Sync, Deletion and Updates

Catalog Sync — How Does It Work?

When you press "Import from Catalog" on the List Settings page, the server-side catalog is merged into your local database.

Will not be lost: Your watch progress, notes, Personal Synopsis, and the poster you uploaded yourself — these are yours alone and the sync never touches them.

Will be overwritten: Catalog fields such as anime title, synopsis, genres, broadcast info are updated to the server's latest state on every sync. If you edited them by hand, those edits are lost.

What About Anime I Added Myself?

If anime you added have not been promoted to the catalog by the admin (i.e. they are still your private entries), the sync does not touch them at all. All their fields are preserved.

When Does Sync Run?

Not automatic — only when you ask for it. Sync runs once each time you press List Settings → "Import from Catalog".

Episode-Count Sync (aired episodes)

Separate from the catalog sync, the "how many episodes have aired" figure for still-airing anime is refreshed from AnimeSchedule. This runs by itself once a day in the background each time you open the List Settings page; you can also trigger it manually with "Sync Now".

Does not touch your personal state: This only updates the catalog's "aired episode count" field. It does not touch your watch status, your watched-episode count, or your notes. When a new episode airs, your watch status does not change on its own; you record progress yourself with +.

Deletion Warnings

Irreversible deletions:

Clearing the Notes field → sync will not restore it
Clearing the Personal Synopsis field → sync will not restore it
Deleting an anime → permanent; everything including watch progress is gone
Deleting a poster file → the catalog poster is re-downloaded during sync (but your own uploaded poster does not come back)

Reversible (via sync):

Changing / clearing the Synopsis field → the catalog synopsis comes back on the next sync
Changing the anime title → fixed by sync
Changing the genre list / broadcast info → fixed by sync

Update System

Anime Tracker itself ships new releases from time to time. You can check whether a new version is available via List Settings → "Check for Updates". That section is only visible to the owner of a personal (single-user) install: on a multi-user site the operator updates from the source code, so a link to the project page stands there instead of a button.

If a new release is available, a one-click automatic update runs:

The new release is downloaded from the server
Files are updated in place (config.php, uploads/ and your watch data are preserved)
The database is auto-upgraded if needed
The page reloads; the new version is active

Not lost during update: Your anime entries, watch data, notes, posters, and DB credentials — none of these are affected.

Install Counter

Anime Tracker is open source and anyone can run it on their own server. That leaves the project no other way of knowing how many installations exist: a personal install never has to talk to the central catalog, and the update check only runs when its button is pressed. The install counter fills that gap with a number, nothing more: "how many installs".

Your install sends one small request to the project counter once only — after the first time the home page is opened. If the counter server cannot be reached at that moment it tries once more the next day; as soon as it succeeds it never sends again. The request carries three things:

A random install id. Generated on the first send and stored in the settings table. It is not derived from your address, your database or you; its only job is to let the counter recognise a repeat (a retry, a restored backup) instead of counting it as a new install.
The installed version (e.g. 1.1.43).
The mode: personal or multi-user.

Not sent: Your site address, your member count, your anime, your watch data, your notes, your server name — none of it. The counter does not store the IP address either. The totals are public but contain no ids; the "Install Counter" card in the admin dashboard shows the same totals.

Switching it off: Add define('INSTALL_PING', false); to config.php (new installs already have the line, set to true). From then on no request is sent; the rest of the application is unaffected. To reset, delete the install_id and install_ping_done rows from the settings table — your install then appears on the counter as a new one.

Why does it exist? To know something nobody tells us: how many people the work put into the project actually reaches. The number is roughly right, not proof — installs that switch the counter off are invisible, one that resets its id is counted twice.

For further questions: more detailed technical information is on the project's GitHub page.

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