![Image 1 — [OC] GianoReader updates: you can now read your EPUBs with side-by-side translation (for free) on your smartphone and tablet too! 📖🎭📱](https://preview.redd.it/a8n7k76mpiih1.png?width=2425&format=png&auto=webp&s=cb78f34a22d4b6d07db40e8615e9583cf45ff152)
![Image 2 — [OC] GianoReader updates: you can now read your EPUBs with side-by-side translation (for free) on your smartphone and tablet too! 📖🎭📱](https://preview.redd.it/sb0mygzmpiih1.png?width=570&format=png&auto=webp&s=38f2c44134ba282f7d1a478483f0e36675755317)
![Image 3 — [OC] GianoReader updates: you can now read your EPUBs with side-by-side translation (for free) on your smartphone and tablet too! 📖🎭📱](https://preview.redd.it/afjeftmnpiih1.png?width=660&format=png&auto=webp&s=cb4ec217bbc54846cdec0b50806551f84cb9c579)
![Image 4 — [OC] GianoReader updates: you can now read your EPUBs with side-by-side translation (for free) on your smartphone and tablet too! 📖🎭📱](https://preview.redd.it/q5fe9huopiih1.png?width=663&format=png&auto=webp&s=5dcb1d66e23608087d36fc25f62cbd47859da617)
![Image 5 — [OC] GianoReader updates: you can now read your EPUBs with side-by-side translation (for free) on your smartphone and tablet too! 📖🎭📱](https://preview.redd.it/yvway2jppiih1.png?width=653&format=png&auto=webp&s=ed0722251fdbb9fc1d4b5c42aa6ca8c2a10c0227)
[OC] GianoReader updates: you can now read your EPUBs with side-by-side translation (for free) on your smartphone and tablet too! 📖🎭📱
Hi everyone! 👋
A few months ago, I shared with you the first version of GianoReader, my open-source desktop app for reading books in their original language with a synchronized, side-by-side translation.
Personally, I use this application a lot, but I find it uncomfortable having to read on a monitor and, like many of you, I would prefer having a mobile version to read comfortably while lying on the couch.
Porting Giano Reader into an Android and iOS app is technically feasible, but it clashes with the translation API usage policies, which would no longer be free.
For this reason, I equipped Giano Reader with a Web Server mode to access the application from any device on the LAN (and if you then want to access it from the outside, I've included instructions in the Manual on how to do it via Tailscale).
Here is the big news:
🌐 New Web Server Mode (Read on Mobile!)
This is the main new feature. Now, with a simple click from the desktop app, you can activate the built-in Web Server. What does this mean in practice?
- GianoReader generates a local IP address (or a QR code).
- You open that address from the browser of your smartphone, tablet (iOS or Android), or from another PC connected to your Wi-Fi network.
- Magic: You will have access to your entire GianoReader library directly from your phone's browser, with the interface adapted for small screens (the original text and the translation are laid out perfectly).
- The big advantage: By using the desktop server, your phone will also use the free translation API (FREE Mode via Google Translate) processed by the PC, bypassing the limitations of mobile browsers and giving you instant, zero-cost translations even under the covers!
🔄 Progress Synchronization
No leaps in the dark. If you start reading a chapter on your PC and then move to bed with your tablet via the Web Server, your reading progress, bookmarks, and translation status remain perfectly synchronized. The PC acts as the "brain", the phone as the "screen".
⚡ Other recent optimizations:
- Significantly improved parsing of more complex EPUBs (better layouts, cleaner handling of footnotes and weird CSS).
- Optimized Smart Lazy Translation to not consume too many resources when scrolling quickly.
- For those using PRO Mode with OpenRouter, I added native support for the latest LLM models for even more natural literary translations.
- Improved integration for scanning Calibre folders.
📥 How to try it
As always, the project is 100% open-source and free. You can download the installers (for Windows, macOS, and Linux) or take a look at the source code directly on GitHub:
👉 https://github.com/DrLoki/GianoReader
🗄️Download
If you had tried the old version, I invite you to give the new Web Server feature a chance. If you find it useful for learning new languages (or if you simply like the idea), a ⭐ on GitHub is the best way to support the project!
As always, I am very open to feedback, advice, or bug reports. Happy bilingual reading, now also from the couch! 📖✨