Why self-host your digital library?
E-book platforms impose their catalogues, their DRM and their terms of service. With Kavita, you import your own EPUB, CBZ, CBR or PDF files — whether purchased, borrowed or produced yourself — and access them from any device. Your library grows at your pace, not theirs, and your reading data stays on your machine.
What Kavita brings to a ServOrbit VPS
- In-browser reading — EPUB, CBZ, CBR, CB7, CBT and PDF readable directly, no plug-in or third-party app required.
- Polished reader — page-turn or scroll mode, dark theme, bookmarks and per-user reading history.
- OPDS catalogue — compatible with Moon+ Reader, KyBook, Yomu and any OPDS mobile reader for offline reading.
- Multi-user accounts — each family member gets their own account and independent reading progress.
- Automatic organisation — series (manga volumes, comic runs) are grouped by metadata and folder structure without manual work.
- Lightweight footprint — single container, under 256 MB RAM, embedded SQLite, no external services.
Supported formats: e-books, comics and manga
Kavita reads EPUB and EPUB3 (with chapters and metadata), CBZ, CBR, CB7 and CBT (comic archives), PDF, and raw image archives (ZIP, RAR). EPUB metadata — series, author, cover, publication date — is indexed automatically on the initial scan. Comics and manga in CBZ/CBR are grouped into series by your folder structure: one folder per series, one file per volume.
No domain name required
Kavita works without a domain name. Open an SSH tunnel from your machine: ssh -L 5000:127.0.0.1:<port> root@<vps-ip> and open http://localhost:5000. For permanent access from a phone or tablet, attach a domain from your ServOrbit dashboard — nginx proxies to the container over HTTPS — or use the free {app}.{dns_slug}.servorbit-dns.com subdomain included with every VPS.
Kavita vs Calibre-Web: when to use which?
Calibre-Web is built on an existing Calibre database and adds format conversion and email delivery. It is the right choice if you already have a Calibre-managed collection on a desktop. Kavita does not need Calibre: it reads your files directly from the Docker volume, handles CBZ and CBR natively (which Calibre-Web does not), and is significantly lighter. For a mixed e-book and manga library on a VPS, Kavita is the natural choice.
Backup and migration
Kavita separates data clearly: your source files are in the /kavita/library volume (never modified by the server), while metadata and reading progress live in /kavita/config. To migrate or back up, copy both volumes via SFTP or rsync. To restore on a new VPS, redeploy the image and re-mount the volumes — your entire library and reading history are intact.