Support Windows & Linux

Important

Legal Disclaimer: StrawVerse is an open-source local media manager and indexing application designed for developers and researchers. The developers of this application do not host, store, stream, or distribute any copyrighted media (video, audio, or images). The application functions solely as a client-side parser and downloader wrapper utilizing publicly available web resource links. We do not condone, promote, or encourage copyright infringement. By using this software, you acknowledge and agree that all download and media-access activities are conducted at your own risk and responsibility, and that you are solely responsible for ensuring compliance with all local, national, and international copyright laws and terms of service.

Table of Contents

• Overview
• Key Features
• System Requirements
• Installation
• Usage
• Videos
• Configuration
• Uninstalling the Application
• Build the Application
  • Prerequisites
  • Steps to Build

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Overview

StrawVerse is a desktop application built with Electron, React, and Vite that allows you to stream, read, download, and track your anime and manga collections. It uses a local SQLite database to manage your library and watch history.

Beyond standard downloading, StrawVerse includes real-time playback synchronization with friends (Watch Together), automatic MyAnimeList synchronization, a built-in media player, and a manga reader.

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Key Features

• Watch Together: Host or join rooms to watch anime synchronously with friends (includes shared queue and text chat).
• In-App Player & Reader: Stream anime directly or read manga chapters in the app. Remembers your playback position and layout preferences.
• Bulk Downloading: Download entire seasons of anime or manga volumes at once, with support for merging subtitles directly into video files.
• Library Tracker: Tracks your progress (time watched, chapters read) and automatically updates your MyAnimeList account.
• Discord Status: Shows your current show or manga on your Discord profile.

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System Requirements

• Operating System: Windows & Linux

Installation

For Windows

1. Go to StrawVerse Releases.
2. Download the setup file StrawVerse.Setup.<version>.exe.
3. Run the installer to install the application, and enjoy!

For Linux

Via Quick Installer (Recommended)

Run the following command in your terminal to automatically download the latest version, make it executable, download the official icon, and create a desktop application shortcut:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/TheYogMehta/StrawVerse/main/install.sh | bash

Via Manual Download

1. Go to StrawVerse Releases.
2. Download the AppImage StrawVerse-<version>.AppImage or the snap package.
3. For AppImage: Make it executable using chmod +x StrawVerse-<version>.AppImage and run it.

For Other OS (macOS, etc.)

• Pre-built binaries are not currently provided. You can run the application by cloning the repository, installing the dependencies, and running it locally. See the Build the Application section below for step-by-step instructions.

Usage

1. Run the application (StrawVerse.exe on Windows, or StrawVerse.AppImage / Snap on Linux).
2. Search and Discover: Use the unified Discover page to search across anime or manga, switching search modes with the header toggle slider.
3. Stream or Read: Select a title to watch instantly in the custom HTML5 video player, or read chapters in the built-in manga reader.
4. Synchronized Playback: Jump to the Watch Together tab to host or join a synced watch room with friends.
5. Bulk Download: Select episodes/chapters from the detail view, choose your format (Sub/Dub/HSUB), and track queues in the Downloads tab.

Videos

How to download StrawVerse.exe?

2024-03-31.02-15-26.mp4

How to download anime from StrawVerse.exe?

2024-03-31.01-03-53.mp4

Configuration

Navigate to the settings tab to configure your StrawVerse application:

1. MyAnimeList Integration: Authenticate your MAL account via OAuth to enable plan-to-watch/plan-to-read automatic list tracking.
2. Player Settings: Configure subtitle styling and downloading preferences. Hianime provider streams support subtitle track extraction—choose to save subtitle tracks as raw external files or merge them directly into the output MP4 container.
3. Quality Preferences: Customize preferred resolution fallbacks for scrapers.
4. Server & Mapping URL: Reset or configure the address of the central mapping server. Verify connection endpoints with the integrated health test control.
5. Storage & Cache: Set size limits for poster image disk caching (default 5GB). The app implements LRU cache eviction and automatically purges cached assets older than 6 days.

Uninstalling the Application

For Windows

To delete the application, navigate to the following directory:

C:\Users\USERNAME\AppData\Local\Programs\StrawVerse

Then, run Uninstall StrawVerse.exe.

For Linux

• AppImage: Simply delete the downloaded .AppImage file. If you want to clean up application configurations, delete the ~/.config/strawverse directory.
• Snap: Run the following command in your terminal:

  sudo snap remove strawverse

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Build the Application

Follow these steps to build application:

Prerequisites

1. Download and install Node.js:

   • Node.js Download

2. Download and install Git:

   • Git Download

3. Download and install Python

   • Python Download

4. C++ Build Tools (Windows only, required for compiling native SQLite node modules via node-gyp)

   • During the Node.js installation on Windows, make sure you check the box that says "Automatically install the necessary tools" (this installs Python and the necessary VS Build Tools via Chocolatey automatically).
   • Alternatively, you can manually download and install Visual Studio Build Tools (be sure to select the Desktop development with C++ workload during setup).

Steps to Build

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/TheYogMehta/StrawVerse.git

2. Navigate to the project directory:

   cd StrawVerse/src

3. Install dependencies:

   npm install

4. For Building the application:

   npm run package

5. Run the application for testing:

   npm run start

Notes

• Build (package): Creates installer/executable files for Windows (.exe) and Linux (.AppImage, .snap) in the dist directory.
• Start: Runs the app locally in the Electron environment without building an executable.
• Ensure that your system has the latest versions of Node.js and Git installed for compatibility.
• If you encounter any issues, feel free to open an issue or join our Discord Server for support and chat!