Booker - A native toolkit for ebook/comics management

[Dost LeFan]

Hi everyone,

I'd like to share a project I've been building: Booker, a native C++17 toolkit for ebook and comic archive conversion.

Why I built it

I needed a straightforward tool to convert and process my comic archives without relying on heavy software or Python runtimes. Most existing tools either do too much, require too many manual dependencies, or lack a proper CLI. Booker tries to fill that gap.

What it does

Booker handles conversions between CBR, CBZ and PDF formats in both directions - single file or batch. All dependencies are fetched and built automatically via CMake, so there's nothing to install manually.

Supported conversions:

• CBR ↔ CBZ
• CBR ↔ PDF
• CBZ ↔ PDF
• Batch directory conversion

Under the hood

For those curious about the technical side:

• C++17, CMake (FetchContent for all deps)
• Poppler, LibHaru, libarchive, pugixml, CLI11, and others
• Shared core architecture serving both CLI and a future GUI as first-class citizens
• GitHub Actions CI on PRs and releases
• GPL v3

The goal is a modular, extensible, cross-platform ecosystem for ebook and comic workflows - not just a one-off conversion script.

Current state & roadmap

The project is in early development (v0.0.12). The core conversion pipeline works, but there's a lot ahead: EPUB support, metadata handling, batch improvements, a GUI (library not decided yet), and eventually a plugin system.

Where to find it

• GitHub: https://github.com/DostLeFan/Booker
• License: GPL v3
• Platforms: Windows, macOS, Linux (Ubuntu tested)

I'm looking for both users and contributors. If you work with large comic libraries, your real-world use cases would help shape the roadmap. And if you've ever worked with ebook formats and want to contribute or give architectural feedback, I'd genuinely love to hear from you.

Feedback, bug reports, and feature suggestions are all very welcome. Thanks for reading!