Search the complete guide or browse setup, books, audio, syncing, Insights, local storage, backups, appearance, and troubleshooting.
Saga opens as an empty, local library until you add titles or connect a source.
Saga and its installer are signed with Apple Developer ID and notarized by Apple. The installer preserves your database and settings when replacing an earlier version.
Saga keeps books, audiobooks, cover art, ratings, reading status, dates, notes, and other title information in a local SQLite database. Cover images are saved with the library so the shelf remains useful when a catalog or source connection is unavailable.
Open Settings → Data and enable Books, Audio, or both. If Audio is off, the Audio tab and audio-specific status choices stay out of the interface. You can change this later without deleting audiobook records.
Saga remembers the last main tab you used and returns there on the next launch. When no previous choice is known, Saga opens Insights.
Use the three primary tabs in the sidebar to move among your book shelf, reading activity, and audiobook shelf. Status filters below them narrow the current library to all titles, current reading or listening, want to read, read, and did not finish.
Search matches title, author, and other stored information in the active library. The sort control can arrange the shelf by recent activity and other supported orders. Changing tabs keeps the sidebar and search area stable.
The grid intentionally shows artwork without repeating the title, author, or rating beneath it. Hovering gently enlarges a cover without adding a colored card. Click the cover for complete details.
Long book shelves are divided into pages, with Previous and Next controls below the grid. To remove a book from the normal shelf without deleting it, open its details or use the cover’s shortcut menu and choose Hide from Library. Open Hidden in the Books sidebar to find it later, then choose Restore to Library.
If a book is not in the catalog, switch to manual entry and save the information you know.
Manual audiobook entry remains available for independent releases, private recordings, and titles that cannot be found automatically.
Click any cover to open a framed Mac-style details window. It shows the cover, author, publication information, rating, reading status, summary, and notes together without requiring internal scrolling. Click outside the window or use its close control to dismiss it.
Star ratings and personal status belong to Saga first. Outside sources can fill an empty value or advance a title to a completed status, but a lower outside rating does not replace the rating you already chose in Saga.
Notes are for your own reactions, reminders, quotes, or reading context. Summary text can come from a catalog or be edited. Saving changes updates the local database immediately.
The single Sync command at the bottom of the sidebar runs the available Goodreads import, Audible import, and library update work together. You can also enable automatic sync when Saga opens in Settings.
review/list_rss/ and before the question mark.The ID is only used to request your Goodreads shelf feeds.
key= in that address. Copy only that value, stopping at the next ampersand if one appears.Saga requests the supported shelf feeds itself; you do not need to paste individual item links or configure a separate RSS reader. Treat the RSS key as private because it grants access to those feeds.
Think of Goodreads and Audible as assistants to the library. Saga remains the source of truth.
If macOS says access was blocked, open System Settings → Privacy & Security, find the relevant Files and Folders or app-data permission for Saga, enable it, and try Sync again. Saga checks whether the Audible app is installed and explains the requirement when it is missing.
Saga imports library information and artwork, not audiobook audio files. Playback and downloaded audio remain in Audible.
Saga downloads artwork into the local database instead of relying on a permanent image URL. Once saved, a cover remains available if Goodreads, Audible, or another catalog cannot be reached.
Open Settings → Data and use Refresh Covers when artwork is missing or stale. The refresh fills missing images without removing a cover that is already stored.
Portrait book covers receive a subtle left-edge spine and shadow. Square audiobook artwork is detected and displayed flat so it does not look like a misshapen printed book.
Insights gathers current reading, totals for the year, reading frequency, pages or listening activity where available, favorite authors, format mix, status distribution, and other useful patterns. It is calculated from the Saga database and does not require a separate analytics account.
Add dates, page counts, formats, authors, and completed status when editing a title. Imported metadata can fill gaps, but complete personal history produces the most useful reading patterns.
Avenir Next is the default. Settings includes a small set of
readable alternatives. Accent presets are Snow
#F7F7F2, Fjord #426F83, Pine
#264F47, and Cabin #CB5D52, followed by
a circular color-wheel control for any custom color.
The sidebar can use Snow, Fjord, Pine, Cabin, or Glass. Snow follows the light surface, the three colors use matching readable controls, and Glass allows the desktop material to show through.
Saga maintains readable text and controls when Snow or another near-white custom accent is selected. The accent changes emphasis; it is never used as the sole text color on white.
The default remains Saga’s Application Support folder. Choosing a folder changes the active database location; the backup location is configured separately.
Put the database in a locally available Dropbox, iCloud Drive, Google Drive, or other cloud-synced folder and choose that same folder on each Mac. Let the service finish syncing before opening Saga on another computer.
Use the shared library on one Mac at a time. Saga creates a lease lock, checkpoints SQLite, and waits for a stable file before opening, but simultaneous database writers are still unsafe.
Close Saga on the other Mac and wait for the cloud service to finish syncing. Then try again. Do not delete a lock just because it exists; only consider a stale lock after confirming no other copy of Saga is open and the shared folder is fully synchronized.
In Settings → Data, select a backup location on your Mac or in an accessible cloud-synced folder. A backup location is independent from the live database folder, so a snapshot can remain separate from the working library.
Close Saga before replacing a live database. Keep the current file as a dated safety copy, restore the selected backup into the chosen database folder, and then reopen Saga. For a cloud-synced library, wait until synchronization is complete before using another Mac.
The main reason publishing exists is so that an AI can read and access a constantly updated list of your books. Publishing settings are separate from the private library, and nothing is published merely because a title is added or synced.
Saga supports Netlify because anyone can easily create and use a free account, and connecting it to Saga requires copying only one personal access token.
Keep the token private. If it expires or is revoked, create a replacement in Netlify and enter the new value in Saga.
A local publishing folder is not required. Leave it blank to
publish only through Netlify, or choose any accessible folder if
you also want Saga to maintain a local saga.md file.
Core library data lives in the database folder you choose. Network access is used when you ask Saga to search a catalog, sync a source, refresh artwork, publish, or check for an update. Saga does not require a Verkheim account.
See Saga Privacy for the current plain-language description of local storage and optional connections.
Open Audible once, confirm it came from the Mac App Store, then review macOS Privacy & Security permissions for Saga. After enabling access, quit and reopen Saga before syncing.
That is usually intentional. Saga will not replace your existing personal rating with an outside value. Sync focuses on adding missing information and advancing appropriate statuses.
Check the connection, then use Refresh Covers in Settings. If no source has suitable art, open the title and add or edit its information manually.
Confirm Saga is closed on the other Mac, the cloud service has finished syncing, and the folder is available offline. Avoid opening the database directly from a cloud placeholder that has not downloaded.
Send a concise description, the action you took, and any message Saga displayed to Saga feedback. Do not include a database or private notes unless specifically requested.