Jellyfish for video, Navidrome for musicand Caliber-Web for e-books – my home server almost felt like a complete puzzle. It was purely, completely and completely mine. What was missing was a disorganized section full of CBZ files that I had collected over the years but never dealt with.
I always struggled to choose which ones to read on my iPad because I didn’t organize them into series and folders. Porting these comics to devices was another matter. Unlike other media servers, the comic collection just felt like a dump of files. So I kept looking for a way to fix them and found it Come on.
Just a media server for comics
If you’ve spent time setting up home servers, you know how it goes. Komga was the right choice because my goal was to host a server for comics and manga in CBZ and CBR formats.
What Komga does for comic collections is great – it takes an organized file folder and creates a neat layout that serves it on every compatible device in the house. It reminds me Setting up Jellyfin for the first time.
Komga does exactly what Jellyfin does for video
Proper library server and file browser
Komga is a free, open source, standalone comic and manga server that you can install on your hardware. The neat part is that Komga exists as one Docker containerdesktop software and on Linux servers and NAS boxes Through TrueNAS Scale, FreeNAS, QNAP and others. A neat web interface manages file metadata and automatically fetches cover art.
It also tracks each user’s comic reading progress and supports creating multiple user accounts. The application supports popular formats – CBZ, CBR, CBT, PDF and EPUB out of the box.
What I like the most is that I didn’t have to convert any files to make it fit the library. If you have comics saved in other file formats, the library option allows you to convert them to CBZ format – only works for CBR, CBT and PDF files.
Komga is often called the Jellyfin of comics for a reason. Both tools share the same basic philosophy: they allow you to run a server with your files and access them from different devices in your home. All this happens without a subscription or cloud account.
The setup matches my existing Docker stack
Another service in the Create file
I already had a Docker stack on my home server that had several services. Identifying Komga Docker Compose It took 15 minutes. I made the bindings for the configuration and pointed the database mount to the folder full of my CBZ files. This was the most important step; The komga server failed to load the comics folder. Only then did I spin up the container and it took a few seconds for the web interface to appear.
Anyone not running Docker can try Komga’s desktop software on Windows, macOS, or Linux. Since I already have media servers, using Docker felt like the right choice. After installing Komga, the next step is to populate the server.
Adding a library and scanning it was easy. The comics were neatly organized after the first scan. Komga automatically pulled the covers, identified the series, and grouped the individual issues together. Looking at the last shelf of comics was better than looking at a pile of files. The library scan frequency is customizable, and I’ve set it to scan every week — I don’t add many comics.
Using apps to stream comics from Komga
Advantages of REST API and OPDS support
Komga exposes the OPDS directory feed and its REST API, so multiple applications can connect to it without much fuss. With the open catalog standard, I can use reader software to view and download digital content directly from the server.
I installed it FunnyPointed to Komga’s OPDS URL, a free comics and manga reader app for iOS and iPadOS (http://server-ip:25600/opds/v1.2/catalog) and added the Komga credentials. The entire Komga library immediately appeared in the application.
Michon It is a fantastic reader app for Android users. Even without apps, I found Komga’s web interface to be capable of providing a truly app-like reading experience. Since it’s connected to your server, it remembers where you left off in addition to offering default views: left-to-right for comics and right-to-left for manga.
You can build a DRM-free comic library
Several sources for free comics
A Komga server is only as good as the files you put on the server. Fortunately, there are a number of legitimate sources for obtaining DRM-free files legally. Usually available in PDF and CBZ formats, you can then transfer them to your Komga server.
Here’s an indicative list of online sources to get DRM-free comics:
- The Humble Bundle – Deeply discounted packages from major publishers in CBZ format.
- 2000AD web store – Download everything from Judge Dredd to Strontium Dog as CBZ files.
- Panels Store – Several indie and small press titles
- DriveThruComics – Large indie and small press directory
- Itch.io – Several modern indie creators offering pay-what-you-want downloads
- Fanatic – Random comic packs
In addition to these websites, you can download thousands of Golden Age comics for free Comics Plus and Digital Comic Museum. Both sites require you to register and verify your account to access these comics.
The home media stack is complete
Komga is a solid addition to my media server and handles comics both old and new with speed. Although Caliber-Web supports comics, I prefer its native integration with Kindle.
If you want a server to handle e-books, comics, and manga, then Kavita does the work. Komga is the answer to creating custom experiences for comics and manga.
