> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://api.simkl.org/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# About Ratings

> Where to read Simkl's community ratings, IMDb / MAL scores, drop rates, and rank — for any title in the catalog or just the items in a user's watchlist.

## Single-title ratings — use the detail endpoint

Per-title ratings (Simkl community average + votes, IMDb rating, MAL
rating + rank) are returned **as part of the catalog detail
endpoints**. There's no separate read-only "ratings by ID" endpoint —
the same data lives inside the `ratings` field of every detail
response.

| Have                                                      | Use                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       |
| --------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **A Simkl ID**                                            | [`GET /movies/{id}`](/api-reference/simkl/get-movie) · [`GET /tv/{id}`](/api-reference/simkl/get-tv-show) · [`GET /anime/{id}`](/api-reference/simkl/get-anime). All three are Cloudflare-cached, so repeat reads are near-free.                          |
| **An external ID** (IMDb / TMDB / TVDB / MAL / AniDB / …) | First resolve to a Simkl ID via [`GET /redirect`](/api-reference/simkl/redirect) (returns a `301` with the canonical Simkl URL), then call the detail endpoint above. The redirect itself is a tiny 301 with no body; the detail call hits the CDN cache. |

The `ratings` block on every detail response looks like:

```json theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light","dark":"vesper"}}
{
  "ratings": {
    "simkl": { "rating": 8.6, "votes": 11487 },
    "imdb":  { "rating": 8.8, "votes": 2817264 },
    "mal":   { "rating": 8.6, "votes": 3007340, "rank": 99 }
  }
}
```

Each provider key is present **only when Simkl has data on file**.
Live-action titles typically carry `simkl + imdb`; modern anime carry
`simkl + mal`; classic anime sometimes carry all three.

## Bulk ratings for a user's watchlist

If you need the Simkl community rating + drop rate for **every title
in the user's watchlist** (one type at a time), use:

<Card title="GET /ratings/{type}" icon="layer-group" href="/api-reference/simkl/get-watchlist-ratings">
  `?user_watchlist=watching` (or `plantowatch`, `hold`, `completed`, `dropped`, comma-separated, or `1` for all). Returns an array of `{id, simkl: {rating, votes, droprate}}` for every item in those watchlist buckets. Requires a Bearer token. Useful for "decide what to watch next from my plantowatch list" UIs.
</Card>

For the user's **own** ratings (the 1-10 scores they've personally
assigned), use the [Sync endpoints](/api-reference/sync) under
`/sync/ratings`.

## Aggregate ratings on `simkl.com`

Public catalog pages on `simkl.com` (e.g. [`/movies/472214/inception`](https://simkl.com/movies/472214/inception)) render the same ratings block plus the user's reactions and reviews. If your app wants to deep-link rather than render, see the [Deep-linking guide](/guides/deep-linking).