Kithara
What changed and when

Changelog

Every Kithara release, newest first. Subscribe to the feed to hear about updates without giving us an email address.

1.3.0 In testing

Chapter names heard from the narrator, a progress bar for work in the background, and fixes for sync and Android Auto.

  • Find chapter names: Kithara listens to the first few seconds of each chapter and names it after what the narrator says, with credits and interludes labelled. Run it on one book, or let it name every book whose chapters are only numbered (Pro).
  • A progress bar above the cover, and a matching badge in the library, for downloads, transcripts and chapter naming.
  • Sync removes books that are gone from a folder, so a re-ripped book no longer leaves the old copies behind.
  • Switching between Android Auto and the phone no longer jumps the position back.
  • Very long m4b files that could not be transcribed now can.
  • Pro is checked with Google Play every time the app opens, so there is no restore button to find.

1.2.0 In testing

The first release: a player for the audiobook files you own, with Audiobookshelf and self-hosted server support, chapters read from the files, and on-device transcripts.

  • Libraries: folders on the device, Audiobookshelf, kithara-server or any Kithara sync server, and LibriVox. Any number at once, each with its own tab, all free.
  • Open with Kithara: an audio file handed over by another app is copied into a folder library, with a progress bar and a rescan.
  • Delete a folder-library book from the device, behind a confirmation. Start from the beginning puts a book back to not started.
  • Next chapter on the final chapter runs the book off the end and marks it finished.
  • LibriVox built in: search thousands of free public-domain audiobooks by title or author, add them, stream from the Internet Archive or download, one chapter per section. Free, no account.
  • Formats: m4b, m4a, mp4, aac, mp3, ogg, oga, opus, flac, wav, wma, mka and 3gp. A folder of numbered files plays as one book on one timeline.
  • Chapters read from m4b chpl atoms and QuickTime chapter tracks, ID3 CHAP frames, .cue sheets, or the server.
  • Streaming over HTTP range requests, downloads that survive reboots, and a Wi-Fi-only switch.
  • Position sync where unpushed local changes always win, so offline listening never rewinds you.
  • Playback from 0.5x to 3.5x with pitch preserved, skip silence, configurable skip lengths, smart rewind on resume, and a five-second rewind after calls.
  • Sleep timer with end-of-chapter mode, a 20-second fade, and shake to add time.
  • Android Auto with a shallow browse tree, per-book progress and voice search. Bluetooth play resumes the last book with the app closed.
  • Bookmarks with labels, search, filters, sort and pinning. Bookmarks sync both ways with Kithara servers.
  • Listening stats with a daily goal, streaks, a 30-day chart and an "On the shelf" card per library, plus 56 achievements in seven groups (Pro).
  • Transcripts: on-device Whisper speech-to-text per chapter, with read-along highlighting, tap to jump, and whole-book search (Pro).
  • Stats by period: today, this week, this month, this year and all time, each against the previous stretch, with a chart to match (Pro). Stats and awards can be reset from Settings.
  • Year in review: a shareable card of the year, leading the Stats page from 20 December to the end of January (Pro).
  • Clear speech and boost: a voice filter and up to 12 dB of gain for quiet recordings (Pro).
  • Up next: queue a book to play after this one, or continue a series automatically (Pro).
  • Chapter trims: skip the edges of every chapter and short credits chapters, per book (Pro).
  • Home-screen widgets: continue listening, and the streak (Pro).
  • Backup and restore to a single file, matched to your library on a new phone (Pro).
  • Themes: light, dark, accent colours and colours from your wallpaper, plus custom app icons (Pro).
  • Achievements arrive as a quiet notification instead of a dialog, and every one of the 56 has its own drawn icon.
  • Library cards show reading progress in grid view as well as list view.
  • Languages: English, French, Spanish, German, Portuguese (Brazil) and Italian, with a per-app language setting. Non-English text is machine-translated and reviewed.

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