# Kavita

> A reading server for manga, comics and ebooks, read in the browser

Category: Self hosted apps (https://aiarabicdev.com/self-hosted)
Canonical page: https://aiarabicdev.com/self-hosted/kavita
Tags: ebooks, manga, comics, reading, docker

Kavita scans folders of manga, comics, ebooks and PDFs and serves them through a web reader that works on a phone, a tablet or a desktop. It is GPL-3.0 licensed and light enough for a small server, with an optional paid add-on for extra metadata features.

## Facts

- Licence: GPL-3.0
- Language: C#
- Cost: Free core, paid tiers exist
- Self hostable: yes
- Added: 2026-10-25
- Last checked: 2026-10-25

## Links

- Website: https://www.kavitareader.com
- Source: https://github.com/Kareadita/Kavita
- Docs: https://wiki.kavitareader.com

## One library for everything you read

Kavita reads CBZ, CBR, EPUB and PDF files from folders you point it at, groups them into series, and remembers where each user stopped reading. The built-in reader handles right-to-left manga, webtoon style vertical scrolling and normal ebooks, so most people never need a separate app.

It suits someone who already has a pile of digital comics or books on a disk and wants to read them from any device in the house. Several users can share one server, each with their own progress, reading lists and access limited to certain libraries. It also speaks OPDS, so some e-reader apps can browse it directly.

## What running it costs

It is a single .NET application with an SQLite database, so a few hundred megabytes of RAM is normal for a home library. Storage is your book collection plus a cache of cover images. Back up the config folder, which holds the database and the reading progress of every user.

Keep it private on your home network or behind a VPN. Opening it to the internet means a login page in front of files you may not have the right to share. Scanning depends on a sensible folder structure, so expect to spend time renaming files the first time you import a messy collection.

## Reach for it when

- you have a folder of manga, comics or ebooks and want to read them anywhere
- several people in the house want their own reading progress
- you want something lighter than a full media server for reading

## Watch out for

- it expects a clean folder and file naming scheme, and messy collections import badly
- richer metadata and scrobbling to tracking sites sit behind the paid Kavita+ subscription
- it reads your files but does not edit their metadata, so fixes happen outside the app

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