Emby MyAnimeList Sync Plugin

Emby server plugin for reading and updating the current user's anime watch status in MyAnimeList through the official MyAnimeList API v2.

This plugin is 100% vibecoded with the help of Codex. I have no developer experience, but I wanted to try filling a niche that, in my opinion, still existed in the Emby plugin ecosystem.

The plugin is inspired by iankiller77/MyAnimeSync, which provides similar MyAnimeList sync functionality for Jellyfin only.

Features

• OAuth2 Authorization Code with PKCE setup for MyAnimeList.
• Emby plugin configuration page for Client ID, Client Secret and Redirect URI.
• Per-Emby-user MyAnimeList account authorization.
• Configurable sync direction: MyAnimeList to Emby, Emby to MyAnimeList, or both directions.
• Scheduled sync task that runs every 4 hours by default.
• Daily token refresh and failed-update retry tasks.
• Playback stop trigger that pushes the watched item to MyAnimeList when the item has a MyAnimeList metadata id.
• Manual Sync Now and Retry Failed Updates buttons in the plugin settings.
• Plugin page registration for both the user menu and main menu, improving access from Emby mobile apps when the client exposes plugin web pages.
• API endpoints for authorization, connection test, anime search, current status lookup and status updates.
• Targets netstandard2.0 and references MediaBrowser.Server.Core, matching Emby's current plugin guidance.

Build

dotnet build Emby.MyAnimeList.Sync.Plugin.sln

To copy the plugin and local dependencies into an Emby plugin folder after build:

dotnet build Emby.MyAnimeList.Sync.Plugin.sln -p:EmbyPluginPath="$HOME/.config/emby-server/plugins"

Restart Emby Server after copying the plugin.

MyAnimeList setup

Open https://myanimelist.net/apiconfig, sign in and create a new API client.

Suggested MyAnimeList app fields:

MyAnimeList field	Suggested value
App Name	Emby MyAnimeList Sync Plugin
App Type	Web if available, otherwise the closest non-mobile/non-native option
App Description	Emby plugin to read and update the current users anime watch status.
App Redirect URL	The Redirect URI shown in the Emby plugin settings, for example http://your-emby-server:8096/emby/MyAnimeList/Auth/Callback
Homepage URL	Your Emby server URL or project URL
Commercial / Non-Commercial	Non-Commercial
Name / Company Name	Your name or private project name
Purpose of Use	hobbyist
License agreement	Accept the MyAnimeList API license agreement if you agree with its terms

Notes:

• The App Description must be between 50 and 500 characters.
• MyAnimeList says special characters are not supported, so use plain ASCII text.
• The redirect URL must match exactly between MyAnimeList and the Emby plugin settings.
• Do not use http://localhost unless Emby is running on the same computer and you want to handle the code manually. The plugin works best with its callback URL: /emby/MyAnimeList/Auth/Callback.

After saving the app in MyAnimeList, copy the generated values into the Emby plugin settings:

Emby plugin field	Value
MyAnimeList Client ID	The Client ID from MyAnimeList. Required.
MyAnimeList Client Secret (optional)	The Client Secret from MyAnimeList, if one was generated. Leave empty if there is none.
Redirect URI	The same value as App Redirect URL in MyAnimeList. The plugin detects its callback URL automatically.
Sync direction	Choose Both directions, MyAnimeList to Emby, or Emby to MyAnimeList.

The MyAnimeList app settings are global for the Emby server. The MyAnimeList login itself is stored per Emby user, so each Emby user should open the plugin settings while logged in with their own Emby account and run the OAuth connection flow once.

OAuth connection flow:

1. Save the Emby plugin settings.
2. Click Create and Open Authorization Page.
3. Emby creates the authorization URL in the background and sends you straight to MyAnimeList. Approve access on the MyAnimeList page.
4. Approve access in MyAnimeList.
5. MyAnimeList redirects back to the Emby callback URL and the plugin stores the tokens automatically.
6. Return to the Emby plugin settings. The page shows whether this Emby user is connected; Test Connection can still be used for a live check.

If the test succeeds, Emby should show the connected MyAnimeList username.

The Authorization Code (manual fallback) field is not filled during the normal callback flow. It is only needed if you use a manual redirect URL and want to paste a code=... value yourself.

Sync behavior

The plugin registers a scheduled Emby task named Sync MyAnimeList anime status in the MyAnimeList category. Emby runs it every 4 hours by default, and you can also start or adjust it from Emby's scheduled tasks screen.

The plugin also registers two daily maintenance tasks:

• Refresh MyAnimeList user tokens refreshes OAuth tokens for connected users.
• Retry failed MyAnimeList updates retries updates that failed during playback-triggered or scheduled sync.

Playback events are handled separately: when playback stops, the plugin checks the played movie or episode. If the item, or the episode's parent series, has a MyAnimeList provider id, the plugin pushes the current Emby watched progress to MyAnimeList for the current Emby user. Items without a MyAnimeList id are skipped.

For series, the MyAnimeList id is read from season metadata first, then episode metadata, then series metadata. If Emby only has the series-level id for season 1, the plugin resolves later Emby seasons through MyAnimeList sequel relations so season 2, 3 and later entries can be written to their own MyAnimeList anime ids. For movies, a watched Emby movie is treated as 1/1 and marked completed in MyAnimeList.

When the sync direction is Both directions, the plugin uses the higher watched episode count from Emby or MyAnimeList. It marks missing episodes as played in Emby or updates MyAnimeList, but it does not remove watched state from Emby.

The plugin settings page has a Sync Now button for the current Emby user and a Retry Failed Updates button for failed updates belonging to the current Emby user. Failed updates are listed on the same page.

Plugin API

• GET /emby/MyAnimeList/Auth/Url
• GET /emby/MyAnimeList/Auth/UrlJson
• POST /emby/MyAnimeList/Auth/Token with { "Code": "..." }
• GET /emby/MyAnimeList/Auth/Test
• GET /emby/MyAnimeList/Search/Anime?Query=one%20piece&Limit=10
• GET /emby/MyAnimeList/Anime/{AnimeId}/Status
• POST /emby/MyAnimeList/Anime/{AnimeId}/Status

Example status update body:

{
  "Status": "watching",
  "Score": 8,
  "EpisodesWatched": 12,
  "IsRewatching": false
}

Valid status values are watching, completed, on_hold, dropped and plan_to_watch.