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KOReader: Open-Source eBook Reader

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Re: KOReader: Open-Source eBook Reader

#21

Post by bb88 »

lucius_verus wrote: post #18
jtmoulia wrote: post #17

I use a Kobo because its overdrive integration lets me read ebooks checked out from my county library. I'd love to give KOReader a try -- does anyone know if it can be used with library books, via overdrive or another integration? A quick search indicates KOReader doesn't work with DRM books, but I'm curious if someone has a solution.

Koreader doesn't integrate with overdrive, but it's trivially easy to install it on your Kobo alongside the Kobo OS. You can continue to use overdrive on your Kobo and also dip into koreader for the better PDF viewer etc.

I tried koreader on a kobo. I wouldn't call it trivially easy when I installed it last year, and I promptly uninstalled it and removed all the hacks so I could get back to a sane installation of the Kobo OS again.

I think maybe for a kindle it might be worth it, but the reality is for Kobo, it's probably more hassle than it's worth.

I found my time better spent setting up a calibre-web in a docker container and then having my kobo sync to that. And that was awesome.

Re: KOReader: Open-Source eBook Reader

#22

Post by herboh »

boznz wrote: post #4

Pretty keen to try one day, a quick question for anyone who has installed it is what does it do to the battery life of the device its installed on? is it the same, better or worse and by how much?

I installed on a brand new kindle and didn't notice any difference.

Re: KOReader: Open-Source eBook Reader

#23

Post by cyberpunk »

bb88 wrote: post #21
lucius_verus wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Koreader doesn't integrate with overdrive, but it's trivially easy to install it on your Kobo alongside the Kobo OS. You can continue to use overdrive on your Kobo and also dip into koreader for the better PDF viewer etc.

I tried koreader on a kobo. I wouldn't call it trivially easy when I installed it last year, and I promptly uninstalled it and removed all the hacks so I could get back to a sane installation of the Kobo OS again. I think maybe for a kindle it might be worth it, but the reality is for Kobo, it's probably more hassle than it's worth. I found my time better spent setting up a calibre-web in a docker container and then…

It’s two .tgz files extracted to / … how is that not trivially easy?

Re: KOReader: Open-Source eBook Reader

#24

Post by OuterVale »

Absolutely love KOReader. I use it on my Kindle 3 and have moved my parents and brother over to using it on their Kindles as well. You can even install it on relatively new models thanks to the recent WinterBreak gaolbreak.

There was some discussion about it on HN not long ago:

All Kindles can now be jailbroken | 1377 points by lumerina | 2025/02/17 | https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43073969

I found KOReader's Android app a tad buggy, but the experience is wonderful on Kindles. If you've got an old Kindle kicking around, I also wrote up a little thing about bringing them up to speed which mentions KOReader: https://vale.rocks/posts/improving-early-kindles

Re: KOReader: Open-Source eBook Reader

#25

Post by ValtteriL »

My Kindle got hardly any use nowadays thanks to this gem.

Out of the box it's a bit hard to use. Love it after configuring intuitive gestures for navigation.

Especially love the frontlight switch that lets me read while helping my kid fall asleep.

Re: KOReader: Open-Source eBook Reader

#27

Post by arkx »

I wish it supported vertical text and reading right-to-left (Japanese). It's a long-standing issue that doesn't seem likely to be solved (https://github.com/koreader/koreader/issues/4353). The relevant standard is https://www.w3.org/TR/css-writing-modes-3/, which is part of supporting ePub 3.

Re: KOReader: Open-Source eBook Reader

#28

Post by Larrikin »

bb88 wrote: post #21
lucius_verus wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Koreader doesn't integrate with overdrive, but it's trivially easy to install it on your Kobo alongside the Kobo OS. You can continue to use overdrive on your Kobo and also dip into koreader for the better PDF viewer etc.

I tried koreader on a kobo. I wouldn't call it trivially easy when I installed it last year, and I promptly uninstalled it and removed all the hacks so I could get back to a sane installation of the Kobo OS again. I think maybe for a kindle it might be worth it, but the reality is for Kobo, it's probably more hassle than it's worth. I found my time better spent setting up a calibre-web in a docker container and then…

What's the issue you had? When you reboot or quit you're kicked back to regular Kobo and you open up Koreader through a menu option.

The Kobo OS is good enough for me to recommend it to family, there's nothing wrong with the iPod experience of uploading books.

But Koreader+Tailscale+Kavita OPDS is the best reading experience I've ever had.

Re: KOReader: Open-Source eBook Reader

#29

Post by deng »

Instead of simply praising KOReader, let me add that it is also incredibly hackable. The vast majority of KOReader is written in Lua, and adding your own feature is usually not that hard. I added support for Kobo natural light a few years ago, and found the code base to be very understandable and nice to work with.
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