Neko: an unofficial MangaDex reader for Android 8 and up

What Neko solves for MangaDex readers on Android

MangaDex is a website. Reading a long series in a mobile browser means fighting tab management, losing your place when the connection drops, and having no local copy when you are offline. Neko is an Android client that puts the MangaDex catalogue behind a native reader, and the README lists exactly what that buys you: offline reading, native login to MangaDex, MDList support, and syncing of manga and read statuses between MangaDex and the app.

The audience is narrow and specific. The README states Android 8 or later, so older devices are out. The app is an unofficial client, not a service: there is no web version, no iOS build, and the repository is the distribution channel. If you read manga on MangaDex and carry an Android phone, this is aimed at you. If you read on iOS, the README offers nothing, and the related searches that ask about a Neko app for iOS have no answer in this repository.

One detail is worth separating from the marketing language. The README says the app hosts zero content and that the developers have no affiliation with the content providers. That is a statement about where the bytes live, not a guarantee about what you are allowed to read. The app is a client; the catalogue belongs to MangaDex and to the other sources it can pull from.

How the client, trackers and extra sources fit together

The architecture visible from the repository is a standard multi-module Android Gradle project: app/, core/, constants/, buildSrc/, baselineprofile/, plus a docs/ directory and the usual gradlew wrapper. Kotlin is the primary language, the build is driven by build.gradle.kts and settings.gradle.kts, and there is a ktlintCodeStyle.xml for formatting. Nothing exotic. If you have built an Android app before, the layout will be familiar.

The interesting part is the data flow outward. Neko talks to MangaDex for the catalogue and for login, and it syncs manga entries and read statuses in both directions. On top of that it can push reading progress to external trackers: MyAnimeList, AniList, Kitsu, MangaUpdates and MangaBaka, all named in the README. That means one reading session can produce updates in several places, and the app is the thing reconciling them.

The second outward path is chapter sourcing. MangaDex does not always have every chapter of a series. Neko can merge missing chapters from other sources, and the README names them: Atsumaru, Toonily, Weeb Central, Project Suki, Comix, Suwayomi and Komga. Komga and Suwayomi are self-hosted servers, which is the notable case: you can point Neko at your own library and fill the gaps in a MangaDex entry from your own collection. The README does not describe the merge algorithm, so how conflicts between sources are resolved is not documented in what the repository makes public.

Installing Neko and reading your first chapter

There is no app store listing in the README. The Download section points at the GitHub releases page, and the badge links to the latest release, so the normal path is to download the APK from there and sideload it. The README does not document a Play Store package name, and it gives no F-Droid instructions.

Grab the latest release asset from the releases page and install it on an Android 8 or newer device. Because it is a sideloaded APK, Android will ask you to allow installation from your browser or file manager. The README does not document the exact asset filename, so pick the APK attached to the newest release (3.7.4 at the time of writing).

The repository ships the Gradle wrapper (gradlew, gradlew.bat, gradle/), and the build files are build.gradle.kts and settings.gradle.kts. The README does not list required JDK or SDK versions, so check those files before assuming a toolchain. The README gives no command for producing an APK, so follow whatever the Gradle setup in app/ and buildSrc/ expects rather than copying a flag from elsewhere.

After the app is installed, open it and log in to MangaDex from inside the app. The README calls this native login, which is what enables MDList and read-status sync. Then pick a series, open a chapter, and use the download action to keep it for offline reading. That is the whole first-run loop: log in, browse, download, read. Tracker connections are configured separately and are optional; the README lists the supported services but not the setup steps for each.

Where Neko is the wrong tool

The README is honest about the biggest constraint: this is an unofficial client. It depends on MangaDex remaining reachable and on its API continuing to behave the way Neko expects. If MangaDex changes or blocks the client, the app's core function degrades, and there is nothing in the repository that describes a fallback. The extra sources soften this, but they are for missing chapters, not for replacing the catalogue.

Android 8 is the floor. Anyone on Android 7 or older is excluded outright, and the README does not offer a legacy build. The same applies to iOS: there is no iOS target in the repository, and the related searches asking about a Neko app for iOS are not answered by anything here.

Storage is the quieter limitation. Offline reading means downloaded chapters live on the device, and the README does not document a storage cap, an automatic cleanup policy, or a size estimate per chapter. On a phone with limited free space, a long series will consume it, and the app will not tell you in advance how much. There is also no documented export format for your library, so migrating away from Neko is not a described path.

Finally, the app is a reader, not a library manager. If your collection lives in Komga and you want Komga's own organisational features as the primary interface, Neko is a client that borrows from Komga, not a replacement for it.

Neko against Mihon and other Android readers

The topic list on the repository includes mihon and tachiyomi, which is the honest framing: Neko sits in the same family of Android manga readers, and its distinguishing choice is that MangaDex is the centre of gravity rather than one source among many. A Tachiyomi-derived reader such as Mihon is built around extensions, so the catalogue is whatever extensions you install. Neko is built around one catalogue and adds other sources only to fill in chapters that MangaDex is missing.

That difference decides your fit. If you want a single app that can pull from a dozen independent sources with equal weight, an extension-based reader matches that model better. If you mostly read on MangaDex, want MDList and read-status sync to be first-class, and want tracker updates pushed to MyAnimeList or AniList without extra configuration, Neko's design is closer to the problem.

The self-hosted angle is the other real difference. Neko can merge chapters from Komga and Suwayomi, both of which are servers you run yourself. An extension-based reader can also reach a self-hosted library, but through an extension rather than as a named merge source. Neither approach is documented in enough depth here to say which handles duplicate chapters better.

Maintenance, releases and the Apache-2.0 licence

The last push to the default branch was on 2026-09-24, and the most recent releases are 3.7.4 on 2026-09-21, 3.7.3 on 2026-09-19 and 3.7.2 on 2026-09-11. The repository is not archived. The release cadence visible in that short window is frequent, with patch versions landing days apart, which matters if you are tracking upstream fixes. It also means the version you install today may be superseded within a week, so pin the release you validated rather than following the latest tag blindly.

The upgrade cost is the usual sideloading cost. Because the README points at GitHub releases rather than a store, updates are manual unless you use a third-party updater, and the repository does not describe an in-app update mechanism. Every upgrade is a fresh APK install over the existing one, and the README does not document whether settings and downloads survive that. Verify that yourself before upgrading a library you care about.

The licence is Apache-2.0. The LICENSE file carries the standard Apache text, and the README adds a copyright line for Javier Tomás starting in 2015 plus a modifications notice for NekoMangaOrg from 2019. Apache-2.0 permits redistribution and modification with the usual conditions around notices and attribution. If you fork Neko and ship it, keep the licence and notice files intact and check what the upstream project expects for naming. This is a description of the licence text, not legal advice; talk to a lawyer if you plan to distribute.

Editorial conclusion

Neko fits Android users who already have a MangaDex account and want offline reading, MDList sync and tracker integration in one client. It is the wrong tool for iOS users, for anyone who wants a reader that hosts its own catalogue, and for people unwilling to sideload an APK or build from source. Before adopting it, check that the latest release on the GitHub releases page supports your Android version, confirm which trackers you actually need, and read the disclaimer in the README, which states the developers have no affiliation with the content providers and that the application hosts zero content.

Frequently asked questions

Official sources

1. Issues
2. License: Apache-2.0
3. nekomangaorg/Neko on GitHub
4. README
5. Releases