Custom Dictionary for Koreader

hipposareevil · 07-03-2026, 02:57 PM

Howdy,

I created a process for making a custom dictionary for koreader.

I have trouble remembering characters and groups in Sci-fi/Fantasy books and wanted to create a dictionary that contains little blurbs for these things. I made a script with claude.ai to do this.

It takes an epub and sends 30-40% of the book to claude and it synthesizes definitions without spoilers into a dictionary. Then I copy the dictionary over to my koreader and can then press on a name or planet and it pops up info.

This is what it looks like when you click on a name:

it ends up costing about 2 to 4 cents using claude's API (Haiku)

Thought others might like this for their own reading.
It's up on github:
https://github.com/hipposareevil/noveldict

On my mac we created an automator script so I can drop the epub onto the icon and it will send off to the AI overlords and bring back an updated dictionary.
(I made another automator script that then copies that epub and dictionary over to my two koreaders via SSH, which is pretty slick)

binarymelon · 07-10-2026, 09:54 AM

Looks pretty cool. A few things that might be useful (at least for me personally):

Docker image
Ability to submit epub from the web interface.
A calibre plugin to submit directly from there (extension to the above).
Koreader plugin to download the dictionaries and/or submit books directly from reader.
Also tracking spoilers but not including them in the dict until you've moved on to the next book. As someone with ADHD and a poor memory this would be really useful.
To support the above it may also be useful to track the series and/or universe to support creating a dictionary for each; assuming someone may read more than one book at a time or temporarily move on to another without finishing.

hipposareevil · Today, 03:59 AM

Those are some good suggestions.

I'll chat with claude and have her make a dockerfile and see about the GUI.

I think issue (for me) with multiple dictionaries is that you'd have to load them each time you get a new book. by which I mean choose it in the koreader.

I think a koreader plugin would be the way to go for having spoilers be context aware.

binarymelon · Today, 07:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hipposareevil

Those are some good suggestions.

I'll chat with claude and have her make a dockerfile and see about the GUI.

I think issue (for me) with multiple dictionaries is that you'd have to load them each time you get a new book. by which I mean choose it in the koreader.

I think a koreader plugin would be the way to go for having spoilers be context aware.

I create a PR for the docker container 3 weeks ago.

07-03-2026, 02:57 PM	#1
hipposareevil Junior Member Posts: 3 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jul 2026 Device: kobo	Custom Dictionary for Koreader Howdy, I created a process for making a custom dictionary for koreader. I have trouble remembering characters and groups in Sci-fi/Fantasy books and wanted to create a dictionary that contains little blurbs for these things. I made a script with claude.ai to do this. It takes an epub and sends 30-40% of the book to claude and it synthesizes definitions without spoilers into a dictionary. Then I copy the dictionary over to my koreader and can then press on a name or planet and it pops up info. This is what it looks like when you click on a name: it ends up costing about 2 to 4 cents using claude's API (Haiku) Thought others might like this for their own reading. It's up on github: https://github.com/hipposareevil/noveldict On my mac we created an automator script so I can drop the epub onto the icon and it will send off to the AI overlords and bring back an updated dictionary. (I made another automator script that then copies that epub and dictionary over to my two koreaders via SSH, which is pretty slick) Last edited by hipposareevil; 07-03-2026 at 02:59 PM.

07-10-2026, 09:54 AM	#2
binarymelon Enthusiast Posts: 33 Karma: 10 Join Date: Dec 2011 Device: Kobo Sage	Looks pretty cool. A few things that might be useful (at least for me personally): Docker image Ability to submit epub from the web interface. A calibre plugin to submit directly from there (extension to the above). Koreader plugin to download the dictionaries and/or submit books directly from reader. Also tracking spoilers but not including them in the dict until you've moved on to the next book. As someone with ADHD and a poor memory this would be really useful. To support the above it may also be useful to track the series and/or universe to support creating a dictionary for each; assuming someone may read more than one book at a time or temporarily move on to another without finishing. Last edited by binarymelon; 07-10-2026 at 10:19 AM.

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Today, 03:59 AM	#3
hipposareevil Junior Member Posts: 3 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jul 2026 Device: kobo	Those are some good suggestions. I'll chat with claude and have her make a dockerfile and see about the GUI. I think issue (for me) with multiple dictionaries is that you'd have to load them each time you get a new book. by which I mean choose it in the koreader. I think a koreader plugin would be the way to go for having spoilers be context aware.