Suwayomi-Server: extensions do the fetching, and you still need a front end

It runs Mihon extensions, and it is not a fork of Mihon

The What is Suwayomi section opens with two sentences, and the second one is a disclaimer worth reading carefully.

A free and open source manga reader server that runs extensions built for Mihon (Tachiyomi). Suwayomi is an independent Mihon (Tachiyomi) compatible software and is not a Fork of Mihon (Tachiyomi).

That distinction is the architecture. There is no Android app here, and no bundled catalogue of sources. The source definitions live in extensions written for a different project, and this server executes them.

The practical consequence is that your source list is the list your Mihon install has. If a source needs an extension, you install the extension, and if Mihon cannot fetch it, neither can Suwayomi. The server is a runner and a library, not a content source.

The platform claim follows from the same design: any platform that runs java and/or has a modern browser can run it, which the README extends to Windows, Linux, macOS and Chrome OS. And you can point a Mihon install at your server rather than the other way round, which is what the syncing section is about.

A server with no client is a server that does nothing

The client projects section opens with the requirement stated as a fact rather than as advice: you need a client or user interface app as a front-end for Suwayomi-Server.

The escape hatch for that requirement is in the same paragraph. If you directly download Suwayomi-Server from its releases, you get a bundled version of Suwayomi-WebUI with it.

So there are two arrangements. Bundle releases ship a server and a web client together, which is the path of least resistance. Or you run the server and pair it with a front end of your choice, which is the path if you want a native application or a specific client project.

The integrated clients are two, and both are web apps installed as progressive web apps: Suwayomi-WebUI, which is the default, and Suwayomi-VUI. The server can keep them automatically up to date, so in this arrangement the client is not something you install by hand.

The feature list belongs to the server, and the note says so

There is a note above the feature list that changes how to read everything below it.

These are capabilities of Suwayomi-Server; the actual working support is provided by each front-end app, check out their respective readme for more info.

So the list below is what the server can do, and what you can actually do depends on the client you chose. That is worth internalising before you evaluate, because two of the most attractive items, automated library updates and automated downloads of new chapters, need a client that surfaces them.

The capabilities themselves are these: installing and executing Mihon extensions so you get the same sources; searching and browsing installed sources; a library to save your mangas and categories into; automated library updates to check for new chapters; automated download of new chapters; viewing latest updated chapters; downloading for offline reading; backup and restore powered by Mihon-compatible backups; automated backup creation; tracking via MyAnimeList, AniList and MangaUpdates among others; automated WebUI updates for the default WebUI and for VUI; and OPDS with OPDS-PSE support.

There is also a named integration with FlareSolverr, described as support to bypass Cloudflare protection, which is the one capability whose legality and source terms are your responsibility rather than the project's.

Bundles ship a JVM, Electron and a launcher; other routes assume Java

The Downloading and Running section is organised by how much of the runtime the project provides for you.

The easy route is the bundle releases, which include the Java Runtime Environment, ElectronJS and the Suwayomi-Launcher. If a bundle for your operating system or CPU architecture is not provided, the README sends you to the advanced methods.

The Windows instruction starts with downloading the latest win64 release from the releases section, or a preview one from the separate preview repository. macOS and GNU/Linux have their own bundle sections.

Below that sit four package routes, Docker, Arch Linux, Debian/Ubuntu and NixOS, and then the advanced methods: running the jar release directly, and using Suwayomi remotely.

The difference in assumption is the thing to notice. A bundle is for someone who does not have Java installed. A jar, a distro package or a Docker image is for someone who does, and who would rather not have ElectronJS in the picture at all.

Six other clients, and the README marks some of them as possibly dead

Beyond the two integrated web apps, the README lists eight more clients under a heading that includes its own warning: other clients, potentially inactive or abandoned.

That parenthetical is doing real work. The list is a compatibility record, not a recommendation, and it is the kind of list that ages badly if read as current.

What each entry is, briefly: Kaori is a comic reader for GNOME with a libadwaita UI; Tachidesk-VaadinUI is a desktop app for Windows, Linux and Mac whose interface is in the browser and which manages its own server instance; Moku is another such desktop app; Tachidesk-JUI is a desktop app that can manage its own server instance; Suwayomi-Tsumiru, the successor to Tachidesk-Sorayomi, covers Android, iOS, desktop and web with offline reading of downloaded chapters and requires a running server; Tachidesk-Sorayomi covers web, desktop and Android and requires access to a running server; and Tachidesk-qtui is an Android app, an iOS app and a Linux desktop app that requires a running server.

The last entry is the most interesting for a particular reader: a Suwayomi Client for KOReader, which is a KOReader plugin that works anywhere KOReader can run, on Android, Kindle and Kobo among others, and which requires access to a running server.

OPDS at /api/opds/v1.2 is how the server talks to an e-reader

One line in the feature list names an endpoint: OPDS and OPDS-PSE support, endpoint `/api/opds/v1.2`.

That single detail explains the client list. OPDS is the catalog feed format that e-readers and reading apps fetch, so a server that speaks OPDS can be added as a library in a device that has no Suwayomi client of its own.

A plugin on an e-reader, such as the KOReader client, does not run a server itself; the README describes it as requiring access to a running server.

So there are two integration paths with different costs. Pair a purpose-built client, and you get the library, categories and downloads rendered the way that client renders them. Or point a generic reader at the OPDS endpoint, and you get a catalogue that refreshes itself without any Suwayomi-specific software.

The path with a version number in it, v1.2, is the OPDS version rather than a Suwayomi version, which is the kind of detail that decides whether an app of yours can talk to it.

Gradle, an AndroidCompat module, and version numbers with a build count

The repository is a Gradle project in the Kotlin DSL, with `build.gradle.kts`, `settings.gradle.kts`, a `buildSrc/` directory for build logic, the `gradlew` and `gradlew.bat` wrappers and a `gradle/` directory.

The root listing also has `server/`, which is the module the repository is named after, and `AndroidCompat/`, which is where the compatibility with the Android-oriented extension ecosystem lives. That directory name is the clearest single explanation of why this project can execute extensions written for a mobile application.

Then the maintenance scaffolding: `CHANGELOG.md` with a `CHANGELOG-TEMPLATE.md` beside it; `renovate.json` for dependency updates; `scripts/`, `docs/` and `CONTRIBUTING.md`, `CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md` and `LICENSE`, with the project under MPL-2.0.

The release tags are worth a note: v2.4.2366, v2.3.2243 and v2.3.2238. The third component is a build count that climbs continuously, so two releases on the same minor line are distinguishable by build number alone, and the newest published release here is v2.4.2366 from 2026-09-30.

Editorial conclusion

Suwayomi-Server suits someone who wants their Mihon extension sources on a home server, with a library, automated chapter downloads, backups and an OPDS feed for e-readers. It does not suit you as a single application, because the server is useless without a client, and it does not suit you if you need the extensions themselves, since Suwayomi executes extensions built for Mihon rather than shipping its own sources. Verify three things before you set it up: which front end you will use, since two are integrated and the server keeps those updated while the others are separate projects the README marks as potentially inactive or abandoned, which bundle or install route matches your platform, since the bundles ship a JVM, ElectronJS and a launcher while a jar or a Docker image assumes you already have Java, and whether the features you want are implemented by your chosen client, because the README attributes actual support to the front end.

Frequently asked questions

Official sources

1. Issues
2. License: MPL-2.0
3. README
4. Releases
5. Suwayomi/Suwayomi-Server on GitHub