Episteme Reader

A modern, offline-first, privacy-focused document and e-book reader for Android and desktop, built with Kotlin Multiplatform and Compose.

      

Android

Desktop

Overview

Episteme Reader is a customizable reader for documents, e-books, comics, and text-heavy files. The app is designed around local-first reading, deep typography controls, flexible layouts, and a consistent Kotlin Multiplatform core across Android and desktop.

The same core reading experience is available across editions. The main differences are distribution channel, network access, and whether proprietary online services are included.

Core Features

Available across supported editions unless noted in the edition table:

• Formats: PDF, EPUB, MOBI/AZW3, FB2, DOCX, ODT/FODT, TXT, Markdown, HTML, and comic archives.
• Reading modes: Paginated reading, vertical scroll, PDF multi-tab reading, PDF reflow, auto-scroll, and musician mode.
• PDF tools: Ink annotations, highlighting, erasing, text annotations, and reading-focused PDF controls.
• Customization: App themes, reader themes, custom local fonts, typography controls, spacing, margins, and layout tuning.
• Library tools: Local folder sync, library organization, bookmarks, progress tracking, and file management.
• Accessibility: System text-to-speech, app language selection, and reader settings that adapt to different reading preferences.

Editions

Edition	Platform	Network access	Distribution	Notes
Play Store	Android	Online-capable	Google Play	Full Android release with proprietary extras such as ML Kit OCR, cloud sync, AI tools, cloud TTS, and PDF bubble zoom.
OSS	Android	Online-capable	epistemereader.com, GitHub, F-Droid, Obtainium	Fully open-source Android build with OPDS, downloadable fonts, and BYOK access to AI and cloud features.
OSS Offline	Android	Offline-only	epistemereader.com, GitHub, Obtainium	Open-source Android build with network permissions removed.
Standard	Windows desktop	Online-capable	epistemereader.com, GitHub	Full-featured desktop release with the shared KMP reader core and online-capable services.
Offline	Windows desktop	Offline-only	epistemereader.com, GitHub	Desktop build focused on local reading with online services disabled.

Future desktop platforms can use the same Standard and Offline model as support expands.

Languages

Episteme Reader currently supports: English, Arabic, Belarusian, German, Spanish, Estonian, French, Hindi, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Dutch, Polish, Portuguese (Brazil), Russian, Turkish, Ukrainian, Vietnamese, and Chinese Simplified.

Want Episteme Reader in another language? Please request it through GitHub Issues or start a thread in Discussions.

Building from Source

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/Aryan-Raj3112/episteme.git
   cd episteme

2. Build Android:

   • Open in Android Studio and run the ossDebug or ossOfflineDebug variant, or
   • Build from the command line:

     ./gradlew assembleOssDebug

   The APK will be generated at: app/build/outputs/apk/oss/debug/Episteme-oss-v{version}-oss-debug.apk

3. Build desktop:

   ./gradlew :desktopApp:packageReleaseDistributionForCurrentOS

   For the offline desktop build, pass:

   ./gradlew :desktopApp:packageReleaseDistributionForCurrentOS -PdesktopFlavor=oss

Open Source Libraries

Powered by the Kotlin, Android, and desktop OSS ecosystem:

• Core and UI: Kotlin Multiplatform, Compose Multiplatform, AndroidX, Jetpack Compose, Kotlinx Serialization
• Document engines: PdfiumAndroidKt, PDFium, libmobi
• Parsers: Jsoup, Flexmark, Apache Commons Compress
• Media and image loading: Coil, Media3
• Utilities: Room, Timber, JNA

Contributors

Contributor	Contribution
CCerrer	Testing and QA
ottozumkeller	German translation
TURBOKANTR	Turkish translation
eyadalkordy24	Arabic translation
berebara	Russian translation
mh4ckt3mh4ckt1c4s	French translation

Supporters

Thank you to the people helping keep Episteme Reader moving:

Supporter	Platform
Zorklo	GitHub Sponsors

Support the Project

Help make Episteme Reader better:

• Sponsor on GitHub
• Support on Patreon
• Star the repository to help visibility
• Report bugs or request features via GitHub Issues
• Share feedback in Discussions
• Leave a review on the Google Play Store
• Tell a friend

License

Licensed under the GNU Affero General Public License v3.0 (AGPL-3.0). See the LICENSE file.