ebook

A lightweight, server-hosted ebook reader with a Vue frontend, a PocketBase-based backend, and multi-device reading over the network.

Deployment

Docker Hub image

The published image currently supports linux/amd64:

docker run -d \
  --name ebook-reader \
  --restart unless-stopped \
  -p 18094:18093 \
  -v ebook-reader-data:/app/pb_data \
  uzqw/ebook:latest

Open http://127.0.0.1:18094. On first start the container automatically creates the PocketBase schema and the default accounts shown below; no separate bootstrap command is required.

Upgrade without losing books or reading data:

docker pull uzqw/ebook:latest
docker rm -f ebook-reader
docker run -d --name ebook-reader --restart unless-stopped \
  -p 18094:18093 -v ebook-reader-data:/app/pb_data uzqw/ebook:latest

Build from source

A Linux host only needs Docker with Compose v2 and make:

git clone https://github.com/uzqw/ebook.git
cd ebook
make deploy

The command creates .env when missing, builds the image, and starts the app at http://127.0.0.1:18094. Review the generated .env credentials before exposing that port publicly. Set DOCKER_HOST_PORT to use another host port.

Deployment stores PocketBase data under ${APP_DATA_ROOT}/ebook-reader/pb_data. Set APP_DATA_ROOT to an absolute application data root, or leave it unset to use the XDG user default:

${XDG_DATA_HOME:-$HOME/.local/share}/uzqw/apps

The deployment path resolver rejects repository-local and unsafe roots. Path parameterization does not migrate existing data; follow the migration runbook before deploying against a new data directory.

For local development, run the foreground services with:

task setup
task doctor
task dev

The backend initializes missing collections and default accounts automatically. task bootstrap remains available to reconcile schema changes manually.

Default local backend address:

http://127.0.0.1:8090

Platform-managed HTTPS

The Docker image serves HTTP; configure HTTPS in your own Caddy, Nginx, or other reverse proxy. The local platform deployment's https://${PLATFORM_HOST}:18094 endpoint uses Caddy's internal CA. Every client must trust the gateway's root CA; merely bypassing the browser warning for one leaf certificate is not sufficient. Caddy rotates its default 12-hour leaf certificates, and an untrusted replacement makes in-page requests fail with Failed to fetch until a top-level navigation handles the certificate again.

For the local platform deployment, download the public root certificate over the non-TLS gateway endpoint, install it in the client operating system, and restart the browser:

curl http://${PLATFORM_HOST}:18089/caddy-local-root.crt \
  -o caddy-local-root.crt

Install it on Arch/Manjaro Linux:

sudo trust anchor --store caddy-local-root.crt
sudo update-ca-trust

Or on Debian/Ubuntu Linux:

sudo install -m 0644 caddy-local-root.crt \
  /usr/local/share/ca-certificates/caddy-local-root.crt
sudo update-ca-certificates

Fully quit and reopen the browser after changing the trust store. See the platform ACCESS.md for macOS, Fedora/RHEL, Chrome/Chromium NSS, and Firefox instructions. Preserve the platform Caddy data directory; replacing it creates a new root CA that must be installed on every client again.

Features

• PocketBase-based authentication and file storage.
• Upload, parse, list, and delete PDF, EPUB, and MOBI books.
• Page image rendering and extracted page text for reading.
• Bookmarks, notes, reading progress, and per-book metadata.
• Shared reading state across devices through one deployed backend.

Development

Requirements:

• Go
• Node.js and npm
• Task

Useful commands:

task setup       # install locked frontend and Go dependencies
task doctor      # check the runtime environment without modifying it
task dev         # run the frontend and backend in the foreground
task bootstrap   # create collections and demo users
task fmt:check   # verify frontend and Go formatting
task lint        # run frontend, shell, and Go linters
task typecheck   # run frontend type checking
task test        # run frontend and backend tests
task build       # build production frontend and backend artifacts
task config      # validate manifest and merged Compose configuration
task check       # run all checks above in the documented order
task deploy:down # stop deployment without deleting persistent data
task deploy:logs # show deployment logs

Default accounts created on first startup:

User:  demo@e.co  / demo1234
Admin: admin@e.co / admin123

Change these credentials before exposing the service publicly. Existing accounts and an existing .env are not changed automatically.

Repository layout

src/                         Vue frontend
backend/cmd/ebook-pocketbase PocketBase Go extension
pb_hooks/                    PocketBase hooks
scripts/                     bootstrap and container scripts
fonts/                       required CJK font asset for EPUB rendering

Repository hygiene

This repository intentionally excludes or ignores:

• PocketBase runtime data under .local/ and backend/pb_data/
• Local environment files such as .env
• Build outputs such as dist/
• Dependency directories such as node_modules/
• Local agent/runtime metadata such as .omx/, .agents/, and omx_wiki/
• Generated backend binary outputs

Font asset

fonts/DroidSansFallback.ttf is kept in the repository because EPUB/CJK rendering depends on it for consistent output across devices.