v0.1 is in testing · not released yet
Kotora is a native anime tracker for Linux and macOS. It notices the episode playing in mpv, VLC, mpc-qt or IINA, and asks once before it updates your MyAnimeList.
Free and open source (GPL-3.0) · Rust, GPU-drawn · a tribute to Taiga
Kotora
Synced 2 min ago
A live sketch of the app in HTML. All titles are made up.
EP 01How it works
You watch the way you always do. Kotora sits in the background, sleeps until a player says something, and speaks up once the episode counts as watched.
Open a file in your own player. Kotora doesn't play anything and doesn't need you to change how you watch.
$ mpv "[Hoshi] Lanterns of Kirigaoka - 06 (1080p).mkv"
It reads the file name, finds the show in your list and shows you why it matched. At 80 % watched (you choose), it asks.
→ Lanterns of Kirigaoka · episode 6 · in your list
Press Update, or run kot confirm. The change lands at once and goes to MyAnimeList, now or when you are back online.
✓ 6 / 12 · Watching · synced
EP 02Try it
Release names come in every shape. Kotora reads them with anitomy-ng, a Rust take on anitomy, the parser by Taiga's author. Paste one below, or pick an example.
Next, Kotora looks for Mecha Bento Club in your list. No match? One rate-limited MyAnimeList search, cached for 30 days.
A toy: a few dozen lines of JavaScript that run in your browser and send nothing. The app uses the real anitomy parser and also checks folder names and seasons.
EP 03Features
Everything v0.1 does, and nothing that gets in your way.
Kotora never touches your list behind your back. If you trust it, switch on automatic updates: an unsure match still asks, and every automatic update has Undo.
Off by default. Kotora asks every time.
Your list opens from a local cache. Changes land at once and wait in a queue you can see. If MyAnimeList disagrees, you pick.
Rust and a GPU-drawn UI. No Electron, no web view, no background timers.
kot statusMeasured in testing; budgets are checked at every stage.
Every match says why. If it guessed wrong, "Wrong anime…" offers the closest titles and remembers your pick.
● In your list (Watching), sure: same title in your list
● Not sure: close to a title in your list (95 %)
Record the last episode and the entry becomes Completed. Start a Plan to watch show and it moves to Watching.
Watching → Completed 12 / 12
The service keeps your list. Kotora only keeps a cache and a queue.
EP 04Players
Kotora listens to the players you already use. Most work as they are; mpv needs one line.
Its IPC socket, or MPRIS with the mpv-mpris plugin.
input-ipc-server=$XDG_RUNTIME_DIR/mpv.sockMPRIS on Linux, nothing to set up. On macOS, its web interface with a password you choose (opt-in).
The MPC-HC look on Linux. MPRIS, nothing to set up.
mpv inside: add the IPC socket under Advanced, "additional mpv options".
Any MPRIS player that tells the desktop which file it plays.
Not Kotora's job: use the MAL-Sync browser extension.
EP 05The app
Real screenshots of Kotora 0.1, drawn by the app itself from made-up data. Orange means "act here", and there is only ever one.
EP 06kot, the command line
kot talks to the running app over a Unix socket, so scripts, key bindings and status bars can do everything the window does.
kot nowwhat's playing, and what Kotora thinks it iskot confirm dismissanswer the bannerkot +1 <title>one more episodekot set <title> <ep>also --status and --scorekot list [status]your list as textkot queue syncsee the waiting changes, send themEP 07Privacy
Kotora is a client for your own account and nothing more. No server of ours sits in between.
You sign in on MyAnimeList's own page in your browser. Kotora gets a token, not your password.
Readable by your user only. Never in the database, never in logs.
No analytics, no crash uploads, no accounts of ours. This website has no trackers either.
Your list lives on MyAnimeList. Kotora keeps a cache and a queue, only as long as it needs them.
EP 08A thank-you
For years, Taiga has been the anime tracker on Windows: it notices what you play, asks, and keeps your list honest. So many of us learned to track anime that way that it felt strange to lose it when we moved to Linux or a Mac.
Kotora brings that idea home, written from scratch in Rust. The name is our small bow: 小虎, ko-tora, a little tiger following a big one.
On Windows, use Taiga. Its developers are working on a cross-platform v2 too, and we cheer for it.
Kotora is an independent project. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by Taiga or its developers, MyAnimeList or AniList.
EP 09Install
Honest status: v0.1 is built and in testing. Nothing to download yet. Here is where it stands.
Arch Linux
$ yay -S kotoraComing with v0.1 The package isn't published yet.
Any Linux
$ ./install.shWhen the repo opens Builds with Cargo and installs the app, kot and the desktop entry.
macOS
Kotora.dmgv0.2 It already builds and runs on macOS; packages come later. AppImage too.
You'll sign in with MyAnimeList. Kotora needs a free MAL API Client ID; the first screen shows where to put yours if your build doesn't have one.
Kotora is free and always will be. If it saves you a few clicks every episode, you can buy the tiger a coffee on Ko-fi.
EP 10FAQ
The last episode. Kotora would mark this page as Completed now.
No. Kotora is written from scratch in Rust for Linux and macOS. It borrows Taiga's idea (notice what you play, ask, keep your list honest) and its name is a nod to it, but it shares no code and is not affiliated with Taiga or its developers.
MyAnimeList in v0.1. AniList comes in v0.2. Kitsu and Shikimori may come much later.
No. By default it asks every time. You can switch on Update automatically in Settings; even then an unsure match still asks, and every automatic update can be undone.
Yes. Your list opens from a local cache, edits land at once and wait in a visible sync queue until MyAnimeList can be reached. Conflicts are shown side by side, never dropped silently.
Use the MAL-Sync browser extension. Kotora tracks local players and does not read streaming sites.
No. Kotora tracks what you watch in your own player. It does not play, stream or download video.
No. On Windows, use Taiga, the tracker that inspired Kotora.
Yes, free and open source under the GPL-3.0, with no ads, accounts or tracking. If you'd like to help, there is a Ko-fi page; it is entirely optional.
Kotora never sees your password: you sign in on MyAnimeList's own page in your browser. The access token is kept in a file only your user can read (mode 0600), never in the database or in logs.
Version 0.1 is built and in testing. It will be released for Linux (AUR and an install script) when the live tests pass. There is no date yet. macOS packages come with v0.2.