ePub Reader Library

A modern desktop ePub reader with AI-powered translation capabilities, built with Tauri 2.0, Rust, React, and TypeScript.

Features

• In-app ePub reader with customizable font, spacing, and theme (light / dark / sepia)
• AI translation of entire books via LM Studio (OpenAI-compatible local API)
• Apple Books-inspired UI with dark mode, sidebar navigation, and book grid
• Chapter-by-chapter translation with real-time progress events
• 12 supported languages: English, Portuguese, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Russian, Arabic, Hindi
• Cover extraction and metadata parsing from ePub files
• SQLite local library database

Tech Stack

Layer	Technology
Desktop runtime	Tauri 2.0
Backend	Rust (tokio, sqlx, reqwest)
Frontend	React 19 + TypeScript + Vite
UI components	shadcn/ui + TailwindCSS v4
State management	Zustand
AI translation	LM Studio (OpenAI-compatible API)
Database	SQLite
ePub parsing	epub crate

Prerequisites

• Rust (latest stable)
• Bun (package manager)
• LM Studio (for translation features)

Getting Started

1. Clone and install dependencies

git clone https://github.com/fazapp/ePubReader.git
cd ePubReader
bun install
cd ui && bun install && cd ..

2. Run in development mode

bun run dev

This starts the Vite dev server on http://localhost:5173 and launches the Tauri window.

3. Build for production

bun run build

Translation Setup

1. Install and open LM Studio
2. Download a model (e.g., qwen/qwen3.5-9b)
3. Start the local server (default: http://localhost:1234)
4. The app auto-detects LM Studio and shows available models

API Integration

LM Studio exposes an OpenAI-compatible API:

Endpoint	Purpose
GET /v1/models	List loaded models
POST /v1/chat/completions	Translate text via chat completions

Project Structure

ePubReader/
├── src/                          # Rust backend
│   ├── main.rs                   # Tauri app entry + AppState
│   ├── commands.rs               # Tauri IPC commands
│   ├── lmstudio_client.rs        # LM Studio OpenAI-compatible client
│   ├── models.rs                 # Data structures
│   ├── database.rs               # SQLite database layer
│   └── epub_processor.rs         # ePub parsing + HTML generation
├── ui/                           # React frontend (Vite)
│   └── src/
│       ├── App.tsx               # Root component
│       ├── lib/tauri.ts          # Tauri API wrapper + types
│       ├── stores/app-store.ts   # Zustand state management
│       ├── hooks/                # React hooks
│       │   ├── use-books.ts      # Book CRUD operations
│       │   ├── use-lmstudio.ts   # LM Studio connection
│       │   ├── use-reader.ts     # Reader state + navigation
│       │   └── use-translation.ts # Translation progress
│       ├── components/
│       │   ├── layout/           # Sidebar, Header, MainLayout
│       │   ├── library/          # BookCard, BookGrid, EmptyState
│       │   ├── reader/           # ReaderView, ReaderSettings
│       │   └── translation/      # TranslateDialog
│       └── pages/                # Library, ReadingNow
├── assets/                       # Book reader assets (CSS/JS)
├── tests/                        # Integration tests
├── Cargo.toml                    # Rust dependencies
├── tauri.conf.json               # Tauri configuration
└── package.json                  # Root scripts

Tauri Commands

Command	Description
check_lmstudio_status	Check if LM Studio is running
get_available_models	List loaded models
set_lmstudio_model	Select model for translation
get_books	List all books in library
add_book	Import ePub file
delete_book	Remove book from library
get_book_content	Get book chapters
translate_book	Translate entire book (emits progress events)
get_supported_languages	List 12 supported languages

Data Storage

Data is stored in ~/.epubreader/ebooks/:

• SQLite database (library.db) with book metadata, chapters, and translations
• Extracted cover images and chapter images
• Generated HTML files for external reading

License

MIT