KOReader is one of the best upgrades you can give an e-reader. It runs on devices like Kindle, Kobo, PocketBook, Android, and Linux, and it is especially nice if you want more control over formats, typography, PDF handling, OPDS catalogs, and plugins than the stock reader usually provides.
The default experience is already powerful, but KOReader gets much more interesting once you add a few focused plugins and connect it to a proper library backend.
SimpleUI
SimpleUI is a great first plugin to try if you want KOReader to feel less like a file browser and more like a dedicated reading dashboard. It adds a home screen, a customizable bottom navigation bar, a top status bar, and a cleaner library title bar.
The home screen can show your current book, recent books, collections, reading goals, stats, quick actions, new books, and even a quote of the day. It makes KOReader feel more approachable without hiding the power underneath.
Most KOReader plugins are installed by copying the .koplugin folder into KOReader’s plugin directory. On Kindle this is usually /mnt/us/extensions/koreader/plugins/, on Kobo it is usually .adds/koreader/plugins/, and on desktop Linux it is usually ~/.config/koreader/plugins/. Restart KOReader after copying the plugin so it can be loaded.
Grimmory for OPDS and progress sync
If you keep your books in Grimmory, KOReader can browse the library through OPDS. Enable the OPDS server in Grimmory, create an OPDS user, then add the catalog URL in KOReader. Grimmory’s standard OPDS endpoint is /api/v1/opds, so from another device it will look like http://your-server:6060/api/v1/opds or the equivalent URL behind your reverse proxy.
This is the cleanest way to get books onto the device because KOReader downloads the file directly from the same library that manages it. That also matters for KOReader progress sync. Grimmory matches books by file content hash, so progress sync works best when the book on the reader was downloaded from Grimmory, usually through OPDS, instead of sideloaded from a different source.
Once KOReader sync is enabled in Grimmory, copy the KOReader API path from Grimmory’s device settings and enter it in KOReader under the progress sync settings. After logging in with the KOReader-specific credentials, you can push and pull reading progress between KOReader and Grimmory. There is also an optional setting to sync with Grimmory’s built-in web reader, though that conversion can be approximate because KOReader and web readers use different position formats.
ReKindle
ReKindle is a web-based dashboard for e-ink devices such as Kindle, Kobo, and Boox. It is not a KOReader plugin, but it fits nicely into the same idea of making an e-reader more useful. Open it in the device browser and it gives you a dashboard with apps, tools, games, news-style features, favorites, weather, calendar information, and other lightweight utilities designed for e-ink screens.
It is worth trying if your device has a usable browser and you want a simple start page for non-reading tasks.
RSS inside KOReader
KOReader includes RSS support, but there are also interesting plugin alternatives if you want a better reading flow.
QuickRSS is a standalone RSS reader plugin focused on speed and offline reading. It stores feeds in OPML, caches articles and images to disk, tracks read and unread state, and can use FiveFilters to expand truncated feeds into fuller articles.
RSS Reader Plugin is another alternative with a broader account model. It supports local feeds as well as services like NewsBlur, CommaFeed, FreshRSS, Miniflux, and Fever-compatible APIs. That makes it especially useful if you already run or use an RSS service and want read-state sync rather than a completely local setup.
When things get weird
For technical questions, device-specific quirks, and plugin troubleshooting, the MobileRead forums are still one of the best places to search. KOReader has a long history there, and many problems with Kindle, Kobo, firmware versions, plugins, and installation paths have already been discussed.
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