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Integrating Trakt.tv Watch History into a Jekyll Site

Sep 17, 20246 min read

howto

This tutorial will guide you through the process of setting up an automated system to display your latest Trakt.tv watch history on your Jekyll-based website using GitHub Actions.

Prerequisites

  • A GitHub account
  • A Jekyll website hosted on GitHub
  • A Trakt.tv account and API access

Step 1: Set Up Trakt.tv API Access

  1. Go to Trakt API Settings and create a new API application.
  2. Set the Redirect URI to urn:ietf:wg:oauth:2.0:oob.
  3. Note down your Client ID and Client Secret.

Step 2: Obtain Initial Access and Refresh Tokens

Create a file named get_trakt_token.py on your local machine:

import requests
import webbrowser
 
CLIENT_ID = 'your_client_id_here'
CLIENT_SECRET = 'your_client_secret_here'
REDIRECT_URI = 'urn:ietf:wg:oauth:2.0:oob'
 
# Step 1: Get the authorization URL
auth_url = f"https://trakt.tv/oauth/authorize?response_type=code&client_id={CLIENT_ID}&redirect_uri={REDIRECT_URI}"
 
print(f"Please visit this URL to authorize the application: {auth_url}")
webbrowser.open(auth_url)
 
# Step 2: Get the code from user input
code = input("Enter the code from the redirect URL: ")
 
# Step 3: Exchange the code for an access token
token_url = "https://api.trakt.tv/oauth/token"
data = {
    "code": code,
    "client_id": CLIENT_ID,
    "client_secret": CLIENT_SECRET,
    "redirect_uri": REDIRECT_URI,
    "grant_type": "authorization_code"
}
 
response = requests.post(token_url, json=data)
tokens = response.json()
 
print("Access Token:", tokens['access_token'])
print("Refresh Token:", tokens['refresh_token'])
print("Please save these tokens securely.")

Run this script and follow the prompts to get your initial access and refresh tokens.

Step 3: Set Up GitHub Secrets

In your GitHub repository:

  1. Go to Settings > Secrets and variables > Actions
  2. Add the following secrets:
    • TRAKT_CLIENT_ID
    • TRAKT_CLIENT_SECRET
    • TRAKT_REFRESH_TOKEN
    • TMDB_ACCESS_TOKEN (if you’re using TMDb for images)

Step 4: Create the Fetch Script

Create a file named fetch_last_watched.py in a scripts/ directory in your repository:

import requests
import os
import sys
from datetime import datetime
 
# Redirect stderr to a file
sys.stderr = open('error_log.txt', 'w')
 
print("Checking environment variables:")
print(f"TRAKT_CLIENT_ID: {'Set' if 'TRAKT_CLIENT_ID' in os.environ else 'Not set'}")
print(f"TRAKT_CLIENT_SECRET: {'Set' if 'TRAKT_CLIENT_SECRET' in os.environ else 'Not set'}")
print(f"TRAKT_REFRESH_TOKEN: {'Set' if 'TRAKT_REFRESH_TOKEN' in os.environ else 'Not set'}")
print(f"TMDB_ACCESS_TOKEN: {'Set' if 'TMDB_ACCESS_TOKEN' in os.environ else 'Not set'}")
 
TRAKT_CLIENT_ID = os.environ['TRAKT_CLIENT_ID']
TRAKT_CLIENT_SECRET = os.environ['TRAKT_CLIENT_SECRET']
TRAKT_REFRESH_TOKEN = os.environ['TRAKT_REFRESH_TOKEN']
TMDB_ACCESS_TOKEN = os.environ['TMDB_ACCESS_TOKEN']
 
def refresh_access_token():
    print("Attempting to refresh access token...")
    response = requests.post(
        'https://api.trakt.tv/oauth/token',
        json={
            'refresh_token': TRAKT_REFRESH_TOKEN,
            'client_id': TRAKT_CLIENT_ID,
            'client_secret': TRAKT_CLIENT_SECRET,
            'redirect_uri': 'urn:ietf:wg:oauth:2.0:oob',
            'grant_type': 'refresh_token'
        }
    )
    print(f"Token refresh status code: {response.status_code}")
    print(f"Token refresh response: {response.text}")
    
    if response.status_code != 200:
        print(f"Error refreshing token. Status code: {response.status_code}")
        print(f"Response content: {response.text}")
        raise Exception("Failed to refresh token")
    
    data = response.json()
    if 'access_token' not in data:
        print(f"Unexpected response format. Received data: {data}")
        raise Exception("Access token not found in response")
    
    return data['access_token']
 
# Get a fresh access token
try:
    ACCESS_TOKEN = refresh_access_token()
    print("Successfully refreshed access token.")
except Exception as e:
    print(f"Failed to refresh access token: {str(e)}")
    sys.exit(1)
 
# API endpoints
TRAKT_TV_ENDPOINT = 'https://api.trakt.tv/users/me/history/shows'
TRAKT_MOVIE_ENDPOINT = 'https://api.trakt.tv/users/me/history/movies'
TMDB_TV_URL = 'https://api.themoviedb.org/3/tv/'
TMDB_MOVIE_URL = 'https://api.themoviedb.org/3/movie/'
TMDB_IMAGE_BASE_URL = 'https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w200'
 
# Headers
trakt_headers = {
    'Content-Type': 'application/json',
    'trakt-api-version': '2',
    'trakt-api-key': TRAKT_CLIENT_ID,
    'Authorization': f'Bearer {ACCESS_TOKEN}'
}
 
tmdb_headers = {
    'Authorization': f'Bearer {TMDB_ACCESS_TOKEN}',
    'accept': 'application/json'
}
 
def fetch_last_watched(endpoint):
    response = requests.get(endpoint, headers=trakt_headers)
    if response.status_code == 200:
        data = response.json()
        return data[0] if data else None
    else:
        print(f"Error: {response.status_code}")
        print(response.text)
        return None
 
def get_tmdb_image(tmdb_id, media_type):
    if media_type == 'tv':
        url = f"{TMDB_TV_URL}{tmdb_id}"
    else:
        url = f"{TMDB_MOVIE_URL}{tmdb_id}"
    
    response = requests.get(url, headers=tmdb_headers)
    
    if response.status_code == 200:
        data = response.json()
        poster_path = data.get('poster_path')
        if poster_path:
            return f"{TMDB_IMAGE_BASE_URL}{poster_path}"
    return None
 
# Fetch last watched TV show and movie
last_show = fetch_last_watched(TRAKT_TV_ENDPOINT)
last_movie = fetch_last_watched(TRAKT_MOVIE_ENDPOINT)
 
# Generate HTML
html_content = """
<div class="trakt-embed">
    <h3>Last Watched on Trakt</h3>
"""
 
if last_show:
    show = last_show['show']
    episode = last_show['episode']
    watched_at = datetime.fromisoformat(last_show['watched_at'].replace('Z', '+00:00'))
    image_url = get_tmdb_image(show['ids']['tmdb'], 'tv')
    html_content += f"""
    <div class="item">
        <img class="item-image" src="{image_url or '/path/to/default/image.jpg'}" alt="{show['title']}">
        <div class="item-details">
            <p><strong>TV Show:</strong> {show['title']}</p>
            <p><strong>Episode:</strong> {episode['title']} (S{episode['season']:02d}E{episode['number']:02d})</p>
            <p class="timestamp">Watched: {watched_at.strftime('%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S UTC')}</p>
        </div>
    </div>
    """
 
if last_movie:
    movie = last_movie['movie']
    watched_at = datetime.fromisoformat(last_movie['watched_at'].replace('Z', '+00:00'))
    image_url = get_tmdb_image(movie['ids']['tmdb'], 'movie')
    html_content += f"""
    <div class="item">
        <img class="item-image" src="{image_url or '/path/to/default/image.jpg'}" alt="{movie['title']}">
        <div class="item-details">
            <p><strong>Movie:</strong> {movie['title']} ({movie['year']})</p>
            <p class="timestamp">Watched: {watched_at.strftime('%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S UTC')}</p>
        </div>
    </div>
    """
 
html_content += "</div>"
 
# Save HTML to file
with open('_includes/trakt_embed.html', 'w') as f:
    f.write(html_content)
 
print("HTML embed file generated and saved as '_includes/trakt_embed.html'")
 
# Close the error log file
sys.stderr.close()

Step 5: Set Up GitHub Action

Create a file named .github/workflows/update_trakt.yml in your repository:

name: Update Trakt Data
 
on:
  schedule:
    - cron: '0 */6 * * *'  # Runs every 6 hours
  workflow_dispatch:  # Allows manual triggering
 
jobs:
  update-trakt:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    permissions:
      contents: write
    steps:
    - uses: actions/checkout@v3
    
    - name: Set up Python
      uses: actions/setup-python@v4
      with:
        python-version: '3.x'
    
    - name: Install dependencies
      run: |
        python -m pip install --upgrade pip
        pip install requests python-dotenv
    
    - name: Run Trakt script
      env:
        TRAKT_CLIENT_ID: ${{ secrets.TRAKT_CLIENT_ID }}
        TRAKT_CLIENT_SECRET: ${{ secrets.TRAKT_CLIENT_SECRET }}
        TRAKT_REFRESH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.TRAKT_REFRESH_TOKEN }}
        TMDB_ACCESS_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.TMDB_ACCESS_TOKEN }}
      run: |
        python scripts/fetch_last_watched.py
      continue-on-error: true
    
    - name: Check for errors
      if: failure()
      run: |
        if [ -f error_log.txt ]; then
          echo "Error log contents:"
          cat error_log.txt
        else
          echo "No error log found."
        fi
    
    - name: Commit and push if changed
      run: |
        git config --global user.email "github-actions[bot]@users.noreply.github.com"
        git config --global user.name "github-actions[bot]"
        git add -A
        git diff --quiet && git diff --staged --quiet || (git commit -m "Update Trakt data" && git push)

Step 6: Include the Embed in Your Jekyll Site

In your desired Jekyll layout or page, add this line where you want the Trakt embed to appear:

{% include trakt_embed.html %}

Step 7: Add CSS Styling

Add the following CSS to your site’s stylesheet (e.g., assets/css/style.css):

.trakt-embed {
    font-family: Arial, sans-serif;
    max-width: 500px;
    border: 1px solid #ddd;
    padding: 15px;
    border-radius: 8px;
    background-color: #f9f9f9;
}
.trakt-embed h3 {
    margin-top: 0;
    color: #2c3e50;
}
.trakt-embed .item {
    margin-bottom: 15px;
    padding-bottom: 15px;
    border-bottom: 1px solid #eee;
    display: flex;
    align-items: start;
}
.trakt-embed .item:last-child {
    margin-bottom: 0;
    padding-bottom: 0;
    border-bottom: none;
}
.trakt-embed .item-image {
    width: 100px;
    margin-right: 15px;
}
.trakt-embed .item-details {
    flex-grow: 1;
}
.trakt-embed p {
    margin: 5px 0;
    color: #34495e;
}
.trakt-embed .timestamp {
    font-size: 0.8em;
    color: #7f8ccd;
}

Step 8: Commit and Push

Commit all these files to your repository and push them to GitHub.

Step 9: Run the GitHub Action

  1. Go to the “Actions” tab in your GitHub repository.
  2. Find the “Update Trakt Data” workflow.
  3. Click “Run workflow” and select your main branch.

Maintenance

  • The GitHub Action will run automatically every 6 hours to update your Trakt data.
  • You can manually trigger the action anytime for immediate updates.
  • If you encounter authentication errors in the future, you may need to obtain a new refresh token using the get_trakt_token.py script and update the TRAKT_REFRESH_TOKEN secret in your GitHub repository.

That’s it! Your Jekyll site should now display your latest Trakt.tv watch history, automatically updating every 6 hours.

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