IMDb Web Watchlist Availability Checker

WHAT IT DOES

This tool helps you track streaming availability for your IMDb watchlist. It scans watchlist pages for movie and TV titles, extracting titles, years, and IMDb IDs. The panel displays each item with a status indicator—Available (green), Not Available (red), Coming Soon (yellow), or Unknown (gray). Items that are available to stream are highlighted with a green border. A summary shows total items and counts by status. Quick "Watch" buttons open a JustWatch search for the title, helping you find where to stream it. The script caches availability status and sends desktop notifications when items change from unavailable to available.

WHERE IT RUNS

The script activates on IMDb pages (imdb.com), including watchlist pages, list views, and user ratings pages. It automatically detects watchlist items using multiple extraction strategies that work across different IMDb layouts. The panel appears as a draggable overlay that stays accessible as you browse your watchlist.

HOW TO USE

Navigate to your IMDb watchlist page. The panel will appear showing all items with their availability status. Toggle "Hide Unavailable/Show All" to control whether unavailable items appear in the list. Set the "Refresh (s)" input to control how often the script checks for updates (default 60 seconds). The "Scan" button manually refreshes the data, and "Reset Cache" clears the stored availability cache. The "Watch" button on available items opens a JustWatch search to find streaming options. Desktop notifications alert you when an item's availability status changes. The status cache remembers availability between sessions, enabling change detection.

THE TECHNICAL MECHANISM

The script employs a multi-strategy DOM extraction approach for IMDb's watchlist interface. It first attempts structured selectors targeting known class names like .lister-item, .watchlist-item, and .list-item, then falls back to heuristic detection of item containers based on content patterns including parentheses (for years) and title-related keywords. Title extraction uses dedicated title elements or parsing the first non-numeric text line. Year extraction captures four-digit numbers in parentheses. Availability detection uses multiple methods: text pattern matching ("Available to stream", "Watch now", "Not available"), extraction of service names from "Available on" sections, and checking the cached availability from previous scans. Each item's status is stored in a local cache using GM_setValue with a key based on title and year. The cache enables status change detection and notification. The auto-refresh uses setInterval with a user-configurable interval, and a MutationObserver watches for page updates. All settings and cached data are persisted using GM_setValue.

THE PANEL

The panel is fully draggable by its header and remembers its position on the page across sessions. It can be collapsed to a small bubble using the minimize button, then restored by clicking the bubble. The panel resizes automatically to fit its content and can be closed with the Escape key or by clicking the close button. The panel's position and state persist globally, so it returns to the same location on subsequent visits.

PLEASE NOTE

Requires the free BotGentz extension to run. IMDb may update its site structure, which could affect the script's ability to detect watchlist data — updates will be released as needed. All availability data is stored locally in your browser and is never transmitted externally. The script reads data from the visible page and does not access any data beyond what is visibly presented. Availability detection is based on text and cached information; it may not reflect real-time streaming availability. The JustWatch search opens a new tab and uses the title and year for the search. The script does not modify your IMDb account or watchlist. This tool is for informational purposes only and is not affiliated with IMDb or JustWatch.