Baca

Baca. is a lightweight, local-first e-book reader (EPUB & PDF). Now packaged as a native Android app via Capacitor, it runs entirely on optimized web-native tech with zero backend. No servers, no tracking, no cloud uploads, and zero CDN reliance. Your books and libraries are processed and stored 100% locally on your device for absolute privacy and complete offline capability.

Key Features

- 100% Offline & Privacy-Focused: Zero cloud uploads and fully bundled local libraries. We utilize localforage (IndexedDB) and native device storage to parse, render, and save your books locally. Your data belongs to you. - Internet Archive Integration: Discover and download millions of free books directly within the app. Features a smart format picker (EPUB/PDF), real-time native download progress, seamless auto-import to your shelf, and automatic save to your device's Downloads folder. - Dual PDF Reading Modes: - Scroll Mode: Dynamic text extraction for a continuous, flowing reading experience. - Canvas Mode: Preserves the original layout and typography of the PDF — perfect for textbooks or image-heavy documents. Includes pinch-to-zoom, a page slider for quick navigation, and full-text search for text-based PDFs. - Complete Data Portability: Backup and restore your entire library locally. Choose between a lightweight JSON export (progress & notes only) or a full ZIP export (including book files and covers). - Reading Statistics: Track your reading habits with a built-in interactive line chart displaying your 7-day reading activity, completed books, and total annotations. - Smart Hybrid Bookmarks: Highlights and notes merged into one powerful side panel. Select text (or tag a page in Canvas Mode) to create a bookmark, add custom notes, and tap the card later to instantly jump back. - Built-in Update Checker: The settings menu includes an auto-update checker that directly routes you to the latest GitHub release. - AI Explanations (Gemini API): Select any word or passage and get instant AI-powered explanations using your own Gemini API key (supports Gemini 2.0 Flash/Lite). - In-Book Search Engine: Integrated right into the side panel. Instantly sweeps through the book and auto-scrolls to the exact highlighted paragraph. - Typography Control: Adjust text size, paragraph alignment, and pick from premium fonts (Lora, Merriweather, Playfair, Inter, Space Mono, Google Sans) for Scroll Mode and EPUBs. - Batch Management: Clear RAM by removing all generated book covers, or run batch deletions to keep your library organized.

Why Baca? (And not the others?)

Most e-book readers on the market fall into two frustrating extremes: they are either heavily bloated with ads, expensive cloud subscriptions, and useless features, or they are free but feature a clunky, outdated UI from 2010.

Baca. exists to break that compromise. The logic is simple:

- Zero Feature Creep (~5MB Size): Just a pure, uncompromised visual reading experience. Nothing more. - Open-Source Doesn't Mean Ugly: By deeply integrating Material 3 Expressive, navigating your library actually feels fluid and satisfying. - True Local Privacy: Most "free" apps harvest your reading habits. Baca is strictly local-first. Zero tracking, zero CDNs, zero servers involved.

License

MIT