Your own TMDB key for SerKal

SerKal uses The Movie Database (TMDB) to find series, seasons, episodes, descriptions and images. Every user therefore needs their own free TMDB Developer access and personal API key.

Current TMDB process: TMDB has changed the application flow. After “Personal Use”, a detailed form for the free Free Developer Plan now appears. These instructions describe the process practically verified on 19 October 2026.

1. Sign in and open the API section

If you do not yet have a TMDB account, begin at Create a TMDB account, verify your email address and sign in.

Then open the TMDB API settings. TMDB recommends completing the application in a desktop browser.

Select “API” on the left in your account settings.

2. Choose free personal use

Choose free Developer access.
Select Personal Use.
Confirm the displayed terms. TMDB may ask you to confirm personal use and the terms in successive steps.
The Manage API Services page then displays Developer Plan – Free – No monthly fee.

No payment is required: The Developer Plan described here remains free for personal SerKal use.

3. Complete Application Details

Application Name: SerKal
Application URL: https://serkal.de
Type of Use: Desktop Application

Application Summary:
SerKal is a free, non-commercial desktop application for personal TV series management. It uses TMDB to search for TV series, seasons, and episodes and to display related information and poster images. SerKal helps users organize their series and add episode dates to their personal calendar.

You can copy the complete summary above into the large text field.

The new form: free Developer Plan and “Desktop Application” as type of use.

4. Enter your own contact details

TMDB then asks for your correct personal contact information: first and last name, email address, telephone number, address, city and postal code.

State / Province / Region: Some translated versions of the form may label both the region field and the country field as “Country”. The first free-text field means state, province or administrative region and is required. For Germany, an example is “Rheinland-Pfalz”; for France, “Grand Est”. The second field with the flag is the actual country.

Address 2 (optional) may be left empty.
If your country has no suitable subdivision, enter a commonly used region; if none exists, use N/A.
Accept the terms at the bottom and submit the form.

5. Open the confirmation link

Success: After submission, “Subscription Details” displays: You are currently on the Free Developer plan.

Click the blue link Access your API key details here. This opens the page containing your credentials.

The successful intermediate page. The blue link opens your API credentials.

6. Choose the correct key

At the bottom of the new page, TMDB displays two different credentials:

API Read Access TokenA very long token, often shown across several lines. SerKal does not require this token during normal setup.

API KeyThe shorter key shown below it. Copy this key for SerKal.

The long read token is shown above; the short API Key for SerKal below. All values are fully concealed in this example.

Never publish either credential: Do not show the full token or API key in screenshots, email, forums or GitHub.

7. Enter the API key in SerKal

Copy the short API Key into the TMDB API Key field during SerKal setup.

SerKal verifies the key and stores it locally on your own computer, so you normally only need to enter it once.

Enter the short API Key here, not the long read access token.

Why is the TMDB key required?

Initial setup cannot be completed without a valid personal TMDB key. SerKal needs it for TMDB search, series information, images and TMDB-based maintenance.

Create TMDB account Open TMDB API settings Back to SerKal

TMDB attribution: This product uses the TMDB API but is not endorsed or certified by TMDB.