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Product

Register

product

Users

People who already keep a curated ebook library in Calibre and are tired of fighting its UI. They're on a Mac (primary platform), often managing hundreds of books in focused sessions: importing a new purchase, fixing metadata, finding the next read. They know what a good Mac app feels like and notice when something doesn't.

Product Purpose

Citadel is a local-first ebook library manager, backwards compatible with Calibre's library format. It exists because Calibre is powerful but feels like a 2005 power tool. Success: a Calibre user opens Citadel, finds their library intact, and everything they do feels faster and calmer than it did before. Citadel is not a reader and not an ebook editor; it manages the library and hands files to other apps.

Brand Personality

Quiet, native, exact. The app recedes; book covers are the only decoration that matters. Emotionally it should feel like a well-kept private library: calm and orderly, never busy. Mac-native craft in the lineage of Things, Bear, and NetNewsWire, with the responsiveness and keyboard-friendliness of Linear and Raycast. When in doubt, follow the macOS Human Interface Guidelines.

Anti-references

  • Calibre itself: cluttered toolbars, dated widgets, twelve buttons where one menu would do.
  • Generic AI-built SaaS: identical card grids, gradient accents, hero metrics, web-app chrome inside a desktop window.
  • Electron-app sameness: web typography and spacing that ignores the platform; controls that are visibly not at home on macOS.

Design Principles

  1. Covers are the color. The chrome stays neutral; book covers provide all the visual richness. Never compete with the content.
  2. Native before novel. Reach for the macOS idiom first (source list sidebar, toolbar, standard control sizes). Invent only when the idiom genuinely doesn't fit.
  3. Fast is a feature. Every interaction should feel instant; perceived performance beats decorative motion. Honor the project goal: never slower than Calibre.
  4. Calm density. Show many books without feeling crowded: tight, regular rhythm over big airy cards.
  5. Trustworthy with data. The UI never hides what will be written to the Calibre library; destructive or lossy actions are explicit.

Accessibility & Inclusion

WCAG AA: 4.5:1 for body text, 3:1 for UI components and large text. Honor prefers-reduced-motion. Full keyboard operability for the core flows (browse, search, edit metadata). Don't rely on color alone to communicate state (e.g. read/unread).