GuideVault

[Shredder_guitar]

I’ve been working on a new project called Guidevault.

It’s a self-hosted web reader and library manager for video game manuals, strategy guides, and gaming magazines. The idea is pretty simple: keep your own files where they are, scan them into a clean library, and read them through a browser-based interface.

It supports things like manuals, strategy guides, magazines, local folder scanning, metadata editing, reader preferences, Docker deployment, and OPDS access for compatible readers.

Still a work in progress, but it’s finally public on GitHub for anyone interested in checking it out:

https://github.com/Shredder5262/Guidevault

 

A bit more info https://guidevault.net

Edited June 7 by Shredder_guitar

[Shredder_guitar]

Taking shape after getting metadata cleaned up a bit. 

Edited June 16 by Shredder_guitar

[rexryan]

Interesting what about comics? Metadata?

 

[Shredder_guitar]

On 6/9/2026 at 5:52 PM, rexryan said:

Interesting what about comics? Metadata?

 

You can use Kavita Reader for Comics, I want to get away from having to depend on comicrack for organizing cbz. I may support other things for video games in the future, for now it is specifically manuals, strategy guides and magazines. 
Regarding Metadata enrichment...................  stay tuned. 

Edited June 10 by Shredder_guitar

[rexryan]

Just now, Shredder_guitar said:

You can use Kavita Reader for Comics, I want to get away from having to depend on comicrack for organizing cbz.
Regarding Metadata enrichment...................  stay tuned. 

Thanks..Will follow..

 

[Shredder_guitar]

Color scape can be applied to main menu's (optional) 

 

Local Stat Visual Polish

 

Enhanced user section, added local/server based review area. 

• OPDS extra-click issue resolved.
• Docker/GHCR package released successfully.
• New container package looks good so far.
• Source/repo icon mismatch is cleaned up.
• Bad nested docs/images/images folder was removed/moved correctly.
• Release pipeline is working again.
• BUNCH of visual improvements 
   

[Shredder_guitar]

Here is a sample of json data that would be stored with a manual/strategy guide/ magazine after data enrichment....which is infinitely better for storing relevant data to an object. This would replace comicinfo.xml.  The idea is to bridge the gap between a guide/manual and the game title itself so a mixture of datapoints related both to the guide itself and the game title are stored together to make the bridge. 
guidevault-guide-metadata.json

Edited June 13 by Shredder_guitar

[Shredder_guitar]

GuideVault has been moving fast since 0.9.200.
What started as a focused reader/library app for manuals, strategy guides, and magazines has turned into a much more polished self-hosted platform.
Recent updates include:
✅ Docker runtime improvements
Poppler is now included in the Docker image so PDF-to-CBZ conversion works properly in published containers.
✅ Better manual metadata
Manuals now support shared game metadata fields like game title, franchise/series, developer, game publisher, game release year, and genre.
✅ Cover loading and cache stability
Several updates focused on making large libraries feel better: bounded cover loading queues, stale request cancellation, faster visible cover loading, and better recovery when files are renamed, moved, or replaced.
✅ Home Assistant integration
GuideVault can now publish reader/library state into Home Assistant and accept commands back from automations.
✅ Reader control from Home Assistant
Commands now support opening manuals, strategy guides, and magazines by content type, plus next page, previous page, page jump, zoom, overlay control, close reader, fullscreen, background changes, and brightness control.
✅ Magazine-specific targeting
Magazine open commands can now target an issue number and optional volume, which is important when a series has multiple issues.
✅ Task/notification cleanup
Integration messages, update notices, and running task counts now flow through the top Tasks menu instead of scattered inline messages or floating popups.
✅ Reader/cache bug fixes
Recent fixes also improve how replaced or corrected files are handled so the library cover and reader pages stay in sync instead of showing stale pages.
GuideVault is still a personal project, but it keeps getting closer to the thing I originally wanted: a clean, self-hosted way to organize, read, preserve, and automate access to game manuals, strategy guides, and gaming magazines.
Still a lot to do, but this has been a solid stretch of progress.

https://guidevault.net

Edited June 16 by Shredder_guitar

[Shredder_guitar]

GuideVault LaunchBox Connector v0.4.22 is now available.

This update is the first release package for the GuideVault LaunchBox Connector. The plugin connects LaunchBox with a running GuideVault server so games can be matched to manuals, strategy guides, and magazines, then opened directly from LaunchBox.

Recent additions include:

• Manual, strategy guide, and magazine sync support

• Sync selected or sync all options by content type

• Match review windows for checking matched content

• Badge/media asset support

• A cleaner LaunchBox-root install package

• Improved plugin status reporting

• Reduced background polling and lighter connection handling

• Compatibility with the newer GuideVault server-side connector authentication flow

The download package is structured to match the LaunchBox root folder, so installation should be simple: extract the contents into the folder that contains LaunchBox.exe.

A running GuideVault server is required. GuideVault server v0.9.260 or newer is recommended.

[Shredder_guitar]

GuideVault v1.1.0

This release focuses on library workflow cleanup, LaunchBox match review improvements, reader background customization, Docker packaging cleanup, and repository hygiene.

Added

• Added Library Tools workflows for Organize Files, JSON Write-Back, Format Conversion, Metadata Manager, and LaunchBox Match Review.
• Added uploaded reader background support with profile previews and background library management.
• Added confirmed LaunchBox match data into native metadata JSON write-back.

Improved

• Reworked LaunchBox Match Review filters, actions, details modal behavior, and confirmed-match handling.
• Improved settings navigation by grouping file and metadata tools under Library Tools.
• Improved Docker/package hygiene so runtime data, uploaded backgrounds, caches, backups, and generated packages stay out of releases.

Fixed

• Fixed repository ignore rules for local runtime data and generated files.
• Fixed Dockerfile and compose example formatting.
• Fixed build/package safety around personal data paths.

Edited June 30 by Shredder_guitar

[The_Keeper86]

This seems like a really sweet project! I love the web ui. However, I've never ran docker before but I was able to set it up and were able to some magazines, however how do I update to the latest version? 

[Shredder_guitar]

1 hour ago, The_Keeper86 said:

This seems like a really sweet project! I love the web ui. However, I've never ran docker before but I was able to set it up and were able to some magazines, however how do I update to the latest version? 

use docker compose. 
in the directory of your compose file
"Docker compose down"
"Docker compose up -d" Pulls the latest version

[The_Keeper86]

58 minutes ago, Shredder_guitar said:

use docker compose. 
in the directory of your compose file
"Docker compose down"
"Docker compose up -d" Pulls the latest version

Thanks! It still shows I'm on 0.9.260 though.

[Shredder_guitar]

That's me not updating the internal app, but updating the release package when i published it. A visual confirmation would be seeing the 'Library Tools' menu on the left hand of the settings menu. I will get the version numbers better aligned.  I will update the existing package so the app says v1.1.1, and whatever else going forward. 

I honestly didn't know anyone besides myself was using it, so I didn't think anyone else would care.

*update*, versioning reporting is fixed now. 

Edited June 30 by Shredder_guitar

[The_Keeper86]

8 minutes ago, Shredder_guitar said:

That's me not updating the internal app, but updating the release package when i published it. A visual confirmation would be seeing the 'Library Tools' menu on the left hand of the settings menu. I will get the version numbers better aligned.  I will update the existing package so the app says v1.1.1, and whatever else going forward. 

I honestly didn't know anyone besides myself was using it, so I didn't think anyone else would care.

That makes sense now.

I'm loving what you've done. Especially the gui! It looks very professional!

[Shredder_guitar]

GuideVault v1.1.2

This release adds library management, maintenance, backup, search, reader, and collection improvements.

Highlights:

• Added scheduled maintenance tasks with readable scheduling presets and backend cron-style execution.
• Added guided Backup & Restore workflow with backup history, upload preview, restore preview, and safety backup.
• Added bookmark notes with inline editing and delete-note support.
• Replaced browser keybind alert with an in-app keybind popup.
• Expanded global search across metadata, tags, notes, platforms, and LaunchBox match fields.
• Improved Home search results behavior.
• Added user-defined collections and curated shelves.
• Added collection Home/sidebar placement options.
• Fixed sidebar collection filtering.
• Improved Events logging level placement.
• Improved Update History layout and collapsed history behavior.