How to Import Your Letterboxd Watchlist into BacklogBox
You can move your entire Letterboxd watch history into BacklogBox in under 2 minutes. Export a CSV from Letterboxd, upload it, and your movies land on a Kanban board with ratings and watch dates intact.
What You Need
- A Letterboxd account with logged films
- A BacklogBox account (the 14-day Pro trial works)
Step 1: Export Your Letterboxd Data
- Log in to Letterboxd
- Go to Settings
- Click Import & Export
- Click Export Your Data
- Download the ZIP file and unzip it
Inside the ZIP you will find several CSV files:
watched.csv
Every film you have marked as watched
Best for: full watch history (no ratings)
watchlist.csv
Films on your watchlist
Best for: movies you plan to watch
diary.csv
RecommendedWatch diary entries with dates and ratings
Best for: watch history with ratings
ratings.csv
Just your ratings
Best for: rated films only
We recommend diary.csv for the most complete import — it includes both ratings and
watch dates. If you just want your to-watch list, use watchlist.csv.
Step 2: Upload to BacklogBox
- Open BacklogBox and click Import in the sidebar
- Click the Letterboxd card
- If you are uploading
watchlist.csv, check the "This is a watchlist file" checkbox - Select your CSV file
BacklogBox instantly parses the file and shows a preview table with every film, its year, rating, and mapped status.
Step 3: Review and Import
Check the preview. Deselect any films you do not want. Duplicates (films already in your library) are flagged and deselected automatically.
Click Import and you are done.
How Ratings Are Mapped
Letterboxd uses half-star increments (0.5 to 5.0). BacklogBox uses whole stars (1 to 5). Ratings are rounded to the nearest whole number:
| Letterboxd | BacklogBox |
|---|---|
| 0.5 - 1.0 | 1 star |
| 1.5 - 2.0 | 2 stars |
| 2.5 - 3.0 | 3 stars |
| 3.5 - 4.0 | 4 stars |
| 4.5 - 5.0 | 5 stars |
How Statuses Are Mapped
| Letterboxd File | BacklogBox Status |
|---|---|
| watched.csv / diary.csv / ratings.csv | Completed |
| watchlist.csv | Wishlist |
Cover Art and Metadata
After import, BacklogBox searches TMDB for each film to fetch poster art, genre, and director. This happens in the background — your movies appear instantly, and posters fill in over the next few minutes.
After Import
Open your Movies board to see everything organized in Kanban columns. From here you can drag films between statuses, add ratings, or start tracking new movies — alongside your books, games, and other media.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I export my Letterboxd data?
Go to Settings on Letterboxd, click Import & Export, then Export Your Data. You will get a ZIP file containing several CSV files.
Which Letterboxd CSV file should I upload?
It depends on what you want to import. Use watched.csv for your full watch history, watchlist.csv for movies you plan to watch, diary.csv for watched movies with ratings, or ratings.csv for just your rated films.
Will my Letterboxd ratings transfer?
Yes. Letterboxd half-star ratings (0.5 to 5.0) are rounded to whole stars (1 to 5) to match the BacklogBox rating system. A 3.5 on Letterboxd becomes 4 stars in BacklogBox.
What about movies I watched multiple times?
If you upload diary.csv, BacklogBox automatically deduplicates rewatches. It keeps the most recent watch date and rating for each film.