KOReader 2026.07 “Sailing Walrus”

August 1, 2026 at 11:21 · Filed under Software

As one of the maintainers of KOReader, a versatile a document and image viewer, I’m proud to announce the latest release.

It’s been about four months since the previous release, so it’s about time, isn’t it? One very interesting addition is background cleanup for PDFs with Mask and SMask, which is technobabble for backgrounds (particularly in Archive.org PDFs, #15401). It means you might not need preprocessing to be able to open them on your ereader without having to be fairly patient when turning pages, though the usual warnings apply: backgrounds are not just the yellowish color of paper, but they might also contain most of the non-textual content, if any.

Kobo v5 support was finally merged (#12401), and will also reach the nightly builds server soon. There’s also new or improved support for the PocketBook Era Lite, reMarkable Paper Pure, newer Onyx Android devices, and some Kindle models.

The hotkeys plugin now supports single-key shortcuts (#14867), and speaking of plugins, there is now built-in support to delete them (#15240).

SyncService is replaced by the new Cloud storage plugin (#15210). It supports uploading, downloading, and deleting selected files, configurable servers and upload folders, natural sorting, and improved WebDAV handling.

And last but not least, there’s now OPDS 2.0 basic support (#15696).

This month’s logo was contributed by @thunder_clud.

We’d like to thank all contributors for their efforts. Some highlights since the previous release include:

[doc] Add DataStorage developer docs (#15121) @TechnoCode44
linux: fix metadata to match our flatpak package (#15126) @benoit-pierre
otamanager: honor http proxy (#15131) @benoit-pierre
[Kindle] fix setting absolute warmth without breaking incremental settings (#13344) @mergen3107
tools: fix update-metadata (#15132) @benoit-pierre
Export highlights: filters (#15003) @hius07
Fix sdl3 lib path in nix shell (#15142) @j-v
Footnote popup: add option to justify (or not) text (#15129) @poire-z
[HtmlBoxWidget, DictQuickLookup] add capability to search within dictionary definitions (#15001) @Commodore64user
Bookmark browser: default book source (#15143) @hius07
bump base (#15153) @benoit-pierre
- libarchive: ensure FFI cdecls are the same on all platforms (koreader/koreader-base#2305)
pocketbook: inkview handling rework (#15087) @benoit-pierre
bump crengine: support ::first-line, COLRv0 fonts, CHM and CSS fixes (#15155) @poire-z
Includes:
- koreader/crengine#656
  - CHM: improve Chinese encoding handling
    Closes #15079.
- koreader/crengine#653
  - renderFinalBlock(): fix background color propagation among inlines
  - first-letter: resets some CSS, ignore invisible, stop on <br/>
  - CSS: support for pseudo element ::first-line
    Closes #14391.
  - CSS: add support for float/clear: inline-start/inline-end
- koreader/crengine#654
  - lvfntman, lvdrawbuf: add COLR v0 color font rendering support
Also add style tweaks to disable first-letter and first-line.
css_tweaks: fix typo in Disable first-line tweak name (#15161) @poire-z
bump base (#15172) @benoit-pierre
- pocketbook: rework the inkview handling rework… (koreader/koreader-base#2307, close #15156)
- fi/util: prevent util.runInSubProcess children from running atexit handlers (koreader/koreader-base#2308, close #15167)
ReaderStatus: fix End of Document status change (#15159) @hius07
coverimage: only update on rotation if rotate image enabled (#15179) @liskin
Cloud storage+ (#15150) @hius07
[DictQuickLookup] detection and key-event injection for SDL devices (#15158) @Commodore64user
Collections update (#15175, #15193) @hius07
File browser: fix “Folders and files mixed” menu item (#15202) @hius07
bugfix: check for current directory in webdav listing (#15192) @rolurq
SyncService is replaced by Cloud storage plugin (#15210) @hius07
pocketbook: drop redundant trace (#15222) @benoit-pierre
Status bars: fix showing additional content (#15218) @hius07
feat: add alternative mime type for fb2 (#15231) @legokol
Book status: reset rating (#15227) @hius07
Cloud storage: default server (#15226) @hius07
PluginLoader: use directory name for enabled/disabled, deprecate metadata name (#15096) @Frenzie
Feature: Implement the ability to delete plugins (#15240) @Saterz
[MultiInputDialog] split password field and checkbox (#15234) @Commodore64user
Cloud storage: upload selected files (#15243) @hius07
[Android] Bump luajit-launcher (#15251) @Frenzie
- EventReceiver: use Unix domain sockets instead of mkfifo() koreader/android-luajit-launcher#580
- Fix Crema Soundup menu flickering due to unsupported GLR16 waveform koreader/android-luajit-launcher#582
- Add support for ONYX_GO7 device ID koreader/android-luajit-launcher#584
- Add ONYX_PALMA2_PRO to color device IDs koreader/android-luajit-launcher#588
ReaderBookmark, BookmarkBrowser: unified bookmark details window (#15250) @hius07
InputText: delete selection; undo last deletion (#15238) @hius07
Fix language matching logic (#15267) @PauLuke
fix(pocketbook): Networking and DNS resolution during early boot (#15244) @ananyatimalsina
macos: tweak release 7z name (#15284) @benoit-pierre
Minor Wikipedia & highlighting fixes, add “Toggle hanging punctuation” to dispatcher (#15285) @poire-z
Profiles: keep settings in the base class (#15270) @hius07
Cloud storage: keep settings in the base class (#15274) @hius07
OPDS: load settings when needed only (#15283) @hius07
Add python to shell.nix (#15296) @RoadRoller01
vocabbuilder.koplugin: Add ‘forgot’ button in “Vocabulary exists” popup window (#15297) @weijiuqiao
handle multiple args in common/koreader.sh (#15271) @liskin
Read timer: start action, expiry message (#15289) @hius07
UI: Capitalize Bulgarian language name in language menu (#15303) @d0nizam
[KeyValuePage] Fix keyboard hold events targeting wrong item (#15305) @Commodore64user
MoveToArchive: load settings when needed only (#15302) @hius07
bump base (#15308) @benoit-pierre
- feat: Kindle: add uevent listener for input device hotplug (koreader/koreader-base#2327)
- ffi/util,SDL3: stop SDL3 gamepad thread around fork() to fix Linux UI freeze (koreader/koreader-base#2332)
bump crengine: MOBI and CSS fixes ; add getNearestWordFromPosition() (#15310) @poire-z

bump crengine: MOBI and CSS fixes

Includes:
- koreader/crengine#661
  - pdbfmt: don’t overwrite extracted metadata
  - pdbfmt: extract more metadata from MOBI EXTH
  - pdbfmt: extract MOBI non-EXTH title if necessary
- koreader/crengine#662
  - CSS first-line: fix possible crash
  - CSS width: fit-content: account for the element padding
  - getNodeByPoint(): improve fallback check
cre.cpp: add getNearestWordFromPosition()

Useful for improve text selection using DPAD/arrow keys.
Requested along koreader/crengine#659.
[PocketBook] Respect input_ignore_gsensor setting (#15304) @jannickfahlbusch
[doc] Add IconWidget developer docs (#15253) (#15276) @TechnoCode44
Feature: Add a two different submenus for built-in and user plugins (#15245) @Saterz
plugins: avoid legacy use of double quoted sqlite strings (#15318) @benoit-pierre
BookStatusWidget: improve note gesture handling (#15311) @Frenzie
[Hotkeys] add single-key shortcuts (#14867) @Commodore64user
Gestures: keep settings in the base class (#15278) @hius07
DocSettings: fix moving doc setting to ‘hash’ location (#15319) @hius07
Collections: fix renaming folder (#15320) @hius07
KOSync: optionally send document metadata with progress sync (#15306) @nperez0111
Feat: KS3 & KSC support (#15256) @ThatHackerDudeFromCyberspace
Book metadata archive (#15264) @hius07
Book metadata archive: ‘restore from archive’ wording (#15326) @hius07
feat: ExternalKeyboard: allow plugin to load on Kindle (#15248) @zampierilucas
Folder shortcuts: standard folders (#15323) @hius07
NewsDownloader: per-feed max_age option (#15322) @vandot
Profiles: external auto-exec triggers (#15329) @hius07
[DictQuickLookup] add custom button layout (#15184) @Commodore64user
Sort by rating (#15327) @hius07
ReaderView: fix highlight in night mode (#15336) @hius07
Bug fix: ensure default_layout is up to date when generating menu (#15340) @Commodore64user
ci/macos: add workflow dispatch (#15346) @benoit-pierre
feat: add Lemma Greek-English dictionary (#15357) @ciscoriordan
fix: bump Lemma Greek-English Dictionary URL to v1.3.3 (#15359) @ciscoriordan
Plugin disable dialog (#15341) @hius07
Tweak document settings: open settings file when needed only (#15355) @hius07
kindle: add SSH server support to KUAL extension (#15352) @benoit-pierre
Plugins’ menu items (#15360) @hius07
datetime: add gettext context to abbreviated months (#15369) @ichnilatis-gr
Fix opening file with associated provider (#15367) @hius07
VocabBuilder: sync action; enable deleting settings (#15372) @hius07
HttpInspector: enable deleting plugin settings (#15373) @hius07
QR from clipboard: enable highlight button on devices without clipboard (#15363) @hius07
Hide parent folder (#15374) @hius07
BatteryStat: enable deleting plugin settings (#15378) @hius07
KoSync: enable deleting plugin settings (#15379) @hius07
Wallabag: settings fixes (#15383) @hius07
NewsDownloader: enable deleting plugin settings (#15382) @hius07
OPDS: ‘crawlable’ relation (#15384) @hius07
kobo: Fix detection of ‘Kobo mode’ of Tolino devices (#15389) @AlexanderS
Perception expander: minor fixes (#15364) @hius07
plugins/calibre: preserve author_sort in slim metadata (#15398) @AndyHazz
BookShortcuts: fix settings (#15392) @hius07
TouchMenu: allow mousewheel scrolling; fix possible crash when highlighting (#15402) @poire-z
getHomeFolder() (#15400) @hius07
Increase viewport for PB743K3 (#15410) @SilverGreen93
Bump base (#15411) @Frenzie
- Support SDL3 pen events (koreader/koreader-base#2351)
- Isolate PDF SMask (koreader/koreader-base#2361)
#7992 Isolate PDF SMask (#15401) @kerivin
fix: wikipedia enforced image step sizes (#15399) @oscargolding
Add support for Pocketbook Era Lite (#15415) @Kulllerkeks
Statistics: fix pic documents; enable deleting settings (#15387) @hius07
CloudStorage: save ‘upload folder’ (#15408) @hius07
ReaderHighlight: clear selection after showing OCR infomessage (#15213) @Frenzie
bump base (#15418) @benoit-pierre
- KOPTContext: add white threshold (koreader/koreader-base#2363)
[DictQuickLookUp] bug_fix: don’t mutate default_layout (#15422) @Commodore64user
Add white threshold for paged documents (#15412) @kerivin
bump base & crengine: support for initial-letter, and other fixes (#15429) @poire-z
Includes:
- fix GCC 16 warnings (-Wunused-but-set-variable) koreader/crengine#663
- koreader/crengine#666 :
  - ldomXRange::getRangeText(): newline on
  - createXPointer(pt)/getRect(): use formatter src->t.text
  - getRect(): unify one-char-long word width handling
  - CSS ::first-letter: use non-letter char if no letter in first text node
  - CSS ::first-line: properly handle inline-block
  - createXPointer(pt): return source text node on pseudoElem[FirstLetter]
  - getSegmentRects(): compare .bottom additionally to .top
  - lvfntman: add getCapHeight()
  - CSS initial-letter: add CSS parsing and style slot
  - CSS initial-letter: render ::first-letter via inline-box
Also includes:
- MuPDF: check if page has smask before applying it koreader/koreader-base#2364
credocument: fix call cache statistics (not updated after the bit time.lua refactor years ago – #15377 (comment)).
QRClipboard: fix extending highlight to sentence (#15431) @hius07
doc: update build requirements (#15437) @benoit-pierre
sdl: better init trace (#15438) @benoit-pierre
Flat file list (no subfolders) (#15425) @hius07
Profiles: auto-executing list; path patterns (#15439) @hius07
drop remains of non-functional Ubuntu Touch target (#15442) @benoit-pierre
feat: saturation control (#15381) @NoaHimesaka1873
mxcfb: fix kobo FFI cdecls (#15446) @benoit-pierre
ReadCollection: fix per-collection write filter typo on removeItem (#15454) @AndyHazz
Tweak document settings: path patterns (#15440) @hius07
fix: missing saturation in copyPageState (#15455) @NoaHimesaka1873
Add WikDict bilingual dictionaries (#15456) @karlb
feat: add turkish reader.dict monolingual dictionary (#15457) @BoboTiG
Add some Wiktionary StarDict files (#15451) @xxyzz
feat: QTFB input/framebuffer support (#15461) @NoaHimesaka1873
Book metadata archive: fix saving (#15445) @hius07
feat: reMarkable Paper Pure support (#15463) @NoaHimesaka1873
[ReaderKeySelection] NT: improved text selection with cursor keys (#15377) @Commodore64user
ReaderDictionary: prettify dict download list (#15452) @hius07
fix common/koreader.sh arguments handling on restart (#15312) @benoit-pierre
make: change android targets to android-xxx (#15351) @benoit-pierre
generate new ota packages (#15236) @benoit-pierre
Screensaver: don’t load the module on unsupported devices (#15465) @hius07
fix: appload quirk workaround (#15475) @NoaHimesaka1873
[TextBoxWidget] Find in definition (wiki edition) (#15356) @Commodore64user
Highlights: pre-highlighting prompt (#15473) @hius07
SDL: shell-escape openLink and external dict lookup args (#15491) @Booyaka101
Open file: more honor associated provider (#15489) @hius07
Exporter: exclude page bookmarks (#15493) @hius07
[DictQuick, Paging, Rolling] Eclectic fixes for ‘find In Definition’ and key Events (#15498) @Commodore64user
Highlights: temporary highlight color (#15486) @hius07
Menu widget: search next entry (#15502) @hius07
[TextViewer] NT: add page turn events for easier navigation (#15504) @Commodore64user
[SDL,plugin/hotkeys] Process gamepad events (#15449) @Frenzie
Screen rotation: always show rotation mode options (#15505) @chofuhoyu
BookShortcuts: fix open folder from Reader (#15517) @hius07
Cloud storage: download/delete selected files (#15522) @hius07
fix(cloudstorage): webdav not listing folders (#15532) @Skittyblock
fix(cloudstorage): choose folder not showing for empty dirs (#15533) @Skittyblock
vocabbuilder.koplugin: Add “got it” button in “Vocabulary exists” popup window (#15534) @weijiuqiao
[reMarkable] fix: native QTFB OTA update (#15538) @NoaHimesaka1873
fix(vocabbuilder): leaked db conn breaking sync (#15531) @Skittyblock
bump base & crengine, enhanced search on CreDocuments (#15543) @poire-z

bump base: ffi-cdecl and ffi tweaks and updates

Also:
- ffi/loadlib: fix loading SSL library in monolibtic mode
- ci/circle: bump docker images (new ffi-cdecl version)
- ffi/zstd: allow setting compression level
- ffi/hashoir: new module for hashing memory
- ffi/util: add bidirectional support to runInSubProcess
- utils: improve inkview_h generator script
(Too many PRs to add links to each of them :/ :))

bump crengine: enhanced findText(); Malayalam hypnehation

Includes:
- TextLang, hyphenation: add Malayalam (ml) koreader/crengine#672
- koreader/crengine#673
  - findText(): return list of ldomXRange instead of ldomWord
  - findText(): implement tweakable enhanced search
- koreader/koreader-base#2411
  - cre.cpp findText() and findAllText():
    Updated to handle returned ldomXRange instead of ldomWord,
    and added optional searchFlags params.
ReaderTypography: add Malayalam to the list of supported languages.

ReaderSearch: enhanced search on CreDocuments

See #10366 (comment) (flags re-ordered since this post – don’t trust them there).

I settled on:

2 others commented out would give:
```
    -- For CreDocuments, different search features are available:
    -- Enhanced search flags:
    --   MATCH_ACROSS_TEXT_NODES     = 0x0001
    --   COLLAPSE_CONSECUTIVE_SPACES = 0x0002
    --   NORMALIZE_CANONICAL         = 0x0004
    --   NORMALIZE_COMPATIBILITY     = 0x0008
    --   IGNORE_FORMAT_CONTROL_CHARS = 0x0010
    --   FOLD_SPACES                 = 0x0020
    --   FOLD_APOSTROPHES            = 0x0040
    --   FOLD_HYPHENS                = 0x0080
    --   IGNORE_DIACRITICS           = 0x0100
    -- Make a few types of search available as radion buttons
    -- (These are available to be updated/extended by user-patches)
    search_types = {
        -- Title of the radio button , search_flags, use_regex
        { _("Ignore accents / stress marks"), 0x01FF, false },
        -- { _("As typed"), 0x0017, false },
        -- { _("Legacy search"), 0x0000, false },
        { _("Regular expression (long-press for help)"), 0x0001, true },
    },
    default_search_type = { "", 0x00FF, false }, -- Most except IGNORE_DIACRITICS
```
These Radio buttons (each setting a set of flags) are mutually exclusive, but they can also be all unchecked (in which case, we use the defaults we seem to have all agreed on). Case insensitive is an independant one that works with all others (and the default of none).
Should they be squared checkboxes ?
bump crengine: refactor Font Manager, support for variable fonts (#15553) @poire-z
Includes koreader/crengine#669:
- lvfntman: Refactor Font Manager; Add variable fonts
- CSS font-optical-sizing
- lvfntman: Docs and tests for refactor
Thanks to @spfenwick .

Closes #12800 (might have been about the UI fonts, but well, it’s more valuable in crengine, and we got it there, so closing).
fix(language): remove duplicate Vietnamese language entry (#15552) @gaunh0
Page overlap: no indicator; actions for gestures/profiles (#15541) @hius07
Enable ‘Saturation’ option if ‘Color rendering’ is on (#15542) @kerivin
Malayalam Keyboard (FUTO layout) (#15560) @NalrTynhe
[ReaderKeySelection] NT: add indicator overlay (#15547) @Commodore64user
kindle: fix possible crash when not connected to a network but wifi is on (#15519) @benoit-pierre
QuickMenu: rename actions (#15564) @hius07
[ReaderKeySelection] flash word when starting indicator (#15571) @Commodore64user
Check code type before HTTP error handling (#15578) @lyluqo
Reworked the Wallabag plugin to recursively scan the download directory (#15558) @evmcl
Collections: fix removing book from collections via file popup dialog (#15577) @hius07
screensaver: add option for extra refreshes to avoid sleep screen ghosting (#15568) @ahmadadam96
minor wording and button corrections (#15582) @Commodore64user
bump base & crengine: Font Manager enhancements and fixes (#15587) @poire-z
Includes:
- lvfntman: SetAlias cleanup koreader/crengine#678
- lvfntman: synthetic small caps koreader/crengine#680
  Closes #13563.
- lvfntman: fix duplicated @font-face handling koreader/crengine#682
- lvfntman: resurrect getFontFileNameAndFaceIndex() koreader/crengine#683
  Closes #15574.
  Closes #15581.
- CSS: allow arbitrary font-weights koreader/crengine#681
  Closes #4174.
- DrawBuf: allow drawing colors inverted koreader/crengine#677
  Closes #15544.
Also:
cre.cpp: drawCurrentPage() set invert_colors when invert_images provided.

Also:
feat(ffi): invert screenshots in night mode koreader/koreader-base#2401
kindle: fix issues when running from nonstandard location (#15579) @ThatHackerDudeFromCyberspace
feat: add dutch reader.dict monolingual dictionary (#15589) @BoboTiG
CloudStorage: fix servers order when adding new server (#15580) @hius07
NewsDownloader: check relative urls using socket.url.parse() (#15595) @zikasak
NewsDownloader: fix for shadowing _() (#15597) @zikasak
TextViewer: view html, markdown (#15588) @hius07
ffi/posix_h rework + use ffi/netinfo (#15556) @benoit-pierre
move kosync plugin settings into a separate file (#15591) @zikasak
Disable external plugins and user-patches (#15593) @hius07
kindle: More non-standard installation fixes and default NO_EIPS_SLEEP when not launched from KUAL (#15601) @ThatHackerDudeFromCyberspace
Background cleanup over dewatermark (#15555) @kerivin
kindle: Stop awesome regardless whether KOReader was launched from KUAL or not (#15608) @ThatHackerDudeFromCyberspace
[InputDialog] NT: remove separator from widget’s layout (#15602) @Commodore64user
Highlights: note format (#15599) @hius07
[ReaderLink, Back] clear page links with Back key (#15613) @Commodore64user
kindle: Fix launch script path detection issues on older firmwares (#15625) @ThatHackerDudeFromCyberspace
NetworkMgr: re-DHCP after Wi-Fi network switch on Kobo (#14790) (#15618) @Warlium
readerdictionary: fix & improve downloading dictionaries (#15642) @benoit-pierre
dictionaries: fix / update some dictionaries (#15641) @benoit-pierre
Clipboard snippets (#15627) @hius07
document: fix crash when opening single images (#15644) @benoit-pierre
QuickMenu position (#15640) @hius07
document: fix another background_cleanup check (#15648) @benoit-pierre
Add hall_file support to KindleTouch and KindleBasic4 (#15654) @evankrummel
NetworkListener: guard against auto_disable_wifi enabled by user on unsupported devices (#15655) @Frenzie
OPDSParser: handle self-closing content tags (#15515) @Booyaka101
SSH.koplugin: add force‑close toggle for stop (#15338) @d0nizam
fix: locale C or en_US has its own plural manipulation, the default one. (#15375) @picospuch
DjVu: preserve text-layer reading order in selection (#15298) @anaxonda
KOSync: queue failed progress updates for retry on reconnect (#15324) @collaed
Refactor DepGraph node handling (#15659) @hugo1120
feat(reMarkable): Oxide/libblight support (#15611) @NoaHimesaka1873
Support SDL stylus input (#15344) @HackingGate
CloudStorage: add natural sorting by name (#15662) @hius07
[InputText] Toggle on-screen keyboard with a lone Sym/ScreenKB tap (#15669) @iav
Fix crash when opening KOReader with connected BT keyboard (#15681) @mergen3107
Update wiktionary_stardict files (#15686) @xxyzz
add id Indonesian translation to UI (#15693) @cloned-doy
[ReaderKeySelection] rework addToMainMenu (#15685) @Commodore64user
pdfdocument: rename deleteMarkupAnnotation call to deleteAnnotation (#15672) @tomasAlabes
screensaver: improve extra flash option to fix banding (#15703) @ahmadadam96
bump base (#15709) @benoit-pierre
- libjpeg-turbo: minor cleanup (koreader/koreader-base#2451)
- MuPDF: enable Background Cleanup for PDFs with Mask (not SMask) (koreader/koreader-base#2452, close #15694)
- jpeg: re-enable bmp writing support + miscellaenous improvements (koreader/koreader-base#2453, close #15699)
screensaver: add default values to anti-ghosting redraws spinner (#15710) @ahmadadam96
Kobo v5 support (#12401) @NerdyProjects
BookList: safeguard series index for sorting (#15705) @hius07
NetworkSetting: guard against missing scan result flags (#15714) @SAY-5
Quickstart: teach about menu search (#15712) @gilgulgamesh
BookmarkBrowser: persistent filters (#15711) @hius07
device/kobo: add Kobo:otaModel() like on Kindle for uniformity (#15713) @Frenzie
WebDAV sync: fix infinite 412 loop on weak ETags (#15715) @Lorite
pocketbook: fix startup crash after 6.11.1480 firmware update (#15730) @9783e6
Device:ping4: keep the native ICMP path on kernels < 2.6.27 (fix legacy Kindle UI freeze) (#15663) @iav
OPDS 2.0 basic support (#15696) @hius07
Fix bottom menu activation (#15733) @hius07
[DictQuickLookup] K4: use modifier to call lookupinputword widget (#15723) @Commodore64user
Flash when displaying covers to reduce ghosting (#15724) @dmalinovsky
android: set FONTDIR so MuPDF can find its fallback fonts (#15738) @jperon
fix(reMarkable): PowerD fixes for frontlight and HE sensor (#15690) @NoaHimesaka1873