How QuireInk is made
QuireInk is a one-person project, made with a lot of care and many hours on real readers. Much of its code is written with the help of an AI model (Claude, by Anthropic). Its maker decides what goes in, every change has to pass the tests, and releases are tried on a device first. It is said here openly, as anyone could see it in the history.
What it is built for
- Wishes and fixes come quickly. A bug report or a good idea can turn into a working change within days, tests included. That is how QuireInk came by a home screen you arrange, phone-like gestures, rules, sync with KOReader and Calibre and a plugin library.
- Almost everything can be changed. Every part is a plugin, each with its settings, translations and screens. It is a great deal of careful, patient work, and it is what lets you change QuireInk without forking it.
- Your books stay yours. They remain ordinary files that any other reader opens. QuireInk asks for no account and sends nothing anywhere unless you set up a sync; if something goes wrong, a restart puts it right.
What keeps it careful
- More than 400 automated tests, and pictures of its screens drawn in the emulator and compared with every change.
- Every change passes these checks before it is merged; releases are built reproducibly, so F-Droid can build the same app and confirm it.
- The plan, the decisions and the whole history are public.
- Releases are tried on a real reader first (a Boox Go 7 so far); the X4 firmware is offered only once it has run on a device.
Made for tinkerers
Firmware for small readers is usually changed by forking it and keeping the fork in step; CrossPoint and projects like it are fine readers, built that way. QuireInk is built as a platform instead: a small kernel, every other part a plugin made with the same SDK, a desktop emulator to try a change in seconds, and folders of text files for those who do not write code. If you like to take things apart and put them together your way, it is made for you.
Browse the plugins · How to write a plugin
Where it stands
QuireInk is young. It is not yet as proven as readers with years of daily use behind them, and you may meet rough edges. It earns its place another way: it is open, it bends to what you want, and it gets better quickly. Bugs and wishes are welcome on GitHub.