Mobile App
A mobile app is currently in a PoC (proof of concept) stage. Please be aware that these sections of the documentation subject to change or might not be fully implemented yet
The mobile app is being developed using React Native, which enables support for both iOS and Android with a single codebase. This is mostly to reduce the overhead of maintaining two separate codebases.
Planned Features
The mobile app will be a bit more trimmed down in scope compared to the built in web app, but will aim to provide a more focused experience tailored to on-the-go, mobile use cases. Here are some of the planned features:
- Multi-server configurations
- OPDS support, so you can use the app with other OPDS-compatible services
- Readers for the supported book formats (e.g., CBZ/CBR, EPUB, PDF, etc.)
- Offline reading so you don’t need an active internet connection
Alpha Testing
The app is currently available for alpha testing on both iOS and Android. If you’re interested in testing it out, please reach out on Discord!
Please remember that the app is in a PoC stage, so there will be bugs and missing features. Your feedback is greatly appreciated!
Contributing
If you are a mobile developer and would like to help out, please feel free to reach out on Discord! There is no official project or roadmap yet, but I’m happy to discuss the current state of the app and what needs to be done.
To see actual developer guides, refer to the app repository on GitHub.
FAQ
Pricing
The price has yet to be determined and subject to change
The app will remain free for alpha testers, via TestFlight and Google Play. Once the app is more stable and feature-complete, it will be released as a paid app on both platforms. The price is still to be determined, but it will be a one-time purchase with no required recurring fees or subscriptions that otherwise gate features.
There is an actual, monetary, developer cost associated with maintaining the app on both platforms - looking at you Apple - so the price will be set to ideally cover those costs over time.
Why React Native?
React Native is often criticized for its performance and reliability, but it has come a long way since its inception. Stump is primarily developed and maintained by a single person, so it is important to consider the trade-offs between performance and development overhead.
Regardless, I am confident that it is at least a good fit for Stump, as it is a relatively simple app with a focus on content consumption - which doesn’t inherently require a lot of performance.
If you’re interested in updates, you can track the broad progress here. If you’re a mobile developer and would like to help out, please feel free to reach out!
Why OPDS v2?
I recognize that there are many OPDS v1.2-compatible servers out there, and OPDS v2.0 is not widely adopted yet.
However, I really don’t like XML - at least not from the perspective of a developer. I don’t want to have to maintain an XML client for the app, there are lots of really great v1.2-compatible apps out there, so I’m only supporting OPDS v2.0.
That said, I will consider outside contributions that successfully wrangle v1.2 vs v2.0 client-side negotiations without breakage. Please reach out if you’re interested in contributing!
Will there be translations?
Yes! The app will be translated into multiple languages in the same way the web app is.