress.

General principle

TV Chaud imports only a file you select. It never requests platform credentials and never connects to a third-party account through scraping.

Supported formats

Source	Format	Important detail
TV Time	ZIP containing CSV files	Official file-based flow only; no automatic connection
BetaSeries	CSV or ZIP of CSV files	Some series files contain only the latest watched episode
Allociné	CSV or ZIP of CSV files	Missing IDs or years may require manual confirmation
Trakt	Official JSON ZIP	Film/episode history, ratings and watchlist; anime may not be separated
Simkl	Official JSON, JSON ZIP or CSV	JSON keeps explicit episodes; CSV is usually less detailed
Letterboxd	Official CSV ZIP	Film-focused: watched items, diary, ratings, reviews and watchlist
Serializd	Unofficial JSON	Local compatibility without login; the schema may evolve
TV Chaud	Versioned native JSON	Re-import of authorised library, progress and account data

Advanced exports

TV Chaud JSON: versioned native backup, currently schema 9, designed for complete and idempotent re-import.
Category CSV: titles, watched episodes, reviews, lists and notifications in a readable format; native JSON remains the most complete backup.
Trakt: episode history, watched films, film/show ratings and watchlist within the format’s limits.
Letterboxd: watched films, diary, ratings and watchlist; shows and anime remain available in the other formats.
Archives are generated in the background, kept in private storage and downloaded through temporary links with limited retention.
Optional monthly exports can be enabled and disabled at any time.

Optional Trakt and Simkl synchronisation

The file imports below remain independently available. TV Chaud also implements Trakt and Simkl OAuth connections with encrypted tokens, background processing and cautious conflict resolution.

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These connections are an invitation-only beta. No third-party password is requested.

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Import-data matrix

Legend: ✓ imported when the field is present in the export · ~ partial or dependent on the file / its format · — not imported.

This matrix reflects the importers currently available. TV Chaud cannot recreate a field that is absent from the source export.