comicsaver 0.1.1

A command-line tool to download comics from readcomiconline.li

ComicSaver

A robust, Selenium-based command-line tool designed to scrape and download high-quality comic images from readcomiconline.li. It handles Cloudflare protection, JavaScript-rendered content, and lazy-loading images automatically.

Features

• Bypasses Protection: Uses Selenium with headless Chrome to handle Cloudflare and dynamic JavaScript.
• Smart Scrolling: Implements an "incremental scrolling with patience" algorithm to ensure all lazy-loaded images are captured, even on slow connections.
• Organized Output: Automatically creates a structured directory hierarchy: Output/ComicName/IssueName/.
• Flexible: Scrape a single issue or an entire comic series (work in progress for full series recursion, currently optimized for single issues).
• PDF Generation: Optionally convert downloaded images into a single, named PDF file.
• Headless Mode: Runs silently in the background by default.

Prerequisites

• Python 3.8+
• Google Chrome installed on your machine.

Installation

From Source (Editable Mode)

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/yourusername/comicsaver.git
   cd comicsaver
   

2. Install the package with pip:

   pip install .
   

   (Or pip install -e . for editable mode)

From PyPI

pip install comicsaver

Usage

Once installed, use the comicsaver command directly:

comicsaver [URL] [OPTIONS]

Or run via Python module:

python -m comicsaver.cli [URL] [OPTIONS]

Arguments

• URL: The URL of the comic issue or main page (e.g., https://readcomiconline.li/Comic/JLA-Avengers/Issue-1).
• -o, --output: (Optional) The directory to save downloaded comics. Defaults to Comics.
• -t, --threads: (Optional) Number of concurrent download threads (default: 1).
• --pdf: (Optional) Combine downloaded images into a single PDF file (named Comic - Issue.pdf).
• --headless: (Optional) Run the browser in headless mode (no UI). Useful for background tasks.

Examples

Download a specific issue:

comicsaver "https://readcomiconline.li/Comic/JLA-Avengers/Issue-1" -o MyComics --headless --pdf -t 5

Download with visible browser (for debugging):

comicsaver "https://readcomiconline.li/Comic/JLA-Avengers/Issue-1"

Project Structure

comicsaver/
├── src/
│   └── comicsaver/
│       ├── __init__.py
│       └── cli.py       # Main scraper logic
├── pyproject.toml       # Package configuration
├── requirements.txt     # Python dependencies
├── .gitignore           # Git ignore rules
└── README.md            # Project documentation

Troubleshooting

• "No images found": Ensure your internet connection is stable. The script waits for images to load, but extremely slow connections might timeout.
• Chrome driver errors: The webdriver-manager should handle driver installation automatically. If it fails, try upgrading it: pip install --upgrade webdriver-manager.

AI Development

This project was developed with the assistance of AI. The core logic, including Selenium handling, lazy loading algorithms, and PDF generation features, was implemented through collaboration with an AI coding assistant. The AI helped in debugging, optimizing, and structuring the codebase for better maintainability and performance.