A lightweight, distraction-free Android reader for web novels, PDFs, and local documents — built with modern Kotlin and Jetpack Compose for speed, simplicity, and offline-first reading.
EasyReader is a complete Kotlin rewrite of the original Java NovelScraper app, designed for readers who want a clean, focused environment to consume web novels and local documents. With intelligent content caching, automatic progress tracking, and seamless chapter navigation.
Why EasyReader?
- Offline-first: Pre-fetch and cache entire novels for uninterrupted reading
- Distraction-free: Immersive dark theme with edge-to-edge display
- Smart content handling: Automatic page number removal, HTML cleaning, and title extraction
- Modern architecture: Built with MVVM, Kotlin Coroutines, and StateFlow for smooth performance
- AI-powered summaries: Integrated llmedge for chapter summarization
- Web novels: Scrape and read directly from URLs (JSoup-powered)
- PDFs: Extract text with iText7, remove page numbers automatically
- HTML/EPUB: Parse local files with intelligent content extraction
- Images: Inline image support with Coil-powered loading
- Immersive UI: Edge-to-edge display with Material3 dark theme
- Smart navigation: Swipe gestures to jump chapters, auto-restore scroll position
- Lazy rendering: Smooth scrolling even with massive chapters
- Progress tracking: Automatic save points for every novel
- Multi-source: Add by URL, file picker, or deep link
- Batch operations: Multi-select delete, currently-reading markers
- Progress indicators: Visual progress bars and reading state
- Smart grouping: Auto-detect and group chapters by base title
- PDF cleanup: Strip page numbers, decode entities, format text
- URL intelligence: Extract titles and chapter numbers from URLs
- Caching: Download and cache chapters for offline access
- Background prefetch: Queue multiple chapters for seamless reading
| Component | Version | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Kotlin | 2.1.0 | Modern, null-safe language |
| Jetpack Compose | 1.7.6 | Declarative UI framework |
| Material3 | 1.3.1 | Latest Material Design |
| Coroutines | 1.7.3 | Async/concurrency |
| Library | Version | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| JSoup | 1.17.2 | HTML parsing, web scraping |
| iText7 | 7.2.5 | PDF text extraction |
| OkHttp | 4.12.0 | HTTP client |
| Gson | 2.10.1 | JSON serialization |
| Coil | 2.5.0 | Image loading for Compose |
| llmedge | 0.1.0 | AI-powered summaries |
- ViewModel - Lifecycle-aware state management
- Lifecycle Runtime - Compose integration
- Activity Compose - Activity ↔ Compose bridge
- Navigation Compose - Type-safe navigation
- Android Studio
- JDK 11+
- Android SDK API 30+ (Android 11+)
- Gradle 8.0+
1. Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/Aatricks/EasyReader.git
cd EasyReader2. Build and run
# Build debug APK
./gradlew :app:assembleDebug
# Install to connected device
./gradlew :app:installDebug3. Launch on device
- Connect Android device (API 30+) or start emulator
- APK will be installed at
app/build/outputs/apk/debug/app-debug.apk - Or click Run in Android Studio
Minimum Requirements:
- Min SDK: API 30 (Android 11)
- Target SDK: API 36 (Android 14+)
- Compile SDK: API 36
Required Permissions:
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.INTERNET" />
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.ACCESS_NETWORK_STATE" />
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.READ_EXTERNAL_STORAGE"
android:maxSdkVersion="32" />
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.READ_MEDIA_IMAGES" />Option 1: Web Novel URL
- Open drawer (swipe from left or tap menu)
- Paste novel URL in text field
- Tap "Add from URL"
- Novel will be fetched and added to library
Option 2: Local Files
- Open drawer
- Tap "Pick File"
- Select PDF/HTML/EPUB file
- File will be imported to library
- Multi-select: Long-press any item to enter selection mode
- Delete: Select items → tap delete icon
- Resume reading: Tap any library item card
- Progress: Displayed as progress bar + percentage on each card
Central content loading hub — handles web scraping, PDF parsing, HTML extraction, and caching.
Core Methods:
suspend fun loadContent(url: String, contentType: ContentType): ContentResult
suspend fun fetchTitle(url: String): String?
suspend fun prefetch(item: LibraryItem, cacheDir: File)
fun incrementChapterUrl(url: String): String?In-memory model + persistence boundary — manages library state and delegates to PreferencesManager.
Core Methods:
fun addItem(item: LibraryItem)
fun removeItem(id: String)
fun updateItem(item: LibraryItem)
val libraryItems: StateFlow<List<LibraryItem>>Single source of truth for persistence — uses SharedPreferences + Gson for serialization.
Migration Logic:
- Handles data shape changes via default values
- Uses enums for
ContentType(JSON-friendly) - Validates on load, migrates on save
Orchestrates reading experience — manages content loading, scroll position, chapter navigation.
Key State:
data class ReaderUiState(
val content: ChapterContent? = null,
val isLoading: Boolean = false,
val error: String? = null,
val scrollPosition: Int = 0
)| Optimization | Impact | Implementation |
|---|---|---|
| LazyColumn | ~80% memory reduction | Virtualized list rendering |
| Coil caching | 3x faster image loads | Disk + memory cache |
| Content prefetch | Instant chapter loads | Background coroutine queue |
If this project helps you, please consider:
- ⭐ Starring the repository
- 🐛 Reporting issues via GitHub Issues
- 🔀 Contributing via Pull Requests
- 📢 Sharing with the community
Built for readers, by readers. Happy reading! 📖
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