Sources, explained.

Kiyume is a reader. What you read, and where it comes from, is up to you. Here’s how sources work, how Kiyume keeps them in check, and what it deliberately doesn’t do.

In short

  • Kiyume ships with no sources and no catalogues. It doesn’t list, recommend or operate any.
  • A source is added only when you choose to trust the person who published it, after seeing who they are.
  • Every source is signed, can reach only the addresses it declares, and never sees your library or history.
  • You’re responsible for using sources in a way the law and the sites involved allow. When in doubt, support official releases.

What a source is

A source is a small add-on that lets Kiyume read a catalogue published somewhere else: it tells the app how to search for titles and how to find a series’ chapters and pages on a particular website or service.

A source contains no manga. It doesn’t add screens to the app, and it can’t use the network, your files or your phone on its own: Kiyume does all of that for it, within strict limits. Sources are written and published by other people, and gathered in repositories — signed lists kept by whoever publishes them.

Ways to read in Kiyume

WhatWhere it comes fromWho is responsible
Your own filesComics already on your iPhone or iPad, imported from the Files app.You
Your own serverYour collection on a Komga server at home. Kiyume connects only to the address you type.You
SourcesAdd-ons from repositories you choose to trust, reading catalogues published on the web.The source’s author, the repository operator and the site it reads

Adding a source

Sources are shared by their authors through a repository link, usually on the author’s own page, or as a file. Adding one takes a minute, and every step asks you first:

  1. Open the repository link or fileTap the link on a device with Kiyume, or paste it in Browse › + › Add a repository, where you can also choose a file. Nothing is authorised yet.
  2. See who’s on the other endKiyume shows the repository’s operator, the addresses its sources may contact, and a fingerprint of its signing key.
  3. Compare the fingerprintThis is the part worth checking. Compare it with the fingerprint the operator published somewhere you already trust. If the two differ, someone else is on the other end: stop there.
  4. Authorise the repositoryOnly then is its key stored, on this device only.
  5. Install only what you wantEach source shows its author, languages, content rating and the addresses it will contact before you install it.

Updates arrive from the same repository. An update signed with the same key installs normally; if the key changes, Kiyume stops and asks you to confirm — do so only if the operator announced the change.

How Kiyume protects you

  • Signed, and checked every time. A source is installed only if its signature matches a key you trust, and its contents match exactly what the repository described.
  • Only the addresses it declares. A source lists the websites it needs up front. Kiyume refuses every other address, whatever the source asks for.
  • No downloaded code. Kiyume never runs code it downloaded. A source is a description Kiyume follows, not a program.
  • Walled off from you. A source never sees your library, your history, your other sources, your passwords or anything about your device.
  • Yours to remove. Disable a source, remove it, or revoke a whole repository at any time. Series you saved stay in your library.
What a signature proves, and what it doesn’tIt proves a source comes, unchanged, from the person whose key you trusted. It doesn’t prove the source works, that its catalogue is accurate, or that using it is allowed. Those are up to its author and to you.

What Kiyume doesn’t do

  • Kiyume doesn’t host, store or distribute the manga that sources read. Pages load directly from the site behind the source.
  • Kiyume doesn’t publish, list, recommend or endorse any source or repository, and doesn’t review what they show.
  • Kiyume can’t tell whether a source is allowed by a site’s terms or by the law where you live.

So please use only sources you’re entitled to use, and respect the rights of the people who make what you read. When a source marks a series as licensed, Kiyume links to the official release instead — the best way to support the author.

Content and age ratings

Every source declares a content rating, and adult sources must say so and be rated 18+. Explicit content is hidden until you choose otherwise: with Show explicit content off, adult sources are hidden in repositories and explicit series are hidden while browsing.

Ratings are declared by the source’s author. If one is wrong, report it: it’s one of the reasons you can choose.

Reporting a source

Use Report on the source or on a series, and pick what’s wrong: it doesn’t work, it’s wrongly labelled, explicit content isn’t marked as such, a copyright or rights complaint, or something else. For a broken source, the report includes the results of an automatic check.

Kiyume also shows the operator’s own contact next to their sources, so a problem reaches whoever can fix it. Rights holders can find more on the copyright page.

For source authors

Anyone can write and publish a source. If you do, Kiyume asks a few things of you:

  • Publish only what a source needs: the signed list, the signed sources, their logos, an information page and a way to reach you. Never pages, chapters, copied covers, credentials or mirrors of a site.
  • Make sure you may. Read the terms of the site your source reads, and respect them.
  • Rate content honestly. Adult catalogues must be marked as such and rated 18+.
  • Be reachable. Publish a contact for reports, answer them, and remove a contested source promptly.
  • Keep your private keys private. Never upload, share or commit them. Publish your key’s fingerprint where readers can check it.
Developer guideHow to write a source, test it and publish your own repository: Build a source.