Documentation

Everything here assumes the Docker image — a single container, a bind-mounted data directory, and configuration by environment variable. New here? Start with Installation.

Getting started

Installation

Run Lector with Docker Compose in two minutes — ports, volumes, updating.

Configuration

The full environment-variable reference: core, AI providers, TTS, accounts.

Guides

Compose + env vars

Keep secrets out of your compose file with .env — version pinning, defaults, verification.

Backups

From a one-line tar to the nightly staged-and-offsite system we run ourselves.

Multi-user & OIDC

Per-user libraries with SSO through Google, Authentik, Keycloak, or any OIDC provider.

Tailscale & HTTPS

Private access over your tailnet, and same-origin HTTPS with Caddy.

Using Lector

Reading & practice

EPUBs and articles, click-to-translate, word states, cloze SRS, AI providers, AnkiConnect.

Getting started with Anki

New to Anki? What it is, how spaced repetition works, installing it, and loading your first deck.

Supported languages

Language packs, sentence banks, and how the frequency data is built.

Tech stack

Frontend: Next.js 16 with React 19 — UI only; the browser calls the API directly
API: Hono on Bun, using bun:sqlite
Database: SQLite, server-side only
Styling: Tailwind CSS v4
AI: Anthropic Claude, or any OpenAI-compatible server — Ollama, LM Studio, vLLM (all optional)
TTS: Google Cloud Text-to-Speech (optional)
Container: Docker (single image, bind mount for data)