A simple shell script to download comics from readcomiconline.li via automated browser input, which seems to be the only working solution in 2024.

Dependencies

• required: wget xdotool img2pdf bc dialog firefox-esr
• optional: gnome-terminal google-chrome

debian: sudo apt-get install -y git wget xdotool img2pdf bc dialog firefox-esr
fedora: sudo dnf install git wget xdotool img2pdf bc dialog firefox-esr
arch: pacman -S git wget xdotool img2pdf bc dialog firefox-esr

Usage

• clone this repo:

git clone https://github.com/tabletseeker/readcomic_dl -b main

• change directory:

cd readcomic_dl

• execute:

bash readcomic_dl

• make sure to adjust load_time and save_time to your liking as explained below, but also keep in mind that captchas are triggered if pages are loaded too quickly in series. The sweet spot is around 5-6 seconds for each.
• dialog already contains instructions for each window but you may also press the "Help" button, which can be toggled via TAB, for further information.

Setup

• All prescribed changes are to be made in the readcomic_dl script file.

File Locations

• this script uses the home directory as outputdir and ~/Downloads as workdir which can be changed if necessary.

workdir="$HOME/Downloads/"
outputdir="$HOME/"

Download Speed

• since all downloads are done via browser, delays have to be factored in for the time needed to load all the images on a page and download them.
• depending on your internet speed you can choose the amount of seconds you would like the script to wait for a page to load (load_time) and be downloaded (save_time).
• the script only downloads high quality variants, so make sure you adjust accordingly.

load_time=4
save_time=4

• readcomiconline has recently changed the way images load on the page, thus additional steps are necessary to ensure they are all captured. scroll_num determines the amount of bottom scroll events triggered by xdotool to ensure all images have been loaded. scroll_delay marks the delay between each scrolling event.

scroll_num=3
scroll_delay=10000

Terminal Requirements

• dialog needs a minimum terminal geometry of 75x36 (RowsxColumns)
• you can either manually resize your terminal window or simply create a .desktop file for easier access and automation.

[Desktop Entry]
Name=readcomic
Exec=gnome-terminal --geometry=75x36 -- /home/user/readcomic_dl/readcomic_dl
Terminal=false
Type=Application

URL Requirements

• this script uses any given main page link to create a list of all available comics which you can freely choose from by individual selection or the creation of a download range.
• the following would be an acceptable main page URL:

https://readcomiconline.li/Comic/Invincible

• this on the other hand would not be:

https://readcomiconline.li/Comic/Invincible/Issue-117?id=32948

Web Browser

• this script requires either Firefox or Chrome to automatically download via xdotool.
• by default Firefox is being used. The following needs to be changed in order to switch to Chrome (which needs to be installed):

before:

browser="firefox"

after:

browser="google-chrome"

Dialog

• .dialogrc contains custom style settings which should make your dialog use a black and white color scheme.
• the rc file is only copied if you don't already have one.
• if you prefer the default theme you can delete ~/.dialogrc and create a standard one like so:

dialog --create-rc ~/.dialogrc

Donations 💗

If you like my contributions please feel free to drop a coin.

• Bitcoin URL: bitcoin: bc1qjz2dqu4u5uhxcv43jqmlefgffe3hnfavcs8w90
• Bitcoin Address: bc1qjz2dqu4u5uhxcv43jqmlefgffe3hnfavcs8w90