Build your personal digital reading library with Kavita — a self-hosted server for manga, comics, and ebooks with a beautiful reading interface and reading progress sync.
Grab the automated bash script from GitHub to follow along with the video.
wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mhmdali94/Docker/main/media/kavita/kavita-ubuntu.sh
chmod +x kavita-ubuntu.sh
sudo bash kavita-ubuntu.shwget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mhmdali94/Docker/main/media/kavita/kavita-ubuntu.shchmod +x kavita-ubuntu.shThe script installs Docker if needed, then sets up the service automatically.
sudo bash kavita-ubuntu.shOpen your browser and navigate to:
http://<your-server-ip>:5000In the dashboard, go to Server Settings → Libraries and add a library pointing to your manga, comics, or ebook directory. Kavita scans and organises your collection automatically.
| Port | Purpose |
|---|---|
| 5000 | Kavita Web UI |
Kavita is a fast, feature-rich self-hosted digital library for manga, comics, and ebooks. It supports CBZ, CBR, PDF, EPUB, and many other formats. The reading interface is clean and responsive, with continuous scroll mode for manga and chapter navigation for novels. Reading progress syncs across all devices and users.
Most self-hosted reading servers specialise in one format — Komga for manga, Calibre-Web for ebooks. Kavita handles all formats in one place: manga, western comics, light novels, and PDFs organised into separate libraries with the same interface. If your reading collection is mixed — some manga, some ebooks, some manga light novels — Kavita eliminates the need to run multiple servers.
Kavita serves its web UI and OPDS on port 5000 by default. For home network use, access directly. For external access or HTTPS (required for many OPDS readers and the KavitaReader mobile app), proxy through Nginx Proxy Manager. No other ports are required — Kavita is a single-container .NET application with an embedded SQLite database.
Komga (manga and comics focused, superior Tachiyomi integration), Calibre-Web (ebook-focused, Calibre metadata management), Ubooquity (Java-based, older), Audiobookshelf (audiobooks and podcasts specifically). Kavita is the best choice for mixed-format libraries where manga, comics, and novels coexist in one server.
Skip Kavita if you only read manga and use Tachiyomi/Mihon — Komga has a native source extension and better Tachiyomi integration. Also skip it for audiobooks only — Audiobookshelf is purpose-built for audiobooks with better chapter support, podcast features, and a dedicated mobile app. For ebook library management with Calibre-style metadata editing, Calibre-Web is more appropriate.
PrismaTechWork provides end-to-end infrastructure services — from initial deployment and security hardening to ongoing monitoring, automated backups, and dedicated support. Whether you need a single-server setup or a multi-site network, our team ensures your infrastructure is built right, secured properly, and maintained reliably.
Komga is specialised for manga and comics with a native Tachiyomi/Mihon source extension — the best choice for manga-only collections. Kavita supports manga, western comics, EPUB novels, PDFs, and audiobooks in one unified server, making it ideal for mixed-format collections. Kavita also has better reading statistics and a more feature-rich web reader. If you read manga exclusively and use Tachiyomi on Android, choose Komga. If you read manga AND novels or use other readers, choose Kavita.
Kavita supports: CBZ, CBR, CB7, CBT (comic archives), PDF, EPUB (ebooks and manga), and M4B/MP3 (audiobooks). Images directly in folders (JPG, PNG, WEBP) are supported as a fallback for manga organised as image directories. Cover art is extracted automatically from the first image in the archive or from embedded metadata. EPUB is supported for both text novels and digital manga distributed in EPUB format.
Download KavitaReader from the Google Play Store or F-Droid. On first launch, enter your Kavita server URL (e.g. https://your-domain or http://192.168.1.x:5000), your username, and password. The app syncs your libraries, reading progress, and bookmarks from the server. For external access, configure HTTPS via Nginx Proxy Manager before setting up the app — plain HTTP may not work depending on Android security settings.
Yes. Create an 'Audiobooks' library type in Server Settings and point it to your M4B or MP3 audiobook directory. Kavita displays audiobook series with chapter lists and tracks listening progress. However, if audiobooks are your primary use case, Audiobookshelf has more features: podcast support, a dedicated mobile app with full playback controls, sleep timer, and better chapter detection from M4B metadata. Kavita's audiobook support is functional but not its strongest feature.
Reading progress is stored server-side, tied to your user account. When you read a volume to page 150 in the browser on your laptop, that progress is saved immediately to the Kavita database. Opening the same volume on your phone via KavitaReader or OPDS shows the same page 150 position. This server-side sync works across any device and reading app that communicates with Kavita — web browser, mobile app, or OPDS reader.
Yes. Reading Lists are ordered sequences of volumes/chapters you want to read in a specific order — useful for reading crossover story arcs that span multiple series in the correct order. Collections are unordered groupings of series — useful for tagging series by genre, author, or theme. Both are user-specific (each user has their own lists and collections) and accessible from the dashboard and search.
Yes. Kavita has metadata agents that fetch cover art, descriptions, author information, genre tags, and publication status from sources including MangaDex, MangaUpdates, AniList, and ComicVine. Configure agents in Server Settings → Libraries → Metadata. After adding a library, trigger a metadata refresh to populate all series. For manga series, MangaDex provides the most complete metadata including scanlation group information and reading direction.
Kavita supports multiple users with no hard limit. Each user gets independent reading progress, bookmarks, ratings, reading lists, and collections. Admins control which libraries each user can access — restrict the adult manga library to the admin account while giving household members access to general and young adult libraries. User management is in Server Settings → User Management. For a family of 5–10 users on a moderate VPS, Kavita performs well without resource issues.