IMDb DB Tools

A desktop tool for importing IMDb's public datasets into SQLite, searching titles locally, and managing a personal movie/show collection.

Features

• Guided import wizard for IMDb TSV files
• Local SQLite database browser
• Search by title, type, genre, year, and rating
• Personal collection with watched and owned status
• Poster downloads from IMDb using headless Chromium
• Optional TMDB support for missing descriptions
• Optional IMDb plot scraping when a description is missing

Requirements

• Python 3.10 or newer
• The packages listed in requirements.txt
• The IMDb dataset files from datasets.imdbws.com
• Enough free disk space for the imported database (at least 24gb) and poster images

Install Python dependencies:

pip install -r requirements.txt

After the requirements finish installing, install Playwright's browser dependencies:

playwright install

IMDb Dataset

Download the IMDb dataset files from:

https://datasets.imdbws.com/

The importer expects these files:

• title.basics.tsv.gz
• title.akas.tsv.gz
• title.crew.tsv.gz
• title.episode.tsv.gz
• title.principals.tsv.gz
• title.ratings.tsv.gz
• name.basics.tsv.gz

Keep the files compressed. The importer reads the .tsv.gz files directly.

Importing

Start the importer:

python importer.py

The wizard will:

• Ask for the folder containing the IMDb dataset files
• Validate that the required files are present
• Create or replace imdb.db
• Import rows in batches and commit progress throughout the import
• Show the current file, current step, row counts, database size, and log output
• Build indexes after the data import completes

The import can take a long time. Leave the wizard open until it finishes. When the import is complete, the app displays a completion message.

Browsing

Start the browser:

python browser.py

Use the Search tab to find IMDb titles. Double-click a title to open its details. Poster downloads and missing descriptions are fetched only when needed.

Collection

The Collection tab is your personal library. It is stored in media_collection.db, separate from the imported IMDb data.

Collection entries support:

• Watched and owned checkboxes
• Poster images
• Saved descriptions
• Ratings, votes, genres, title type, and year

Use Add Selected from the Search tab to add a title. The Collection tab updates automatically after an item is added.

Descriptions

Descriptions are only fetched when a title does not already have one saved.

TMDB can be used for missing descriptions. Create a free TMDB account and API key at:

https://www.themoviedb.org/

IMDb plot scraping can also be enabled for titles where TMDB does not have a description.

Posters

Poster downloads use headless Chromium to load IMDb pages, follow the poster media-viewer link, and save the poster image locally under the configured image folder.

If poster downloads fail, confirm Chromium is installed:

playwright install