Showly: Open Source Bookmark & Content Management

What is Showly?

What it is

Showly is an open-source mobile application for tracking television shows and movies. The GitHub repository calls it a modern manager for movies and TV shows, and the README says the Android version is free of Google services. It lives in the Android ecosystem, with an iOS release announced for January 2025, and it uses Trakt.tv for catalog and synchronization.

The concrete problem it addresses is the need to record viewing progress for shows and movies without using a streaming platform. The README states that Showly cannot watch, stream, or download content, so its value is tracking rather than media delivery. It relies on external services for source data, including Trakt, TMDB, and OMDB.

Key capabilities

Showly tracks television shows and movies as a personal progress manager.
It synchronizes with Trakt.tv, the README's main data source.
The open-source Android version is free of Google services.
Setup requires Trakt, TMDB, and OMDB API keys for authentication and metadata.
Missing shows or movies can be imported through Trakt.tv options.
Translations are managed through CrowdIn for Android and iOS.
Contributions use GitHub issues, discussions, and pull requests.

Who uses it and how

Viewers use Showly to record watched episodes and films rather than play media.
Android users who want a Google-services-free client can build the open-source app.
Developers compile the app in Android Studio with their own API keys.
Users with incomplete catalogs use Trakt import workflows for missing entries.
iOS users can adopt the announced iOS version, while the repository focuses on Android.

Getting started

The README instructs users to clone the repository, open it in Android Studio, create keystore.properties, add Trakt, TMDB, and OMDB keys in local.properties, then rebuild and start the app. The project also notes iOS availability through an App Store link.

When to use it — and when not to

Showly is useful when the goal is tracking watched shows and movies, especially for Android users who want a free open-source client that avoids Google services. It is not suitable for streaming, downloading, or watching media, and it requires external API keys plus a manual Android build workflow. The README notes a known India TMDB access issue, and the development notes describe architectural debt, single-responsibility problems, Retrofit replacement work, and a need for more tests.

project readme (upstream, from github) — read inline

Version Build

Showly available on iOS 🍎

I am happy to announce that starting Jan 2025, Showly is available on iOS!

Check AppStore link below to jump straight into action.

Showly

Showly is a modern TV Shows and Movies tracking app.

The OSS version for Android available in this repo is completely free of all Google services.

Screenshots

Project Setup

Clone repository and open project in the latest version of Android Studio.
Create a keystore.properties file and put it in the /app folder.
Add the following properties into the keystore.properties file (values are not important at this moment):
```
keyAlias=github
keyPassword=github
storePassword=github
```
Add your Trakt.tv, TMDB, OMDB API keys as following properties into your local.properties file located in the root directory of the project:
```
traktClient
traktClientSecret="your trakt client secret"
tmdbApiKey="your tmdb api key (v4)"
omdbApiKey="your omdb api key"
```
Rebuild and start the app.

Issues & Contributions

Feel free to post problems with the app as Github Issues.

Features ideas should be posted as new GIthub Discussion.

Pull requests are welcome. Remember about leaving a comment in the relevant issue if you are working on something.

Dev Notes

The codebase has been around for a few years now and it grew a bit rusty. A few things surely could be addressed:

Overall architecture should be simplified and refactored into a more strict feature-based one
The single responsibility principle is broken and should be refactored in a few places like some of the Use Cases
Retrofit could be replaced in favor of Ktor Client
Jetpack Compose migration (although there is no real benefit of it currently from end-user point of view)
Add more unit tests to complete the suite and increase coverage

Translations

Want to help translating Showly into your native language? Spotted a mistake?
Join the CrowdIn project which is used to manage translations:

Android: https://crowdin.com/project/showly-android-app
iOS: https://crowdin.com/project/showly-ios-app

Translations status for 20 Jan 2025:

iOS:

Android:

FAQ

Can I watch/stream/download shows and movies with the Showly app?

No, that is not possible. Showly is a progress tracking type of app - not a streaming service.
I'm a user from India. I can't see any images and also encounter errors!

There is a known issue with TMDB API being blocked by Indian gov. For more details and a possible solution please see the thread here: https://www.themoviedb.org/talk/65d226e5c433ea0187b5b958#65d2dd5128d7fe017c34e9b5
The Show/Episode/Movie I'm looking for seems to be missing. What can I do?

Showly uses Trakt.tv as its main data source. If something is missing please use "Import Show" / "Import Movie" option located at the bottom of Trakt.tv website. It's also possible to contact Trakt.tv support about any related issue.

Contact

Twitter: https://twitter.com/AppShowly

Landing Page: www.showlyapp.com

Email: [email protected]

Frequently asked questions

Is Showly free to use?

Showly is open source under the GPL-3.0 licence. There is no licence fee and no seat count — you can self-host it or, where the project offers one, pay a vendor for a managed version instead.

What does Showly do?

Track TV shows and movies, synced with Trakt.tv

What is Showly written in?

Showly is primarily written in Kotlin. Its source is publicly available at https://github.com/trakt/showly, and it has 1,460 GitHub stars.