JoyRead
v1.3.1Now available. Give it a try.↗

MAKE TIME FOR MANGA.

Your manga.
Anytime, anywhere.

A simple desktop reader for local manga and PDFs.
A little time out, with a story you love.

Download JoyRead — freeExplore the features ↗

macOS · Windows · Linux　 /　Free · Open source · No account

JOYREAD / MANGA LIBRARYCovers, collections, and progress at a glance
JoyRead English manga library with covers and collections
Your local formats, supported
CBZ / ZIP ✳ CBR / RAR ✳ CB7 / 7Z ✳ PDF

NEW IN 1.3.1

A clearer view. A smoother read.

Clearer interface

Cleaner panels. Easier to find.

Detail and navigation panels gain fixed titles and close buttons, with more room for content, balanced translucent surfaces, and thin borders. Thumbnail hover and selection feedback is more consistent, too.

Reading progress

See where you are at a glance.

The Reader, book cards, and Detail now share read and unread colors. A longer slider handle and clearer top and bottom controls make it easier to turn pages and find your place.

Background loading

Prepare ahead. Keep reading.

Random-access non-solid archives prioritize the page you are viewing while preparing nearby pages in the background. Outdated requests are retired when you jump, so loading follows your reading position.

This release also refines multi-book drag previews, fixes Windows text clipping and Ubuntu ARM64 WebP compatibility, and adds complete Chinese and Japanese manuals.

Read the full release notes

EASY TO OPEN. EASY TO ORGANIZE.

Fewer steps.
More immersion.

Drop in a file. Keep your collection your way.
Let the manga take it from there.

01 / DRAG & DROP

Read or import.
Just drag and drop.

Open manga without copying it or adding it to your Library. Want to keep it? Choose Open & Import and read while it imports. You can also choose whether dropping onto the Read zone imports the file.

Read directlyAdd to collection
Drop manga to read or import it
02 / TAGS

Tag it.
Find it fast.

Tag manga by genre, series, or mood, then filter to find your next read. Create, search, rename, and remove tags from one place.

Filter by tagManage in one placeYour categories
JoyRead tag management: search, create, rename, and delete tags
03 / READER

Take a peek.
Then turn the page.

Hover over the progress bar or drag the slider to preview a page; release to jump. Choose single pages or spreads and your reading direction, then settle into your own rhythm.

Page previewsSingle pages & spreadsReading direction
JoyRead manga reader with a progress-bar thumbnail preview

Keep it local

No account or cloud service required. Your collection and reading progress stay on your computer.

Three languages, one easy switch

English, Simplified Chinese, and Japanese. Follow your system language or switch whenever you like.

Free and open source

Source code is available under GPL-3.0. Explore it, report an issue, or help improve the app.

RELAX. YOUR MANGA IS READY.

Make a little time for manga.

JoyRead 1.3.1 · Choose the version for your computer.

macOS

macOS 13+ · Apple Silicon

Download DMG ↓

Open the DMG and drag JoyRead into Applications. Intel Mac packages are not available.

Ubuntu / Linux

Ubuntu 22.04+ · amd64 · arm64

amd64 ↓arm64 ↓

Install from the terminal. The graphical installer may get stuck at Preparing.

amd64: sudo apt install ./JoyRead-1.3.1-linux-amd64.deb
arm64: sudo apt install ./JoyRead-1.3.1-linux-arm64.deb

The macOS package is not Apple-notarized; the Windows installer has no trusted code signature. Your system may show a first-launch prompt. See the release notes for installation guidance.

1.3.1 release notes & checksums ↗

Focused on manga and PDF reading. EPUB / light novels are not enabled yet.