Kioku

Kioku is a desktop app for managing an AniList library with a focused, native-feeling interface for anime and manga tracking.

It combines a React + Vite frontend with a Tauri 2 desktop shell and a Rust backend for local app functionality and AniList integrations.

Overview

Kioku is designed to feel like a dedicated desktop client rather than a simple web wrapper. The app focuses on:

• browsing and managing AniList anime and manga libraries
• searching and inspecting media details
• checking library stats and profile overview
• tracking progress and list status
• keeping the interface lightweight and desktop-first

Why Kioku

Kioku was built for people who want a cleaner, faster, and more focused alternative to managing AniList in the browser. It brings together media browsing, library tracking, statistics, and desktop app UX in one place without the noise of a generic web portal.

It is especially useful if you want:

• a more app-like experience for managing anime and manga libraries
• quick access to your AniList data without browser clutter
• a polished desktop interface built around media discovery and tracking
• a project that keeps the frontend and native runtime intentionally separated

Features

• Anime library management
• Manga library management
• Search across AniList media
• Detail pages for media entries
• Dashboard with profile and statistics
• Activity viewing and timeline-related areas
• Theme switching and custom visual styles
• Desktop-first layout with a polished UI

Tech stack

Frontend

• React 19
• TypeScript
• Vite
• React Router
• Lucide React

Desktop / runtime

• Tauri 2
• Rust
• AniList GraphQL API

Requirements

Before running the app, make sure the following are installed:

• Node.js 20 LTS or newer
• npm
• Rust stable toolchain
• A C++ build environment for Tauri on Windows/macOS/Linux

Windows-specific notes

On Windows, the following are typically required for Tauri builds:

• Visual Studio 2022 Build Tools
• Desktop development with C++ workload
• Windows 10/11 SDK

If the Tauri build fails on your machine, make sure the Rust toolchain and Visual Studio C++ toolchain are installed correctly.

Quick start

Windows

git clone https://github.com/vorlie/kioku.git
cd kioku
npm install
npm run tauri dev

On Windows, install Visual Studio 2022 Build Tools with the Desktop development with C++ workload before running Tauri builds.

macOS

git clone https://github.com/vorlie/kioku.git
cd kioku
npm install
npm run tauri dev

macOS users may need Xcode Command Line Tools installed for native build dependencies.

Linux

git clone https://github.com/vorlie/kioku.git
cd kioku
npm install
npm run tauri dev

On Linux, ensure the Tauri prerequisites for your distro are installed, including build tools and libraries required by the desktop runtime.

Installation

Clone the repository and install frontend dependencies:

git clone https://github.com/vorlie/kioku.git
cd kioku
npm install

Development

Run the frontend in Vite

npm run dev

This starts the Vite development server for the web UI.

Run the desktop app with Tauri

npm run tauri dev

This launches the desktop application and connects the web frontend to the Tauri runtime.

Production build

Frontend build

npm run build

Desktop app build

npm run tauri build

This produces the application bundle for the Tauri desktop app.

Dependency reference

JavaScript / frontend dependencies

Package	Version	Purpose
react	^19.1.0	UI library
react-dom	^19.1.0	React DOM rendering
react-router-dom	^7.18.2	Client-side routing
lucide-react	^1.31.0	Icon set
hls.js	^1.7.1	HLS playback support
@tauri-apps/api	^2	Tauri frontend API
@tauri-apps/plugin-opener	^2	Open external links
@tauri-apps/plugin-shell	^2	Shell integration

Development dependencies

Package	Version	Purpose
vite	^7.0.4	Frontend build tooling
typescript	~5.8.3	Type safety and compile checks
@vitejs/plugin-react	^4.6.0	Vite React support
@types/react	^19.1.8	React TypeScript types
@types/react-dom	^19.1.6	React DOM TypeScript types
@types/hls.js	^0.13.3	HLS type definitions
@tauri-apps/cli	^2	Tauri CLI for dev/build commands

Rust dependencies

Package	Version	Purpose
tauri	2	Desktop app framework
tauri-plugin-opener	2	External URL handling
tauri-plugin-shell	2	Shell operations
reqwest	0.12	HTTP client
tokio	1	Async runtime
serde / serde_json	1	Serialization
anyhow	1	Error handling
thiserror	1	Error derivation
tracing / tracing-subscriber	0.1 / 0.3	Logging
ani_lib (ani-cli-rs)	0.11.0	AniList / media-related Rust integration

Project structure

.
├── assets/               # Project preview and marketing images
├── src/                  # React frontend source
├── src-tauri/            # Tauri app and Rust backend
├── public/               # Static public assets
├── index.html            # Vite entry HTML
├── package.json          # Frontend scripts and dependencies
├── tsconfig.json         # TypeScript config
├── vite.config.ts        # Vite configuration
├── README.md             # Project documentation
├── anilist-schema.graphql # AniList schema reference
└── src-tauri/Cargo.toml  # Rust project configuration

AniList integration

Kioku uses the AniList GraphQL API to access user data, library entries, media metadata, and related information. In the app, users authenticate with their AniList account to sync and manage their personal library.

License

No license has been declared in the repository metadata yet, so licensing information is currently unspecified.

Status

This project is under active development and the interface and feature set may change over time.