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Luc Garrabos edited this page May 6, 2026 · 1 revision

Usage

A guide to the main features of BookStorage for everyday use.

Table of contents

Dashboard and works

The dashboard is the central view where you manage your library. It supports:

  • Search — filter works by title
  • Filters — filter by status (reading, completed, etc.) and reading type (manga, webtoon, etc.)
  • Sorting — sort by title, chapter count, rating, or last update
  • Pagination — browse large libraries with paginated results

Each work displays its title, current chapter, status, type, rating, cover image, and optional link to a reading site.

Adding a work

  1. Click Add or press N on the dashboard
  2. Fill in the title (required), chapter number, link, status, reading type, rating, and notes
  3. Optionally search the catalog (AniList / MangaDex) to link the work to a catalog entry and auto-fill metadata
  4. Upload a cover image or let it be populated from the catalog
  5. Save

Chapter tracking

  • Quick increment: click the + button or use the API POST /api/increment/{id}
  • Quick decrement: click the - button or use the API POST /api/decrement/{id}
  • Set chapter: directly set the chapter number via POST /api/set-chapter/{id}

On mobile, the + and - buttons are prominently placed for one-handed use.

Statuses and types

Work statuses

Status French label
Reading En cours
Completed Termine
On Hold En pause
Dropped Abandonne
Plan to Read A lire

Reading types

Type
Webtoon
Manga
Novel (Roman)
Light Novel
Manhwa
Manhua
Other (Autre)

Series (grouped works)

Works can be organized into series using the parent_work_id and series_sort fields. A parent work acts as the series container, and child works are ordered by series_sort.

Reading sites

Reading sites let you associate works with the platform where you read them (e.g. MangaDex, Webtoon, etc.).

Managing reading sites

Navigate to Reading Sites (desktop only) to:

  • Add a new site (name + base URL)
  • Edit or delete existing sites
  • Probe a site to check availability (HTTP health check)
  • Probe all to check all sites at once

A background prober runs every 5 minutes and checks all reading sites automatically. Each site shows its probe status (ok, down, unknown), HTTP status code, and last probe time.

Auto-matching

When adding or editing a work with a link, BookStorage automatically suggests a matching reading site based on the URL domain via GET /api/reading-sites/match.

Recommendations

The dashboard For you section shows personalized recommendations powered by AniList:

  • Recommendations are based on genres and tags inferred from your library
  • Only works linked to an AniList catalog entry (via catalog search) participate in the taste profile
  • You can dismiss recommendations you are not interested in
  • If a LibreTranslate instance is configured, descriptions are translated to French for French UI users

See Configuration for BOOKSTORAGE_TRANSLATE_URL setup.

Community libraries

Browse what other users have shared:

  1. Go to Users (desktop only)
  2. Browse users who have set their library to public
  3. View their library and import individual works into your own collection

Users control their library visibility via the is_public setting in their profile.

Statistics

The Statistics page (desktop only) provides visual breakdowns of your reading habits including distribution by status, reading type, ratings, and reading activity over time.

Access via the dashboard menu or press S on desktop.

Keyboard shortcuts

Available on the desktop web view only (not the mobile PWA):

Key Action
N Add new work
/ Focus search bar
S Go to Statistics
P Go to Profile
? Show help
Esc Close / Unfocus

Mobile PWA

BookStorage can be installed as a Progressive Web App on mobile devices. The mobile view provides a simplified experience focused on everyday tracking:

  • Dashboard with search, filter, and sort
  • Add and edit works
  • Quick chapter + / - buttons

Pages like Statistics, Profile, Tools, Users, Admin, Export/Import, and Legal are only accessible from the desktop web view and redirect to the dashboard on mobile.

The mobile app auto-refreshes when brought back to the foreground, so changes made from the desktop version sync automatically.

Export and import

Export and import are accessible from the Profile page (desktop only).

Export

  • CSV export: download your library as a semicolon-separated CSV file
  • JSON export: download a versioned JSON backup (export_version field) suitable for re-import

Import

Upload a CSV or JSON export. When importing CSV, choose whether existing titles are skipped or updated.

CSV format

Title;Chapter;Link;Status;Type;Rating;Notes;CatalogID;IsAdult;ImagePath
My Manga;42;https://...;En cours;Webtoon;4;Great series;0;0;

Optional columns after Notes: CatalogID, IsAdult, ImagePath.

External format support

BookStorage can import from:

  • MyAnimeList (CSV export)
  • AniList (JSON / CSV export)

API Reference — Next: explore the REST API endpoints.

BookStorage Wiki

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