Tinkering Experience

Tinkering with Manga and Audio Websites

📢 This article was translated by gemini-2.5-flash

Introduction

Google’s Gemini Pro subscription comes with 2TiB of space, which naturally got me thinking about tinkering again. So, let’s get to it.

But looking back, it’s already been three years since my last tinkering . Time really flies, huh?

Manga: Komga

First up is Komga for reading manga. While scanning can be a bit sluggish, the overall user experience is decent.

After all these years, Komga has seen many updates. My previous article is no longer reusable. Using docker-compose makes things more portable. Here’s the docker-compose.yml:

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version: '3.0'
services:
  komga:
    image: gotson/komga:1.23.4
    container_name: komga
    volumes:
      - type: bind
        source: /home/komga/config
        target: /config
      - type: bind
        source: /home/rclone/data
        target: /data
    ports:
      - 25600:25600
    restart: unless-stopped

Also, having a dedicated iOS app Komic is super convenient.

rclone Mounts Google Drive

Similar to Microsoft OneDrive , you first need to authenticate in a browser on a Windows machine to get a token.

The process is to download rclone, then run the command:

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rclone config

After naming, select Google Drive (22), grant Full access all files, excluding Application Data Folder permission, then hit enter for the browser login to pop up. Once done, exit.

Initially, I wasn’t entirely sure, so I applied for a software ID and Secret. It doesn’t seem to be used here, but I’ll keep a record in case it’s useful later.

Applying for Google API ID and Secret

Open the Google API Services website: https://console.developers.google.com/

Select Enable APIs and services, search for and enable Google Drive API.

In the Manage section of Google Drive API, Create credentials.

For API type, choose User data, which includes OAuth as described.

In OAuth Client ID, select Web application as the type. You can enter rclone for the name. After completion, a Client ID will appear.

Then complete the creation. In Credentials, select the rclone app you just created and copy the Client secrets.

Next, copy the config file to the server. The local directory is:

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C:\Users\%USERNAME%\AppData\Roaming\rclone

On the server, download fuse. My server is CentOS7, so I downloaded these:

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sudo yum install -y fuse fuse3 fuse-libs

Newer systems can just download fuse3. Then mount it with Docker:

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sudo docker run --rm \
    --volume /home/opc/rclone/config:/config/rclone \
    --volume /home/opc/rclone/data:/data:shared \
    --volume /etc/passwd:/etc/passwd:ro --volume /etc/group:/etc/group:ro \
    --device /dev/fuse --cap-add SYS_ADMIN --security-opt apparmor:unconfined \
    rclone/rclone \
    mount GoogleDrive:/ /data \
    --no-checksum \
    --use-server-modtime \
    --no-gzip-encoding \
    --no-update-modtime \
    --no-seek \
    --modify-window 2m \
    --allow-other \
    --allow-non-empty \
    --dir-cache-time 30m \
    --cache-read-retries 15 \
    --cache-db-purge \
    --timeout 30m \
    --vfs-cache-mode full \
    --vfs-read-chunk-size 2M \
    --vfs-read-chunk-size-limit 5M \
    --vfs-cache-max-age 30m \
    --attr-timeout 20s \
    --poll-interval 9m \
    --vfs-cache-poll-interval 10m&

The long list of configurations afterwards refers to Komga’s official documentation . Their specific meanings are:

ParameterPurposeExplanation
--no-checksumSkip checksumsReduces API calls and speeds up directory loading. Suitable for large files like videos.
--use-server-modtimeUse server’s file modification timePrevents duplicate uploads/syncs due to local vs. remote time differences.
--no-gzip-encodingDisable GZIP encodingSome cloud services (like Drive) perform poorly with compressed responses; this reduces CPU usage.
--no-update-modtimeDo not update file modification timePrevents Drive from triggering version updates due to time changes for read-only purposes.
--no-seekDisable random seekingReduces support for video seeking, but improves stability for sequential reads. Suitable for continuous playback.
--modify-window 2mFile modification time error tolerance windowPrevents misidentification due to local/remote time differences.
--allow-otherAllow other system users to access mounted contentRequires explicit permission in /etc/fuse.conf.
--allow-non-emptyMount non-empty directoriesAllows mounting even if the mount point is not empty.
--dir-cache-time 30mDirectory cache timeReduces frequent requests to cloud API, default is moderate.
--cache-read-retries 15Number of retries on cache read failureImproves stability.
--cache-db-purgePurge cache database on each startupPrevents errors from corrupted old caches. Suitable for environments where mounts are frequently stopped/started.
--timeout 30mSingle transfer timeout limitPrevents disconnections when reading long videos or large files.
--vfs-cache-mode fullFull VFS cache modeBoth reads and writes go through local cache. Most balanced and secure performance.
--vfs-read-chunk-size 2MChunk size for each downloadSmaller saves bandwidth but is more frequent. This config is suitable for low-bandwidth environments.
--vfs-read-chunk-size-limit 5MMaximum chunk size limitLimits growth to prevent timeouts from excessively large requests.
--vfs-cache-max-age 30mMaximum cache file ageRelatively short duration, good for saving space.
--attr-timeout 20sFile attribute cache timePrevents frequent stat() calls; 20s is a compromise.
--poll-interval 9mCloud change polling intervalChecks for changes every 9 minutes, reducing Google API load.
--vfs-cache-poll-interval 10mLocal cache cleanup intervalCleans up expired cache every 10 minutes.

Using Alpine Linux

Due to high resource usage, I thought of using the extremely lightweight Alpine Linux.

Docker Installation

First, update packages:

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doas apk update

Install Docker:

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doas apk add docker docker-cli-compose

Configure startup on boot:

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rc-update add docker default

Start Docker. This might take a moment:

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doas service docker start

Add yourself to the Docker user group:

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doas addgroup ${USER} docker

Reference articles:

https://wiki.alpinelinux.org/wiki/Docker

Swap Creation

First, add swap space:

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doas fallocate -l 8G /swapfile

Set permissions for root access only:

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doas chmod 600 /swapfile

Format swap:

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doas mkswap /swapfile

Enable swap:

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doas swapon /swapfile

Then you can check if it’s active:

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free -h

rclone Configuration

Being extremely lightweight, it requires some additional configuration.

First, install fuse:

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doas apk add fuse

Load fuse module:

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doas modprobe fuse

Then you need to change the root directory to a shared type:

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doas mount --make-rshared /

After that, it’s similar to CentOS7.

Reference articles:

Kikoeru

I hit a few dead ends at first and ultimately failed, so I’ll just log it here.

An Afternoon of Failure TT

I followed forks of the classic kikoeru project to find the latest commit. While I did find XunJiJiang/kikoeru-express , I spent an entire afternoon trying to build the image, from Node.js 12 all the way to 16. I encountered various errors, tried different mirror sources, etc. Then I tried deploying it standalone, which also failed. Even attempting to build it without Docker failed. In the end, I really gave up and decided to stick with the classic 0.6.2.

Ugh, seriously. It recommended Node.js versions 12-14, but during actual build, at some step, it hinted at features from Node.js 16+. If I directly used 14+, npm i would error out. So I had to use version 13 to install dependencies first, then copy them over and build with version 16. Who knew this would take an entire afternoon? Honestly though, it did teach me to skillfully switch Node.js versions, haha.

I opened an iOS app I had downloaded previously, tried connecting, and it showed an error. Checking the update log, it said to use version 0.6.14 or higher. I was shocked! Then I quickly searched and found Number178/kikoeru-express , which I had already starred 😂.

Now using the updated Number178/kikoeru-express . The author also developed an iOS app, which is super convenient.

Configuration:

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version: '3.0'
services:
    kikoeru:
        ports:
            - '8011:8888'
        container_name: kikoeru
        volumes:
            - type: bind
              source: /home/rclone/data/asmr
              target: /usr/src/kikoeru/VoiceWork
            - /home/kikoeru/sqlite:/usr/src/kikoeru/sqlite
            - /home/kikoeru/covers:/usr/src/kikoeru/covers
            - /home/kikoeru/config:/usr/src/kikoeru/config
        image: 'number17/kikoeru:v0.6.14-20250914'
        restart: always

Also, the tag language cannot be switched; it defaults to Simplified Chinese. If you need Japanese, you’ll have to switch it before scanning.