7 ms·

Foliate – A simple and modern eBook viewer for Linux desktops

INeedMoreRam 4y ago
I've been using Calibre on all my devices for years and have hundreds of books annotated. Why would I switch to Foliate?
- forgotpwd16 4y ago
  Calibre is an e-book management and viewer and editor app with numerous features. Foliate is a minimal (design-wise) viewer with an elementary library. If Calibre works for you then you shouldn't because they aren't really comparable.
- noelbautista91 4y ago
  Not OP, I haven't used Foliate either. Calibre UI is unappealing and too complex. Sometimes you just need a library of books without the clutter. Foliate looks simpler to use, but for some reason it doesn't allow bulk imports.
  - sidmitra 4y ago
    There is calibre-web[1] which some might prefer. [1] https://github.com/janeczku/calibre-web https://github.com/janeczku/calibre-web
  - forgotpwd16 4y ago
    >doesn't allow bulk imports Can drag-and-drop multiple epubs to library view and will be added (but directories raise an error). Can search 'epub' on file manager instead if files are spread in subdirectories.
- sidmitra 4y ago
  Are you also able to access/browse your Calibre library on your phone? And what about your annotations? Currently i'm resisting not using annotations, because while i manager books on my laptop, i read them on a e-ink android tablet(Onyx air). I would want my annotations to sync two ways if possible.
- dorfsmay 4y ago
  For me personally: - Foliate looks better and is easier to read than Calibre - Foliate opens the file o ask it to open and that's it, while Calibre starts to browse to all my folders and index every pdf and Epub file accessible from my laptop!
jdlyga 4y ago
Foliate is excellent! I even got it working through WSL on Windows. I use it for O’Reilly books and other epub books. It’s much easier to reach books as an epub than a pdf since the text, etc adapt to your screen. The problem was historically that epub viewers were generally bad on desktop.
- nicolaslem 4y ago
  I can confirm that Foliate is miles ahead of the default Gnome reader.
- redacted 4y ago
  If anyone is interested in using Foliate through WSL, https://opticos.github.io/openinwsl/ https://opticos.github.io/openinwsl/ is great - it lets you double-click a file in Windows, then Foliate in WSL2 launches to view it
garyfirestorm 4y ago
Is there something similar for macOS and iPadOS? All 3rd party epub readers on my iPad are substandard.
- worldsavior 4y ago
  You can import epubs in apple books. At least in macos.
  - 8b16380d 4y ago
    You can in iOS as well.
- AlanYx 4y ago
  For macOS, there's Thorium Reader. I agree that there's no really good 3rd party reader for iOS that's actively maintained.
- yamtaddle 4y ago
  Apple Books recently got a little worse but it's still the only non-eink way to read ebooks that I find tolerable enough to actually use. There is also a Mac version. Adding an epub to one will sync it to the other, and your reading progress will sync across all device (phone, tablet, computer), if you use iCloud.
blueflow 4y ago
A javascript codebase bundled with a webkit browser - is this like Electron, but lite?
- abbe98 4y ago
  GJS would be SpiderMonkey+GTK so no actual browser rendering is available until one pull in something like Webkit.
- paol 4y ago
  Ebooks are basically HTML, so this is one case where bundling a browser engine is going to be necessary in any case.
  - nsonha 4y ago
    does it need a js engine though?
    - forgotpwd16 4y ago
      App is written in JS and uses a JS library to render epub in the browser, how else could it work?
      - nsonha 4y ago
        NOT "written in JS and use a JS lib"?
        forgotpwd16 4y ago
        So you've some kind of problem with the implementation language? Because then you can say the same about any other. "Does it need to be written in Python?" "Does it need to be written in Rust?" What's even the point?
        nsonha 4y ago
yoavm 4y ago
While it's a little slow due to WebKit and JS probably, I'm using Foliate on my Kobo Clara HD with PostmarketOS and it does the job!
asicsp 4y ago
Foliate works great for reading fiction. Customization for theme, font, etc, were nice. I use Atril Document Viewer for technical epubs though - feels much like viewing a PDF.
- ObscureScience 4y ago
  I got kind of annoyed that the headings are not part of the color schemes, and for me they always stay dark red, which is pretty unreadable in dark themes and looks bad in many light ones. Using the flatpak version.
  - asicsp 4y ago
    I'd suggest opening an issue, post some screenshots and indicate what might help your case.
ognarb 4y ago
Great app, so great that I have reused an huge part of the code base in Arrianna. A KDE/Qt epub reader: https://invent.kde.org/graphics/arianna https://invent.kde.org/graphics/arianna (the readme is currently empty as I am polishing the library feature)
abbe98 4y ago
Works great on Linux mobiles/tablets as well.
intelkishan 4y ago
Does it support EPUB3?
- teh_klev 4y ago
  Yes. From their repo README: https://github.com/johnfactotum/foliate https://github.com/johnfactotum/foliate Supported formats: - EPUB (.epub, .epub3) - Kindle (.azw, .azw3) and Mobipocket (.mobi) - FictionBook (.fb2, .fb2.zip) - Comic book archive (.cbr, .cbz, .cbt, .cb7) - Plain text (.txt)
throwaway5939 4y ago
I don't normally comment on HN, but this topic is something I've got a strong opinion on. I use Foliate to read epub's, but I've got one massive peeve with ALL e-readers. I'd really, really like for an option that tells the e-reader not to modify my epub. I don't use annotations, I really don't need the e-reader to bookmark where I've stopped reading. Just don't write over my epub!
- freewizard 4y ago
  Hmm, I mostly use Calibre for epub reading, and was not aware of it writes bookmark back to epub itself. Do you mean some e-ink reader updates .epub whenever you add bookmark? That seems an odd implementation.
  - throwaway5939 4y ago
    I'm not sure what gets modified, but I've stopped using the Calibre epub-reader because I found that everytime I've read a book, my rsync backup script found changes in the epub. I once checked in the epub (it's a zipfile after all) and there seems to be an extra file added. Removing that solves the issue. It was a long time ago, I can't remember details. Now I just copy my epub's to a temporary file before reading.
    - Sprocklem 4y ago
      FWIW, there is a setting to make Calibre's reader to save its bookmarks file outside the epub. I think the setting needed to be set in the reader itself.
- bentley 4y ago
  If you chmod the epub file to read‐only, does the program lose the ability to annotate or save your place?
SkyMarshal 4y ago
> Coded with mild annoyance by John Factotum Keeping it real, made me lol.

I've been using Calibre on all my devices for years and have hundreds of books annotated. Why would I switch to Foliate?

forgotpwd16 4y ago
Calibre is an e-book management and viewer and editor app with numerous features. Foliate is a minimal (design-wise) viewer with an elementary library. If Calibre works for you then you shouldn't because they aren't really comparable.
noelbautista91 4y ago
Not OP, I haven't used Foliate either. Calibre UI is unappealing and too complex. Sometimes you just need a library of books without the clutter. Foliate looks simpler to use, but for some reason it doesn't allow bulk imports.
- sidmitra 4y ago
  There is calibre-web[1] which some might prefer. [1] https://github.com/janeczku/calibre-web https://github.com/janeczku/calibre-web
- forgotpwd16 4y ago
  >doesn't allow bulk imports Can drag-and-drop multiple epubs to library view and will be added (but directories raise an error). Can search 'epub' on file manager instead if files are spread in subdirectories.
sidmitra 4y ago
Are you also able to access/browse your Calibre library on your phone? And what about your annotations? Currently i'm resisting not using annotations, because while i manager books on my laptop, i read them on a e-ink android tablet(Onyx air). I would want my annotations to sync two ways if possible.
dorfsmay 4y ago
For me personally: - Foliate looks better and is easier to read than Calibre - Foliate opens the file o ask it to open and that's it, while Calibre starts to browse to all my folders and index every pdf and Epub file accessible from my laptop!

jdlyga 4y ago

Foliate is excellent! I even got it working through WSL on Windows. I use it for O’Reilly books and other epub books. It’s much easier to reach books as an epub than a pdf since the text, etc adapt to your screen. The problem was historically that epub viewers were generally bad on desktop.

nicolaslem 4y ago
I can confirm that Foliate is miles ahead of the default Gnome reader.
redacted 4y ago
If anyone is interested in using Foliate through WSL, https://opticos.github.io/openinwsl/ https://opticos.github.io/openinwsl/ is great - it lets you double-click a file in Windows, then Foliate in WSL2 launches to view it

garyfirestorm 4y ago

Is there something similar for macOS and iPadOS? All 3rd party epub readers on my iPad are substandard.

worldsavior 4y ago
You can import epubs in apple books. At least in macos.
- 8b16380d 4y ago
  You can in iOS as well.
AlanYx 4y ago
For macOS, there's Thorium Reader. I agree that there's no really good 3rd party reader for iOS that's actively maintained.
yamtaddle 4y ago
Apple Books recently got a little worse but it's still the only non-eink way to read ebooks that I find tolerable enough to actually use. There is also a Mac version. Adding an epub to one will sync it to the other, and your reading progress will sync across all device (phone, tablet, computer), if you use iCloud.

blueflow 4y ago

A javascript codebase bundled with a webkit browser - is this like Electron, but lite?

abbe98 4y ago
GJS would be SpiderMonkey+GTK so no actual browser rendering is available until one pull in something like Webkit.
paol 4y ago
Ebooks are basically HTML, so this is one case where bundling a browser engine is going to be necessary in any case.
- nsonha 4y ago
  does it need a js engine though?
  - forgotpwd16 4y ago
    App is written in JS and uses a JS library to render epub in the browser, how else could it work?
    - nsonha 4y ago
      NOT "written in JS and use a JS lib"?
      - forgotpwd16 4y ago
        So you've some kind of problem with the implementation language? Because then you can say the same about any other. "Does it need to be written in Python?" "Does it need to be written in Rust?" What's even the point?
        nsonha 4y ago

yoavm 4y ago

While it's a little slow due to WebKit and JS probably, I'm using Foliate on my Kobo Clara HD with PostmarketOS and it does the job!

asicsp 4y ago

Foliate works great for reading fiction. Customization for theme, font, etc, were nice. I use Atril Document Viewer for technical epubs though - feels much like viewing a PDF.

ObscureScience 4y ago
I got kind of annoyed that the headings are not part of the color schemes, and for me they always stay dark red, which is pretty unreadable in dark themes and looks bad in many light ones. Using the flatpak version.
- asicsp 4y ago
  I'd suggest opening an issue, post some screenshots and indicate what might help your case.

ognarb 4y ago

Great app, so great that I have reused an huge part of the code base in Arrianna. A KDE/Qt epub reader: https://invent.kde.org/graphics/arianna https://invent.kde.org/graphics/arianna (the readme is currently empty as I am polishing the library feature)

abbe98 4y ago

Works great on Linux mobiles/tablets as well.

intelkishan 4y ago

Does it support EPUB3?

teh_klev 4y ago
Yes. From their repo README: https://github.com/johnfactotum/foliate https://github.com/johnfactotum/foliate Supported formats: - EPUB (.epub, .epub3) - Kindle (.azw, .azw3) and Mobipocket (.mobi) - FictionBook (.fb2, .fb2.zip) - Comic book archive (.cbr, .cbz, .cbt, .cb7) - Plain text (.txt)

throwaway5939 4y ago

I don't normally comment on HN, but this topic is something I've got a strong opinion on. I use Foliate to read epub's, but I've got one massive peeve with ALL e-readers. I'd really, really like for an option that tells the e-reader not to modify my epub. I don't use annotations, I really don't need the e-reader to bookmark where I've stopped reading. Just don't write over my epub!

freewizard 4y ago
Hmm, I mostly use Calibre for epub reading, and was not aware of it writes bookmark back to epub itself. Do you mean some e-ink reader updates .epub whenever you add bookmark? That seems an odd implementation.
- throwaway5939 4y ago
  I'm not sure what gets modified, but I've stopped using the Calibre epub-reader because I found that everytime I've read a book, my rsync backup script found changes in the epub. I once checked in the epub (it's a zipfile after all) and there seems to be an extra file added. Removing that solves the issue. It was a long time ago, I can't remember details. Now I just copy my epub's to a temporary file before reading.
  - Sprocklem 4y ago
    FWIW, there is a setting to make Calibre's reader to save its bookmarks file outside the epub. I think the setting needed to be set in the reader itself.
bentley 4y ago
If you chmod the epub file to read‐only, does the program lose the ability to annotate or save your place?

SkyMarshal 4y ago

> Coded with mild annoyance by John Factotum Keeping it real, made me lol.