Manga

This is the core of Bunko Shelf! Therefore, there are some important concepts we need to review before you start using the application to manage and read your mangas.

Mangas are the files on disk (or in the cloud) that feed your library.
Mangas are classified into two types: series and oneshots. Likewise, they are grouped by series and by volumes.
Metadata is the information that describes the mangas (title, author, cover, etc.) and is displayed in the application, both in the series and in the individual volumes.

Supported formats

Bunko Shelf supports the following file formats for mangas:

Format	Extension	Basic	Full	Notes
ZIP Archive	`.cbz` `.zip`	✅	✅
RAR Archive	`.cbr` `.rar`	✅	✅
PDF Archive	`.pdf`	❌		Coming soon

BASIC: Basic support encompasses the minimum viable functionality for a format. In general, this includes aspects such as:

File discovery
Image extraction
Page viewing

FULL: The full support includes additional features that enhance the user experience with a format. In general, this includes aspects such as:

Metadata extraction
Reading progression
Favorite marking
Filtering by genres and tags

Supported image formats

Bunko Shelf supports the following image formats within manga files:

JPEG .jpg .jpeg
PNG .png
WebP .webp
GIF .gif

Expected structure

Bunko Shelf expects manga files to follow a specific structure in order to organize them correctly in the library. Below is an example of what this structure should look like:

Images numbered sequentially (e.g., 001.jpg, 002.jpg, 003.jpg, etc.) to ensure the correct order of pages.
The first image will be the cover of the manga in the application.
A single level of folders is allowed within the manga file to organize the pages (for example, separating chapters: /Chapter 1/001.jpg, /Chapter 2/001.jpg, etc).
For metadata extraction, it is recommended to follow common conventions in the ComicInfo.xml file if it is present within the manga file. Likewise, it should be located at the root of the file.

Following these guidelines, Bunko Shelf will be able to manage and display your mangas efficiently and organized. If you use chapter organization, subfolders within these folders are not allowed.

ComicInfo.xml

If your manga does not have a ComicInfo.xml file, here in the documentation you will find a template that you can use to create one.

Basic CBZ/ZIP example

Manga Name.cbz/
├── 001.png (cover)
├── 002.png
├── 003.png
├── [...]
├── 074.png
├── 075.png
└── ComicInfo.xml

CBZ/ZIP example organized by chapters

Manga Name.cbz/
├── Chapter 1/
│   ├── 001.png (cover)
│   ├── 002.png
│   ├── 003.png
│   └── [...]
├── Chapter 2/
│   ├── 001.png
│   ├── 002.png
│   ├── 003.png
│   └── [...]
├── Chapter 3/
│   └── [...]
└── ComicInfo.xml