# PDR 009: Turn watchlist selections into library items

- HTML version: https://robbiepalmer.me/projects/homelab/pdrs/009-turn-watchlist-selections-into-library-items
- Project: Home Lab
- Status: Accepted
- Opened: 2026-08-23
- Decided: 2026-08-23

## Context

The home media library already had a private playback system. Adding a film or
series through separate administration panels still made choosing what to
watch feel like operating infrastructure. The natural selection point is a
phone recommendation feed while deciding what looks interesting.

Watch history also affects future recommendations. A disconnected acquisition
queue and playback history would leave that feedback incomplete.

## Decision

Use one watchlist as the human-facing selection workflow for the private media
library. Adding a film or series to the list should place it into the monitored
acquisition pipeline without requiring an administration-panel visit.

Send completed playback history back to the same service so its recommendations
reflect what the household actually watched. A selection requests acquisition;
it does not promise that a matching release exists or bypass the library's
quality rules.

Keep queue behavior explicit. Removing an item from the watchlist does not
silently delete or unmonitor an existing library entry.

## Consequences

Media selection becomes a phone workflow instead of an infrastructure task.
The library now depends on an external recommendation account and its OAuth
connections. Availability, quality rules, and delayed list refresh can still
prevent immediate acquisition.

## Evaluation

A watchlist addition should appear as a monitored film or series and follow the
normal search and import path. A completed playback should update watched state
without custom synchronization code.

## Migration note

ADR 008 established the earlier playback architecture and informed this later
product choice. This PDR extracts the accepted watchlist workflow from ADR 018
and keeps its original date. ADRs 013 and 018 retain the acquisition stack and
native Trakt integration details.

## Related records

- Project: [Home Lab](https://robbiepalmer.me/projects/homelab.md)
- Informed by ADR: [ADR 008: Jellyfin media server](https://robbiepalmer.me/projects/homelab/adrs/008-jellyfin.md)
- Implemented by ADR: [ADR 013: Automated media acquisition](https://robbiepalmer.me/projects/homelab/adrs/013-media-automation-arr-stack.md)
- Implemented by ADR: [ADR 018: Trakt drives the watchlist](https://robbiepalmer.me/projects/homelab/adrs/018-trakt-watchlist.md)

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