Ad-free novel reader and downloader for Android and Linux desktop, built with Flutter.
Read web novels through installable JavaScript source extensions, import your own EPUB and PDF files, or listen to your library with text-to-speech.
NovelDock hosts nothing. It renders whatever sources you install. Novels belong to their authors and publishers; support official releases when you can.
I built this for myself first. I wanted to read novels on my laptop, and on Linux I couldn't find a good reader the one or two apps I did find were in Chinese, which I don't read. So I wrote the app I wanted: one library, my downloads, and read-aloud, following me from laptop to phone wherever I go.
Many people read novels in a browser, and if tabs work for you, that's fine this isn't trying to replace your browser. NovelDock is for readers who want a standalone app. On Android there are plenty of readers; on Linux desktop there are few, and none I could actually use. If that's your situation too, this app is for you.
Linux desktop screenshots
Android screenshots
- Sources: install community JS providers from the catalog, then browse, search, and download
- Library: status tabs (Reading, On Hold, Plan to Read, Completed, Dropped) with grid, list, and compact views
- Reader: continuous or paged scrolling, five themes, adjustable typography, bionic reading mode
- Resume: reopens at the exact paragraph you left, even after a force close
- Text-to-speech: read aloud with paragraph highlighting, auto-advance across chapters, background playback, media keys (MPRIS on Linux)
- Downloads: queue chapters for offline reading
- Translation: on-device chapter translation via ML Kit
- Bookmarks and history: bookmark any position; history follows what you actually finished
- Import: open local EPUB and PDF files
- Backup and restore: export your library and settings
| Platform | Status |
|---|---|
| Android | Supported |
| Linux | Supported |
| Windows / macOS / iOS | Not yet |
Flutter 3.38+ with Dart 3.12+.
git clone https://github.com/GrishMahat/NovelDock.git
cd NovelDock
flutter pub get
flutter run -d linux # or: flutter build apkForked git dependencies (see below) resolve automatically during pub get.
Click to expand
| Keys | Action |
|---|---|
1 - 4 |
Switch tabs (Library, Browse, History, Settings) |
Ctrl+D |
Downloads |
Ctrl+, |
Settings |
F5 / Ctrl+R |
Refresh current tab |
Left / Right (reader) |
Previous / next chapter |
Space (reader) |
Toggle reader controls |
Esc (reader) |
Back |
Ctrl+L (reader) |
Pin the chapter panel |
Novels come from provider registries you add in Settings > Providers. The default registry lives at noveldock-providers.
Why some dependencies are git forks
Some Dart packages are maintained as forks and pulled as git dependencies:
- flutter_edge_tts, fork of Moosphan/flutter_edge_tts. Upstream opens a new connection per synthesis request; the fork holds one persistent WebSocket instead.
- just_audio_media_kit, fork of Pato05/just_audio_media_kit. Adds a static
mpvPropertiesmap so any mpv property (network timeout, HTTP headers) applies to every player; upstream had no such hook. - flutter_js, fork of abner/flutter_js. Runs provider scripts on quickjs-ng. Forked early on; the exact reason is lost to time, but it works and stays pinned.
Releases are built automatically. Bump version in pubspec.yaml, commit, then:
git tag -a vX.Y.Z-beta -m "..."
git push origin vX.Y.Z-betaThe release workflow signs the APK with a keystore stored in GitHub secrets and publishes it under Releases with generated notes. To build locally you need android/key.properties pointing at your own keystore; without it, local release builds fall back to debug signing.
- DESIGN.md — the design contract: accent rules, Sora/Literata type scale, spacing/radius/motion tokens, and the reader palette exemption
- docs/WHY.md — why the code is built this way: the Markdown rendering pipeline vs raw HTML, and other decisions as they're made
I built NovelDock because I wanted to read my novels on the desktop. QuickNovel by LagradOst and contributors was the inspiration, and credit goes to that team for the idea. The app itself is an independent Flutter codebase with a different architecture, not a port.
JS runtime: forked flutter_js running quickjs-ng.
Copyright (C) 2026 Grish Mahat
NovelDock is free software: you can redistribute it and modify it under the GNU General Public License, version 3 or later. See LICENSE. It ships without warranty; the license has details.
Early beta. Rough edges expected. Issues and pull requests welcome.