3. Usage

Usage

Navigating the Four Storefront Sections

The UI is built around four dedicated dialogs:

1. Plugins Browser (Storefront · Plugins)

   • Lists repositories tagged as KOReader plugins.
   • Actions per entry: Install / Update / Remove, View README, open detail dialogs with description, stars, last updated timestamp, and repo owner.
   • Toolbar actions: switch to patches tab, refresh cache, adjust filters (search text, owner, minimum stars), change sorting (stars desc/asc, updated, name), and jump into the installed plugins page.
   • Gear icon (⚙️): Access settings including Install plugin from URL to manually install plugins by entering GitHub owner/repo.

   

2. Patches Browser (Storefront · Patches)

   • Lists repositories tagged as KOReader user patches and enumerates files matching ^[number]-*.lua.
   • Actions per patch: Install patch, retry downloads, or open the repo README for full instructions.
   • Toolbar actions: mirror the plugin tab plus shortcuts to the installed patches page and a "matching patch" banner when reconciling installed files with remote entries.
   • Gear icon (⚙️): Access settings including Install patch from URL to manually install patches by entering GitHub owner/repo.

   

3. Installed

   • Summarizes every installed plugin, both linked (matched with a repository) and unlinked.
   • Actions: Check all updates, toggle between "Only outdated" and "Show all plugins," and jump straight back to the Plugins browser.
   • Each row shows the local version, cached remote version/SHA (for linked plugins), last checked timestamp, and provides Update or Reinstall buttons when differences are detected.
   • Per-plugin actions: Disable/Enable, Delete, Match from List or Match with URL (for unlinked plugins), Unlink the repo (for linked plugins).

   

4. Updates

• Shows the list of plugin or patch updates available

Typical Workflow

1. Open KOReader → Tools → Storefront (or trigger an assigned gesture mapped to Storefront: Open).

2. Pick Plugins or Patches tab. Use the filter dialog to narrow by owner, name, topics, or star threshold.

   

3. Tap an entry for a quick action menu. Choosing Install downloads the repo ZIP (/zipball/<ref>), extracts it to a temp folder, validates _meta.lua, then copies it to data/plugins/<name>.koplugin.

4. After installation, KOReader prompts for a restart so the new plugin becomes available in the Tools menu.

5. For patches, selecting an item downloads the raw .lua file from the default branch and stores it under data/patches/ while retaining the numbered filename used for KOReader’s patch loader.

6. Return anytime to the Updates dialogs to check for newer commits. The plugin compares cached SHAs with the installed files and highlights items needing attention.

Versions Tab

The Versions tab provides a comprehensive view of all published releases for any plugin or user patch directly from the repository details page.

• View all releases – See a list of every version, including pre‑releases and beta builds.
• Version details – Tap a version to open a full‑screen page showing its release notes, release date, and full version information.
• Install any version – Install the latest release, an older version, or a pre‑release with a single tap.
• Ignore releases – Mark specific versions to ignore so update notifications skip them; an eye icon indicates ignored vs. active versions.
• Pre‑release toggle – Quickly show or hide pre‑release and beta versions in the list.

The list supports pagination, allowing you to navigate through many releases efficiently.

Cache & Offline Behavior

• The browser always reads from the cache first, keeping scrolling smooth even when the network is slow.
• When cached data is older than 7 days or there is no cache, the plugin reminds you to trigger Refresh cache.

Non-touch devices (Kindle 4 NT, Kindle Keyboard, …)

The Storefront plugin is not tested with non-touch devices. If you want full non-touch support, use the appstore instead.