Compared with other tools¶
Tankarr is a manager: it decides what a series is, what is missing, where to get it and how to file it. It is not a reader and not a source. The table puts it next to the tools people usually consider alongside it; every project below is good at its own job, and several of them work together with Tankarr.
| Tankarr | Mylar3 | Kapowarr | Suwayomi / Mihon | Komga, Kavita, Stump | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Made for | Manga, manhwa, webtoons and comics followed like TV series in Sonarr | Western comic books | Western comic books, volume by volume | Reading online sources through extensions | Serving a folder of books to readers |
| Knows a work by | The MangaBaka catalogue, cross-checked with MangaUpdates, AniList, Kitsu and MyAnimeList | ComicVine | ComicVine | Each source's own listing | Folder and file names, ComicInfo.xml |
| Gets files from | Suwayomi/Mihon extensions, Prowlarr indexers with qBittorrent and SABnzbd, the Internet Archive, an import folder | Newznab/Torznab, torrents, direct downloads | Torrents, Usenet, direct downloads | Its own extensions | Nothing: you fill the folder |
| Follows | Chapters or volumes, in the language you choose, with monitoring profiles, a Wanted list and a Calendar | Issues | Volumes | New chapters per source | Nothing |
| Writes | One CBZ per chapter or book, ComicInfo.xml, covers, hash-checked imports, a recycle bin |
CBZ/CBR | CBZ/CBR | Downloads per source | Reads what is there |
| Reads | A built-in web reader, or your Komga, Kavita or Stump | No | No | Yes, web and apps | Yes, web and apps |
Where Tankarr fits¶
- With a reader. Point Komga, Kavita or Stump at the library Tankarr writes. Tankarr can also drive Komga and Stump directly (library scans, metadata and covers) and open chapters in the reader from its own pages.
- With Suwayomi or Mihon extensions. Tankarr runs a managed Suwayomi engine inside its container, or connects to yours, and uses it as one of several download channels. It adds what a reading server does not have: a catalogue identity for every series, monitoring, the Wanted backlog, indexers and a fixed library layout.
- With the rest of the *arr stack. Prowlarr, qBittorrent and SABnzbd are configured exactly as for Sonarr and Radarr; Tankarr shares the same Docker network, categories and download folders.
- Instead of Mylar3 or Kapowarr when your shelves are manga, manhwa and webtoons rather than Western comic books: those two are built around ComicVine and issue or volume numbering, Tankarr around manga catalogues, chapter numbering across editions and languages, and official publication schedules. For a shelf of Western comics, Mylar3 or Kapowarr remain the better fit.
What Tankarr is not¶
- Not a source. It ships no download sources and no extension repository; you configure the ones you have the right to use.
- Not a reader first. The built-in reader exists so a library is usable on day one; Komga, Kavita and Stump are richer.
- Not a scraper of sites' titles. A download source never decides what a series is; the catalogue does. That is why a badly named mirror cannot corrupt a library, and why adding a series starts from a search of the catalogue rather than a URL.