Ko-Merge v2.0.0 Release Notes 🚀

Major Features & Improvements

🎨 Modern UI Overhaul

• Library-style grid layout with book covers and prominent MD5 display
• Enhanced book details with rich metadata from Google Books, OpenLibrary, and Amazon APIs
• Tailwind CSS v4+ with dark mode support and responsive design
• Mobile-optimized responsive layout (1-4+ columns based on screen size)

🔍 Enhanced Book Discovery

• Multi-source cover fetching from Google Books, OpenLibrary, and Amazon
• On-demand cover search with manual "Search for Covers" button
• Source-specific badges (GB, OL, AZ) for cover identification
• Smart fallback system ensuring comprehensive coverage

🏪 Amazon Integration

• Full Amazon book scraping with Playwright browser automation
• Duplicate request prevention with global deduplication system
• ASIN-based search for Amazon-specific book identification
• Windows + Python 3.13 compatibility fixes

💾 Unified Storage System

• Local cover storage with automatic cleanup and session protection
• Persistent preferences - cover choices saved across sessions without user accounts
• SHA256-based book identification using title+author (no MD5 dependency)
• Automated cleanup service running every 2 hours

🚀 Production Ready

• Docker optimization with pre-built dependencies for fast startup (~10-30 seconds)
• Unraid compatibility with configurable PUID/PGID
• Flexible deployment supporting both subdomain and subfolder configurations
• Health checks and monitoring for production environments

⚡ Performance & Caching

• Global intelligent caching with request deduplication
• 24-hour metadata caching minimizing API usage
• UV integration for fast Python dependency management
• Batch cover retrieval endpoints for efficient loading

🛠️ Developer Experience

• Windows development automation with start-dev.bat
• Custom server startup with proper event loop handling
• Enhanced API documentation at /docs endpoint
• TypeScript integration with comprehensive type definitions

Technical Improvements

Backend (FastAPI + UV)

• Fixed Playwright compatibility issues on Windows + Python 3.13
• Implemented session-based merge operations with temporary file handling
• Added global caching system with title/author normalization
• Enhanced error handling and logging throughout

Frontend (React + TypeScript)

• Complete UI redesign with modern component architecture
• Implemented efficient state management for book operations
• Added comprehensive loading states and user feedback
• Mobile-first responsive design approach

Infrastructure

• Multi-stage Docker builds for optimized production images
• Pre-installed browser dependencies for immediate functionality
• Environment-based configuration system
• Comprehensive deployment documentation

Breaking Changes

• UI completely redesigned - previous interface no longer available
• API endpoints restructured for better organization
• Configuration format updated for flexible deployment options

Migration Notes

• Existing databases remain compatible
• Cover preferences will need to be re-selected due to new storage system
• Environment variables updated - see documentation for new format

What's Next

This release establishes Ko-Merge as a production-ready application with modern UI/UX and robust backend infrastructure. Future releases will focus on additional metadata sources and advanced merge capabilities.

Docker Image: jadehawk/ko-merge:v2.0.0

Full Changelog: https://github.com/jadehawk/Ko-Merge/commits/v2.0.0