Basic Usage
Managing Metadata
Metadata is used when exporting novels and can be updated at any time.
You can set information such as the author, language, description, and publication dates.
web-novel-scraper set-metadata
-t "My First Novel"
--author "Author Name"
--language "en"
To view the current metadata:
web-novel-scraper show-metadata
-t "My First Novel"
Managing Covers
A custom cover image can be attached to a novel and will be included in supported export formats.
Currently, only JPG images are supported.
web-novel-scraper set-cover-image
-t "My First Novel"
--cover-image "/path/to/cover.jpg"
Downloading Chapters
The export commands automatically download missing chapters before generating the output files.
For example:
web-novel-scraper save-novel-to-epub
-t "My First Novel"
--sync-toc
However, exports will fail if a chapter cannot be downloaded.
For large novels, it is recommended to download all chapters first:
web-novel-scraper request-all-chapters
-t "My First Novel"
Unlike the export commands, request-all-chapters continues downloading even when individual chapters fail. This makes it easier to identify and retry problematic chapters before exporting.
Syncing TOC
The TOC may change over time as new chapters are updated. To sync your local list of chapters you can use:
web-novel-scraper sync-toc --title "Novel 1"
Changing the Novel Directory
By default, novels are stored in the configured novels directory.
To store a specific novel in a different location, use –novel-base-dir when creating the novel:
web-novel-scraper create-novel
--novel-base-dir "/custom/location"
-t "My First Novel"
--toc-main-url "https://example.com/toc"
You must provide the same option in every command that interacts with that novel:
web-novel-scraper show-novel-info
--novel-base-dir "/custom/location"
-t "My First Novel"
Changing the Base Directory for Multiple Novels
To use a different base directory for all novels, use –base-novels-dir.
web-novel-scraper create-novel
--base-novels-dir "/novels"
-t "My First Novel"
--toc-main-url "https://example.com/toc"
As with –novel-base-dir, the same option must be provided in every command that accesses novels stored in that location.
web-novel-scraper show-novel-info
--base-novels-dir "/novels"
-t "My First Novel"
Additional configuration methods are described in the Advanced Usage section.
Exporting Novels
Novels can be exported to multiple formats, including EPUB, HTML, TXT, and other supported formats.
See installation for the complete list of available exporters.
Example:
web-novel-scraper save-novel-to-epub
-t "My First Novel"
You can also export only a portion of the novel.
Export chapters 100 through 500:
web-novel-scraper save-novel-to-epub
-t "My First Novel"
--start-chapter 100
--end-chapter 500
Control how many chapters are included in each generated book (by default 100):
web-novel-scraper save-novel-to-epub
-t "My First Novel"
--chapters-by-book 200