Multi-Source Search - Universal Novel Scraper

Overview

The Search feature aggregates novel discovery across multiple sources simultaneously. It provides unified search results, provider-specific library browsing, and seamless integration with the Download Manager.

Search queries are sent to all active providers in parallel, with results displayed as they arrive in real-time.

Search Interface

Universal Search Bar

The primary search input queries all providers at once:

🔍 Search by title... (Press Enter)

Enter Query

Type a novel title or keyword (e.g., “Estate Developer”)

Press Enter

Initiates search across all active providers

View Results

Results appear grouped by provider as they load

Select Novel

Click any result to view details and start download

The search bar automatically focuses when you navigate to the Search page, so you can start typing immediately.

Search Results

Provider Groups

Results are organized by source:

Layout Structure
Status States

Each provider shows:

Provider icon and name
Status indicator (loading, success, error, not found)
Result count badge
Novel cards/list (switchable view)
Expand/collapse for providers with >5 results

// Provider header
<div className="flex items-center gap-3">
  <img src={provider.icon} />
  <h2>{provider.name}</h2>
  {provider.beta && <span>BETA</span>}
</div>

State	Indicator	Meaning
Loading	Spinning loader + “Searching…”	Query in progress
Success	Green badge with count	Results found
Not Found	Gray “Nothing found” message	No matches
Error	Red alert icon + message	Provider temporarily unavailable

Live Progress Indicator

During search:

🔵 Searching 3 of 8 sources...

After completion:

Results: 5 sources  ⚠️ 1 failed

Failed providers don’t block the search. You’ll still see results from successful sources.

View Modes

Grid View (Default)

Features

Large cover previews
Hover zoom effect
Chapter count badge on hover
“View Details” button overlay
Responsive grid (2-6 columns)

Best For

Visual browsing
Recognizing covers
Discovering new titles
Small result sets (under 50 novels)

List View

Features

Compact rows
Small thumbnail covers
Title + chapter info inline
Faster scrolling
Better text search

Best For

Large result sets (>50 novels)
Scanning titles quickly
Lower-end devices
Searching specific titles

Toggle between views using the Grid/List buttons in the top-right corner. Your preference is remembered during the session.

Clicking any result opens an immersive detail view:

Information Tabs
Actions
Chapter Selection

Description Tab:

Full novel synopsis
Author name
Source website link
Loading skeleton during fetch

Chapters Tab:

Complete chapter list
Chapter titles (if available)
Numbered index
“Select” button per chapter to start download from that point

The Chapters tab only appears for novel sources. E-book sources (like Anna’s Archive) show Description only.

Primary Action:

// Start Download button
<button onClick={() => navigate('/download', {
  state: {
    prefill: {
      url: novel.firstChapterUrl,
      title: novel.title,
      author: novel.author,
      cover: novel.cover,
      sourceId: novel.sourceId
    }
  }
})} />

This navigates to Download Manager with all fields pre-filled.Secondary Actions:

View Source: Opens novel page in external browser
Close: ESC key or X button

Provider Library Browsing

Explore Mode

When no search is active, you see a grid of provider cards:

Select Provider

Click any provider card to browse their library

Choose Category

Tabs appear for categories like “Popular”, “Latest”, “Completed”, etc.

Browse Results

Paginated results load (default: first page)

Click Load More button to fetch next page

Return to Search

Click back arrow to exit explore mode

Category Filtering
Pagination

Providers define their own categories:

// Example provider categories
categories: [
  { id: 'popular', name: 'Popular' },
  { id: 'latest', name: 'Latest Updates' },
  { id: 'completed', name: 'Completed' },
  { id: 'ongoing', name: 'Ongoing' }
]

Click any category tab to reload results for that filter.

// Load more implementation
const loadMoreExplore = async () => {
  const nextPage = exploreState.page + 1;
  const data = await window.electronAPI.exploreCategory({
    sourceId: provider.id,
    categoryId: category,
    page: nextPage
  });
  
  // Append to existing results
  setResults(prev => [...prev, ...data]);
};

The “Load More” button disappears when no additional pages exist.

Provider Management

Active Providers

The header shows the count of active sources:

✨ 8 Sources

Adding More Providers

Click the “Add More Sites” card to visit the Marketplace:

Community Providers

Browse community-maintained scrapers

Official Sources

Verified providers with guaranteed compatibility

Beta Providers

Experimental sources (may be unstable)

Custom Providers

Import your own provider scripts

See the Providers Guide for detailed instructions on installing and creating custom providers.

Search Integration with Download Manager

Pre-filled Downloads

When you click Start Download from search results:

URL: First chapter URL automatically detected
Title: Novel title pre-filled
Author: Author metadata included
Cover: Cover image attached (base64 encoded)
Source ID: Provider identifier passed for optimal scraping

This saves manual data entry and ensures complete EPUB metadata.

// Prefill state structure
state: {
  prefill: {
    url: "https://site.com/novel/chapter-1",
    title: "The Greatest Estate Developer",
    author: "Author Name",
    cover: "data:image/jpeg;base64,...",
    sourceId: "lightnovelworld"
  }
}

Search Tips & Best Practices

Improving Search Accuracy

Use specific keywords:✅ “Estate Developer” → Better results❌ “Developer” → Too broad, many false matchesInclude distinctive words:

Use unique terms from the title
Avoid common words like “the”, “a”, “novel”
Try alternative titles (Japanese, Korean, Chinese)

When Search Returns No Results

Check spelling → Try alternative romanizations
Use shorter query → “Overgeared” vs “Overgeared Light Novel”
Try explore mode → Browse provider libraries manually
Check provider status → Some sources may be temporarily down
Add more providers → Expand your search coverage

Finding Popular Novels

Instead of searching:

Use Explore Mode on any provider
Select “Popular” category
Browse trending titles across platforms

This discovers novels you might not have known to search for.

Dealing with Slow Providers

If one provider is very slow:

Results from faster providers appear first
Slow provider shows “Searching…” longer
You can start downloads before all results arrive
Consider disabling slow providers in Settings

Advanced Search Features

Hover Previews

// Novel hover state
onMouseEnter={() => setHoveredNovel(novel.title)}

Hovering shows:

Chapter count badge
View Details button
Zoom effect on cover
Shadow glow (blue)

Search State Persistence

During a session:

Search query persists when navigating to Download/Library
Results remain visible when you return to Search
Expanded provider states are remembered
View mode preference maintained

Search state clears when you restart the app or manually clear the search bar.

Keyboard Shortcuts

Enter

Execute search from input field

Escape

Close novel details modal

Tab

Navigate between view mode buttons and provider cards

Ctrl/Cmd + K

Focus search bar from anywhere (coming soon)

Troubleshooting

Search not returning results

Check network connection:

Providers require internet access
Firewall may block requests
VPN might cause issues with some sources

Verify providers are loaded:

Header should show “X Sources”
If 0 sources, go to Settings → Providers
Reinstall providers from Marketplace

All providers showing errors

This usually means:

Backend is not running (restart app)
Provider scripts are outdated (update from Marketplace)
Website structures changed (check for provider updates)

Novel details not loading

Provider may not support detail fetching (only search)
Novel URL might be invalid
Website requires authentication (not supported)
Try opening source link in browser to verify

Covers not displaying

Some providers don’t return cover URLs
Image hosting may block direct linking
Network timeout during image load
Fallback placeholder should still appear

Provider Architecture

Under the hood, search works like this:

// Search flow
User enters query
Frontend sends IPC to Electron main
Electron loads provider scripts
Each provider exports searchNovel() function
Provider scrapes source website
Results returned to frontend
UI updates with results

Developers can create custom providers by following the Provider Development Guide.

Next Steps

Start Downloading

Use search results to begin scraping novels

Add Providers

Expand your search across more websites

Manage Library

Organize and read downloaded EPUBs

Scraping Flow

Build your own provider for unsupported sites

Getting Started

Core Features

Advanced Usage

Architecture

Developer Guide

Help

​Overview

​Search Interface

​Universal Search Bar

​Search Results

​Provider Groups

​Live Progress Indicator

​View Modes

​Grid View (Default)

Features

Best For

​List View

Features

Best For

​Novel Details Modal

​Provider Library Browsing

​Explore Mode

​Provider Management

​Active Providers

​Adding More Providers

Community Providers

Official Sources

Beta Providers

Custom Providers

​Search Integration with Download Manager

​Pre-filled Downloads

​Search Tips & Best Practices

​Advanced Search Features

​Hover Previews

​Search State Persistence

​Keyboard Shortcuts

Enter

Escape

Tab

Ctrl/Cmd + K

​Troubleshooting

​Provider Architecture

​Next Steps

Start Downloading

Add Providers

Manage Library

Scraping Flow

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Overview

Search Interface

Universal Search Bar

Search Results

Provider Groups

Live Progress Indicator

View Modes

Grid View (Default)

List View

Novel Details Modal

Provider Library Browsing

Explore Mode

Provider Management

Active Providers

Adding More Providers

Search Integration with Download Manager

Pre-filled Downloads

Search Tips & Best Practices

Advanced Search Features

Hover Previews

Search State Persistence

Keyboard Shortcuts

Troubleshooting

Provider Architecture

Next Steps