Codex
A comic archive browser and reader.
<img src="codex/static_src/img/logo.svg" style="
height: 128px;
width: 128px;
border-radius: 128px;
" />
## <a name="features">✨ Features</a>
- Codex is a web server.
- Full text search of metadata and bookmarks.
- Filter and sort on all comic metadata and unread status per user.
- Browse a tree of publishers, imprints, series, volumes, or your own folder
hierarchy.
- Read comics in a variety of aspect ratios that fit your screen.
- Per user bookmarking. Per browser bookmarks even before you make an account.
- Watches the filesystem and automatically imports new or changed comics.
- Private Libraries accessible only to certain groups of users.
- Reads CBZ, CBR, CBT, and PDF formatted comics.
- Syndication with OPDS 1 & 2, streaming, search and authentication.
- Runs in 1GB of RAM, faster with more.
### Examples
- _Filter by_ Story Arc and Unread, _Order by_ Publish Date to create an event
reading list.
- _Filter by_ Unread and _Order by_ Added Time to see your latest unread comics.
- _Search by_ your favorite character to find their appearances across different
comics.
## <a name="demonstration">👀 Demonstration</a>
You may browse a [live demo server](https://codex.sl8r.net/) to get a feel for
Codex.
## <a name="news">📜 News</a>
Codex has a <a href="NEWS.md">NEWS file</a> to summarize changes that affect
users.
## <a name="installation">📦 Installation</a>
### Install & Run with Docker
Run the official [Docker Image](https://hub.docker.com/r/ajslater/codex).
Instructions for running the docker image are on the Docker Hub README. This is
the recommended way to run Codex.
You'll then want to read the [Administration](#administration) section of this
document.
### Install & Run as a Native Application
You can also run Codex as a natively installed python application with pip.
#### Wheel Build Dependencies
You'll need to install these system dependencies before installing Codex.
##### macOS
```sh
brew install jpeg libffi libyaml libzip openssl python unrar webp
```
##### Linux
###### <a href="#debian">Debian</a>
Like Ubuntu, Mint, MX and others.
```sh
apt install build-essential libffi-dev libjpeg-dev libssl-dev libwebp7 python3-pip zlib1g-dev
```
older releases may use the `libweb6` package instead.
###### Debian on ARM
The python cryptography wheel needs compiling on rare architectures. Install the
Rust compiler.
```sh
apt install cargo
```
###### Alpine
```sh
apk add bsd-compat-headers build-base jpeg-dev libffi-dev libwebp openssl-dev yaml-dev zlib-dev
```
##### Install unrar Runtime Dependency on Linux
Codex requires unrar to read cbr formatted comic archives. Unrar is often not
packaged for Linux, but here are some instructions:
[How to install unrar in Linux](https://www.unixtutorial.org/how-to-install-unrar-in-linux/)
Unrar as packaged for Alpine Linux v3.14 seems to work on Alpine v3.15
Codex will also prefer to use the `unrar-cffi` package it finds it installed,
this is not required.
#### Windows
Windows users should use Docker to run Codex until this documentation section is
complete.
Codex can _probably_ run using Cygwin or the Windows Linux Subsystem but I
haven't done it yet. Contributions to this documentation accepted on
[the outstanding issue](https://github.com/ajslater/codex/issues/76) or discord.
##### Windows Linux Subsystem
Untested. Try following the instructions for [Debian](#debian) above.
##### Cygwin
Untested partial instructions for the brave.
1. Install [Cygwin](https://www.cygwin.com/).
2. Install wget with cygwin.
3. Install:
- python3.9+
- gcc
- gcc-g++
- libffi-devel
- libjpeg-devel
- libssl-devel
- mpfr
- mpc
- python3-devel
- python39-cffi
- python3.9-openssl with cygwin.
4. Using a terminal:
```sh
pip install wheel
```
#### Install Codex with pip
You may now install Codex with pip
```sh
pip3 install codex
```
#### Run Codex Natively
pip should install the codex binary on your path. Run
```sh
codex
```
and then navigate to <http://localhost:9810/>
## <a name="administration">👑 Administration</a>
### Navigate to the Admin Panel
- Click the hamburger menu ☰ to open the browser settings drawer.
- Log in as the 'admin' user. The default administrator password is also
'admin'.
- Navigate to the Admin Panel by clicking on its link in the browser settings
drawer after you have logged in.
### Change the Admin password
The first thing you should do is log in as the admin user and change the admin
password.
- Navigate to the Admin Panel as described above.
- Select the Users tab.
- Change the admin user's password using the small lock button.
- You may also change the admin user's name with the edit button.
- You may create other users and grant them admin privileges by making them
staff.
### Add Comic Libraries
The second thing you will want to do is log in as an Administrator and add one
or more comic libraries.
- Navigate to the Admin Panel as described above.
- Select the Libraries tab in the Admin Panel
- Add a Library with the "+ LIBRARY" button in the upper left.
### Reset the admin password
If you forget all your superuser passwords, you may restore the original default
admin account by running codex with the `CODEX_RESET_ADMIN` environment variable
set.
```sh
CODEX_RESET_ADMIN=1 codex
```
or, if using Docker:
```sh
docker run -e CODEX_RESET_ADMIN=1 -v <host path to config>/config:/config ajslater/codex
```
### Private Libraries
In the Admin Panel you may configure private libraries that are only accessible
to specific groups.
A library with _no_ groups is accessible to every user including anonymous
users.
A library with _any_ groups is accessible only to users who are in those groups.
Use the Groups admin panel to create groups and the Users admin panel to add and
remove users to groups.
### PDFs
Codex only reads PDF metadata from the filename. If you decide to include PDFs
in your comic library, I recommend taking time to rename your files so Codex can
find some metadata. Codex recognizes several file naming schemes. This one has
good results:
`{series} v{volume} #{issue} {title} ({year}) {ignored}.pdf`
## <a name="configuration">🎛️ Configuration</a>
### Config Dir
The default config directory is `config/` directly under the working directory
you run codex from. You may specify an alternate config directory with the
environment variable `CODEX_CONFIG_DIR`.
The config directory contains a file named `hypercorn.toml` where you can
specify ports and bind addresses. If no `hypercorn.toml` is present Codex copies
a default one to that directory on startup.
The default values for the config options are:
```toml
bind = ["0.0.0.0:9810"]
quick_bind = ["0.0.0.0:9810"]
root_path = "/codex"
```
The config directory also holds the main sqlite database, the Whoosh search
index, a Django cache and comic book cover thumbnails.
### Environment Variables
- `LOGLEVEL` will change how verbose codex's logging is. Valid values are
`ERROR`, `WARNING`, `INFO`, `DEBUG`. The default is `INFO`.
- `TIMEZONE` or `TZ` will explicitly the timezone in long format (e.g.
`"America/Los Angeles"`). This is useful inside Docker because codex cannot
automatically detect the host machine's timezone.
- `CODEX_CONFIG_DIR` will set the path to codex config directory. Defaults to
`$CWD/config`
- `CODEX_RESET_ADMIN=1` will reset the admin user and its password to defaults
when codex starts.
- `CODEX_SKIP_INTEGRITY_CHECK=1` will skip the database integrity repair that
runs when codex starts.
- `CODEX_LOG_DIR` sets a custom directory for saving logfiles. Defaults to
`$CODEX_CONFIG_DIR/logs`
- `CODEX_LOG_TO_FILE=0` will not log to files.
- `CODEX_LOG_TO_CONSOLE=0` will not log to the console.
### Reverse Proxy
[nginx](https://nginx.org/) is often used as a TLS terminator and subpath proxy.
Here's an example nginx config with a subpath named '/codex'.
```nginx
# HTTP
proxy_set_header Host $http_host;
proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Host $server_name;
proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Port $server_port;
proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
proxy_set_header X-Scheme $scheme;
# Websockets
proxy_http_version 1.1;
proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
proxy_set_header Connection "Upgrade"
# This example uses a docker container named 'codex' at sub-path /codex
# Use a valid IP or resolvable host name for other configurations.
location /codex {
proxy_pass http://codex:9810;
# Codex reads http basic authentication.
# If the nginx credentials are different than codex credentials use this line to
# not forward the authorization.
proxy_set_header Authorization "";
}
```
Specify a reverse proxy sub path (if you have one) in `config/hypercorn.toml`
```toml
root_path = "/codex"
```
#### Nginx Reverse Proxy 502 when container refreshes
Nginx requires a special trick to refresh dns when linked Docker containers
recreate. See this
[nginx with dynamix upstreams](https://tenzer.dk/nginx-with-dynamic-upstreams/)
article.
### Restricted Memory Environments
Codex can run with as little as 1GB available RAM. Large batch jobs –like
importing and indexing tens of thousands of comics at once– will run faster the
more memory is available to Codex. The biggest gains in speed happen when you
increase memory up to about 6GB. Codex batch jobs do get faster the more memory
you give it above 6GB, but there are diminishing returns.
If you run Codex in an admin restricted memory environment you might want to
temporarily give codex a lot of memory to run a very large batch job and then
restrict it for normal operation.
## <a name="usage">📖 Usage</a>
### 👤 Sessions & Accounts
Once your administrator has added some comic libraries, you may browse and read
comics. Codex will remember your preferences, bookmarks and progress in the
browser session. Codex destroys anonymous sessions and bookmarks after 60 days.
To preserve these settings across browsers and after sessions expire, you may
register an account with a username and password. You will have to contact your
administrator to reset your password if you forget it.
### 🗝️ API with Key Access
Codex has a limited number of API endpoints available with API Key Access. The
API Key is available on the admin/stats tab.
### ᯤ OPDS
Codex supports OPDS syndication and OPDS streaming. You may find the OPDS url in
the side drawer. It should take the form:
`http(s)://host.tld(:9810)(/root_path)/opds/v1.2/`
or
`http(s)://host.tld(:9810)(/root_path)/opds/v2.0/`
OPDS 2.0 support is experimental and not widely or well supported by clients.
OPDS 2.0 book readers exist, but I am not yet aware of an OPDS 2.0 comic reader.
#### Clients
- iOS has [Panels](https://panels.app/), [KYBook 3](http://kybook-reader.com/),
and
[Chunky Comic Reader](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/chunky-comic-reader/id663567628)
- Android has
[Moon+](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.flyersoft.moonreader)
and
[Librera](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.foobnix.pdf.reader)
#### HTTP Basic Authentication
If you wish to access OPDS as your Codex User. You will have to add your
username and password to the URL. Some OPDS clients do not asssist you with
authentication. In that case the OPDS url will look like:
`http(s)://username:password@host.tld(:9810)(/root_path)/opds/v1.2/`
#### Supported OPDS Specifications
- [OPDS 1.2](https://specs.opds.io/opds-1.2.html)
- [OPDS-PSE 1.2](https://github.com/anansi-project/opds-pse/blob/master/v1.2.md)
- [OPDS Authentication 1.0](https://drafts.opds.io/authentication-for-opds-1.0.html)
- [OpenSearch 1.1](https://github.com/dewitt/opensearch)
## <a name="troubleshooting">🩺 Troubleshooting</a>
### 📒 Logs
Codex collects its logs in the `config/logs` directory. Take a look to see what
th e server is doing.
You can change how much codex logs by setting the `LOGLEVEL` environment
variable. By default this level is `INFO`. To see more verbose messages, run
codex like:
```bash
LOGLEVEL=DEBUG codex
```
### Watching Filesystem Events with Docker
Codex tries to watch for filesystem events to instantly update your comic
libraries when they change on disk. But these native filesystem events are not
translated between macOS & Windows Docker hosts and the Docker Linux container.
If you find that your installation is not updating to filesystem changes
instantly, you might try enabling polling for the affected libraries and
decreasing the `poll_every` value in the Admin console to a frequency that suits
you.
### Emergency Database Repair
If the database becomes corrupt, Codex includes a facitlity to rebuild the
database. Place a file named `rebuild_db` in your Codex config directory like
so:
```sh
touch config/rebuild_db
```
Shut down and restart Codex.
The next time Codex starts it will back up the existing database and try to
rebuild it. The database lives in the config directory as the file
`config/db.sqlite3`. If this procedure goes kablooey, you may recover the
original database at `config/db.sqlite3.backup`.
## <a name="alternatives-to-codex">📚Alternatives</a>
- [Kavita](https://www.kavitareader.com/) has light metadata filtering/editing,
supports comics, eBooks, and features for manga.
- [Komga](https://komga.org/) has light metadata editing.
- [Ubooquity](https://vaemendis.net/ubooquity/) reads both comics and eBooks.
- [Mylar](https://github.com/mylar3/mylar3) is the best comic book manager which
also has a built in reader.
- [Comictagger](https://github.com/comictagger/comictagger) is a comic metadata
editor. It comes with a powerful command line and desktop GUI.
## <a name="contributing">🤝 Contributing</a>
### <a name="bug_reports">🐛 Bug Reports</a>
Issues and feature requests are best filed on the
[Github issue tracker](https://github.com/ajslater/codex/issues).
### <a name="out-of-scope">🚫 Out of Scope</a>
- I have no intention of making this an eBook reader.
- I think metadata editing would be better placed in a comic manager than a
reader.
### <a name="develop-codex">🛠 Develop</a>
Codex is a Django Python webserver with a VueJS front end.
`/codex/codex/` is the main django app which provides the webserver and
database.
`/codex/frontend/` is where the vuejs frontend lives.
Most of Codex development is now controlled through the Makefile. Type `make`
for a list of commands.
## <a name="discord">💬 Support</a>
By the generosity of the good people of
[Mylar](https://github.com/mylar3/mylar3), I and other Codex users answer
questions on the [Mylar Discord](https://discord.gg/6UG94R7E8T). Please use the
`#codex-support` channel to ask for help with Codex.
## <a name="links">🔗 Links</a>
- [Docker Image](https://hub.docker.com/r/ajslater/codex)
- [PyPi Package](https://pypi.org/project/codex/)
- [GitHub Project](https://github.com/ajslater/codex/)
## <a name="special-thanks">🙏🏻 Special Thanks</a>
- Thanks to [Aurélien Mazurie](https://pypi.org/user/ajmazurie/) for allowing me
to use the PyPi name 'codex'.
- Thanks to the good people of
[#mylar](https://github.com/mylar3/mylar3#live-support--conversation) for
continuous feedback and comic ecosystem education.
## <a name="enjoy">😊 Enjoy</a>
