Common questions about how RexyRead works and what to expect.
RexyRead is a free, beautifully designed reader for self-hosted comics, manga, novels (EPUB), and PDFs. It pairs to a RexyServer running on your own Mac and presents your library natively on iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Vision Pro.
Yes. RexyRead is a client — it talks to RexyServer to fetch your library. RexyServer is also free and is a direct download for your Mac.
RexyRead is completely free. No subscriptions, no ads, no trials, no upsell. There's a tip jar inside the app if you want to support development, but every feature is available either way.
Comics and manga in CBZ. Novels in EPUB. PDFs (both as PDFs and as scanned image-based PDFs). Other archive formats are converted to CBZ by RexyServer during library scanning.
On your RexyServer. Page-accurate progress syncs in real time across all your paired devices. If your server is unreachable, progress is queued locally and flushed when connectivity returns.
Yes. RexyRead has no cloud account and no analytics. All traffic is between your device and your own server, over your own network, with TLS certificate pinning. There is no third party in the loop.
Yes. Cache anything for offline reading from the in-app download manager. Downloads run in the background and resume cleanly when the network comes back.
Yes, with Tailscale. Install Tailscale on both your Mac running RexyServer and on your iPhone, iPad, Mac, or Vision Pro, and your devices will see each other as if they were on the same local network — from anywhere. Your library stays reachable without opening any ports, exposing your home network to the public internet, or trusting a third-party cloud relay. The free Tailscale tier covers personal use.
Scan a QR code from your RexyServer dashboard, or type the pairing string manually. Each device gets its own credentials, listed in the dashboard, revokable individually.
Not at launch. iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Vision Pro are supported from day one. Apple Watch and Apple TV are on the roadmap.
Yes. Export everything you've annotated as Markdown, CSV, or JSON from the in-app export view. The exported files include the book title, your highlighted text, your notes, and timestamps — drop them into Obsidian, Notion, or any tool that opens text.
Yes. Open the search panel inside any book and jump straight to any phrase or passage. Works in EPUB and PDF formats.
Not currently. The RexyView project ships compiled apps. Source-availability is something we may revisit in the future.