Foliate: Read e-books in style, navigate with ease

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Overall impression of Foliate

  • Widely praised as a clean, attractive, fast EPUB reader on Linux.
  • Seen as one of the few desktop ebook apps with thoughtful UX and typography.
  • Highlighted features: dark mode, good TTS interface, strong security posture via its rendering library, and plain‑JSON storage of reading progress, bookmarks, and annotations.

Library management vs. “just open a file”

  • Several commenters want a viewer that opens EPUBs like a PDF viewer, without heavy “bookshelf” or library management.
  • Foliate mostly fits: it doesn’t move files and its “library” is effectively a recent‑files history, but some still find any library view unnecessary.
  • Comparisons:
    • Calibre is powerful but perceived as ugly, heavyweight, and oriented around library management; its standalone viewer exists but is not obvious to newcomers.
    • Other simple viewers mentioned: MuPDF, Zathura, Okular, Atril, Sumatra, KOReader on desktop/tablet, and web-based Minimal Reader.

Format support and UX issues

  • EPUB support is generally considered excellent.
  • PDF support is mixed:
    • Some call it a decent PDF reader, especially given lack of Adobe Reader on Linux.
    • Others report that some PDFs won’t open, zoom doesn’t work, and a forced two‑page layout leads to a “smudged” look.
  • One user reports the Snap build rendering blank pages; others recommend the Flatpak or setting a WebKit environment variable.
  • Some confusion/complaints about page‑turn interactions and missing obvious controls on certain desktops.

Data model and hashing discussion

  • Foliate’s use of external JSON (keyed by an identifier that may be an MD5 of the file) is praised because it avoids modifying PDFs for annotations.
  • Concerns raised:
    • Hash-based IDs can break if the file is modified or replaced (e.g., updated chapters).
    • Ideas floated about more resilient content fingerprinting and hash chains, but no concrete solution in the thread.

Alternatives, platforms, and ecosystem commentary

  • Numerous alternatives discussed for Linux, Windows, Android, iOS, and e‑ink devices (KOReader, Koodo, Apple Books, MapleRead, ReadEra, etc.).
  • Some want Foliate-like GTK4 apps on Windows; Alexandria is mentioned as a cross‑platform Foliate-inspired reader.
  • Broader sentiment: Linux needs more visually polished, macOS‑grade desktop apps; Calibre is valued for features but criticized for design.
  • A minority rejects Foliate purely because it is written in JavaScript.