Softcover

A lightweight, native Hardcover.app client for iOS written in Swift.

Features

• Browse trending books, upcoming releases, community lists, and next-in-series suggestions
• Search by title, author, or ISBN barcode, with local search history
• Manage Want to Read, Reading, Paused, Read, Did Not Finish, and Owned shelves
• Choose, reorder, and swipe between visible library shelves
• Track page, time, or percentage progress, including backdated entries
• Run persistent focus sessions with a Live Activity and Dynamic Island controls, then review or correct the session history
• Set reading deadlines and see the daily pace needed to finish on time
• View goals, streaks, activity statistics, and a genre/author Reading Atlas
• Record multiple reads, ratings, reviews, quotes, personal tags, and community tags
• Create public or private custom lists with duplicate-name protection
• Share customizable book and statistics cards
• Hide and restore unwanted book or series recommendations
• Queue progress and library changes while offline and sync them after reconnecting
• Full audiobook support with hour:minute time tracking
• Release notifications for upcoming books
• Home screen widgets for progress, goals, releases, quotes, trending books, and a random pick
• Update reading progress directly from the Currently Reading widget
• Free themes, palettes, shelf behavior, streak visibility, and date-format preferences
• Multi-language support (English & Swedish)

All reading, library, statistics, sharing, sync, and widget features are free. The optional Supporter Pack and tips fund development; purchases never gate functional features.

Requirements

• Xcode 15.0 or later
• iOS 17.0 or later
• A Hardcover.app account

Hardcover Sign-In

Softcover uses Hardcover OAuth with Authorization Code + PKCE. Access and rotating refresh tokens are stored in a shared iOS Keychain access group so the app and widgets can use the same session. Existing personal API keys remain supported as a migration/development fallback and are also stored in Keychain.

To configure a source build:

1. Create a Hardcover Developer App of type Mobile, desktop, or CLI.
2. Register softcover://oauth/callback as its callback URI and disable the device grant.
3. Register the scopes listed in HardcoverOAuthConfiguration.scopes.
4. Set HARDCOVER_OAUTH_CLIENT_ID for both the Softcover app and widget target.

Native clients do not use or ship a client secret.

Building and Running

Using Xcode

1. Clone the repository

   git clone https://github.com/komadorirobin/Softcover.git
   cd Softcover
   

2. Open the project

   open "Softcover.xcodeproj"
   

   Or simply double-click Softcover.xcodeproj in Finder

3. Select your target device
   • In Xcode, select your iPhone or iPad from the device dropdown (top toolbar)
   • Or choose “Any iOS Device” to build for physical devices
   • Or select an iOS Simulator
4. Build and run
   • Press Cmd + R or click the Play button
   • For physical devices, you’ll need to:
     • Connect your device via USB or WiFi
     • Trust your development certificate on the device
     • Enable Developer Mode (Settings → Privacy & Security → Developer Mode)
5. First launch setup
   • When you first open the app, choose Connect with Hardcover
   • Approve the requested access on Hardcover
   • Softcover returns to the app and starts syncing your library and widgets

Building from Command Line

# Build for simulator
xcodebuild -project Softcover.xcodeproj -scheme "Hardcover Reading Widget" -destination 'platform=iOS Simulator,name=iPhone 15' build

# Build for device (requires signing configuration)
xcodebuild -project Softcover.xcodeproj -scheme "Hardcover Reading Widget" -destination 'generic/platform=iOS' build

Project Structure

• Hardcover Reading Widget/ - Main iOS app
  • ContentView.swift - Main book list and progress tracking UI
  • SearchBooksView.swift - Book search functionality
  • ApiKeySettingsView.swift - Settings and configuration
  • HardcoverService*.swift - API client for Hardcover GraphQL API
  • StatsView.swift - Reading statistics and goals
• ReadingProgressWidget/ - Home screen widgets
  • ReadingProgressWidget.swift - Main widget implementation
  • ReadingGoalWidget.swift - Reading goal widget

Troubleshooting

“Failed to build” errors:

• Make sure you have Xcode 15.0 or later installed
• Clean build folder: Product → Clean Build Folder (Cmd + Shift + K)
• Delete DerivedData: rm -rf ~/Library/Developer/Xcode/DerivedData

Code signing issues:

• Open the project in Xcode
• Select the project in the navigator
• Go to “Signing & Capabilities” tab
• Change the Team to your Apple Developer account
• Change the Bundle Identifier to something unique

Widget not appearing:

• Make sure the widget extension is enabled in your build scheme
• Check that you have the correct App Group configured
• Try removing and re-adding the widget from the home screen

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Feel free to:

• Report bugs by opening an issue
• Suggest new features
• Submit pull requests

License

This project is open source. Please check the LICENSE file for details.

Acknowledgments

Built with love for the Hardcover.app community.