Article: zathura reader

Author: nmdra

content/blog/zathura.md

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+---
+author: Nimendra
+title: "Why I'm Going Back to Zathura reader"
+summary: "After trying various readers on Linux, I’m returning to Zathura for its speed, minimal UI, and distraction-free reading, using a customized Gruvbox theme and a script for quick file selection."
+description: "After trying various readers on Linux, I’m returning to Zathura for its speed, minimal UI."
+date: 2025-04-03
+lastmod: 2025-04-03
+tags: ["Linux","Readers", "tools"]
+categories: ["Tools"]
+showtoc: true
+TocOpen: false
+ShowReadingTime: true
+ShowPostNavLinks: true
+ShowBreadCrumbs: true
+ShowCodeCopyButtons: true
+editPost:
+  URL: "https://github.com/nmdra/nmdra.github.io/tree/main/content"
+  Text: "Suggest edit"
+  appendFilePath: true
+--- 
+
+Once upon a time, my reading flow was uninterrupted. No UI distractions, no sluggish loading times.  
+
+But then, I took a detour.  
+
+I needed **annotations**, so I switched to **[Okular](https://okular.kde.org/)**. It did the job, but over time, I realized something, I wasn’t really annotating PDFs much anymore. What I was doing, however, was reading a lot of EPUBs and Research Papers. And here, Okular fell apart. Its EPUB support? Let’s just say, it exists… barely.  
+
+### Trying Other EPUB Readers  
+
+So, I tried:  
+
+- **[Foliate](https://johnfactotum.github.io/foliate/)** – Beautiful UI, much better EPUB support, but slow.  
+- **[Koodo Reader](https://koodo.960960.xyz/)** – Feature-rich, but again… slow.  
+
+And in the process, I realized: I didn’t want a bloated reader. I wanted **speed** and **focus**.  
+
+So, I’m back to **[Zathura](https://pwmt.org/projects/zathura/)**.  
+
+### My Zathura Workflow  
+
+I use Zathura with [`zathura-pdf-mupdf`](https://pwmt.org/projects/zathura-pdf-mupdf/) and the **[Gruvbox theme](https://github.com/eastack/zathura-gruvbox)** for a clean, eye-friendly look.  
+
+{{<figure src="/images/zathura-1.png" caption="Zathura Reader" alt="zathura preview" width= "100%" height="auto"  align="center" >}}
+
+{{<figure src="/images/zathura-2.png" caption="Index view" alt="zathura preview" width= "100%" height="auto"  align="center" >}}
+
+
+### Configurations and Scripts
+
+Here's my `zathurarc` configuration for a Gruvbox-themed experience: 
+
+```sh
+# ~/.config/zathurarc
+
+# General Settings
+set guioptions "shv"
+set page-padding 1
+set adjust-open "best-fit"
+set window-height 3000
+set window-width 3000
+set scroll-wrap true
+set scroll-page-aware true
+set statusbar-home-tilde true
+set window-title-home-tilde true
+set statusbar-page-percent true
+set statusbar-basename true
+set incremental-search true
+set selection-clipboard "clipboard"
+set database "sqlite"
+
+# Notification Settings
+set notification-error-bg "rgba(242,229,188,1)"  # bg
+set notification-error-fg "rgba(157,0,6,1)"  # bright:red
+set notification-warning-bg "rgba(242,229,188,1)"  # bg
+set notification-warning-fg "rgba(181,118,20,1)"  # bright:yellow
+set notification-bg "rgba(242,229,188,1)"  # bg
+set notification-fg "rgba(121,116,14,1)"  # bright:green
+
+# Completion Settings
+set completion-bg "rgba(213,196,161,1)"  # bg2
+set completion-fg "rgba(60,56,54,1)"  # fg
+set completion-group-bg "rgba(235,219,178,1)"  # bg1
+set completion-group-fg "rgba(146,131,116,1)"  # gray
+set completion-highlight-bg "rgba(7,102,120,1)"  # bright:blue
+set completion-highlight-fg "rgba(213,196,161,1)"  # bg2
+
+# Index Mode Settings
+set index-bg "rgba(213,196,161,1)"  # bg2
+set index-fg "rgba(60,56,54,1)"  # fg
+set index-active-bg "rgba(7,102,120,1)"  # bright:blue
+set index-active-fg "rgba(213,196,161,1)"  # bg2
+
+# Input Bar Settings
+set inputbar-bg "rgba(242,229,188,1)"  # bg
+set inputbar-fg "rgba(60,56,54,1)"  # fg
+
+# Status Bar Settings
+set statusbar-bg "rgba(213,196,161,1)"  # bg2
+set statusbar-fg "rgba(60,56,54,1)"  # fg
+
+# Highlight Settings
+set highlight-color "rgba(181,118,20,0.5)"  # bright:yellow
+set highlight-active-color "rgba(175,58,3,0.5)"  # bright:orange
+
+# Default Colors
+set default-bg "rgba(242,229,188,1)"  # bg
+set default-fg "rgba(60,56,54,1)"  # fg
+set render-loading true
+set render-loading-bg "rgba(242,229,188,1)"  # bg
+set render-loading-fg "rgba(60,56,54,1)"  # fg
+
+# Recolor Book Content
+set recolor-lightcolor "rgba(242,229,188,1)"  # bg
+set recolor-darkcolor "rgba(60,56,54,1)"  # fg
+set recolor "true"
+set recolor-keephue "true"  # keep original color
+
+# Keybindings
+map r reload
+map R rotate
+map c recolor
+map p print
+map g goto top
+map <C-b> feedkeys ":bmark "
+map u follow
+map <Return> toggle_presentation
+map [presentation] <Return> toggle_presentation 
+
+# Index Mode
+map [index] i toggle_index
+map [index] <Tab> navigate_index toggle
+map [index] <ShiftTab> navigate_index expand-all
+```
+I use this script to open files.
+
+```bash 
+#!/bin/bash
+
+# Select a book or paper using fd and fzf
+files=$(fd --follow --type f --extension pdf --extension epub | fzf --height 75% --reverse --no-info --multi --prompt "Select Book/Paper: ")
+
+# Check if a selection was made
+if [[ -n "$files" ]]; then
+  # Open each selected file
+  while IFS= read -r file; do
+    if [[ -f "$file" ]]; then
+      nohup zathura "$file" >/dev/null 2>&1 &
+      disown
+      echo "Opened file: $file"
+    else
+      echo "Unknown selection: $file"
+    fi
+  done <<<"$files"
+else
+  echo "No selection made."
+fi
+```
+--- 
+
+Links:
+- [My Linux Config](https://github.com/nmdra/Dotfiles)
+- [Zathura-Archwiki](https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Zathura)
+- [zathurarc manpage](https://man.cx/zathurarc(5))