I Ran a Kavita Server on a Raspberry Pi for 6 Months — Here’s What Worked (and What Didn’t)
TL;DR
Kavita runs extremely well on a Raspberry Pi 5 and has been a reliable, low-maintenance way to host and read a personal digital library. It’s ideal for solo users or small households who want a clean reading experience without relying on cloud services. If you’re a power user with a massive library or need advanced automation, you may eventually want stronger hardware, but for most people, a Pi is more than enough.
Why I Chose Kavita
I wanted a locally hosted digital library with a proper front-end for reading, not just a file browser. My collection of comics, manga, novels, and artbooks was steadily growing, and I needed something that could scale with it while remaining private and always available on my network.
Kavita stood out because it’s designed specifically for reading, not just cataloguing. Compared to other options, it felt modern, purpose-built, and much more pleasant to actually use day to day.
Test Setup
Raspberry Pi: Raspberry Pi 5 (8GB)
Storage:
Initially: 32GB micro-SD card
Upgraded to: 1TB Kioxia SSD
Operating System: Raspberry Pi OS
Install Method: Native install
Network: Ethernet
Uptime: 24/7 (excluding maintenance)
If you’re interested in setting this up yourself, I’ve already covered that here:
👉 Setting up Kavita on Raspberry Pi 5 – A Guide to Creating Your Own Digital Library
What I Used It For
This server was used purely as a personal digital library.
Content types:
Comics, Manga, Novels, Light Novels, ArtbooksLibrary size:
~40 GB (roughly 40–50 files)Users:
1Accessed from:
Phone, Desktop, Tablet
This is important context, my experience reflects a realistic home setup, not an enterprise-scale server.
Day-to-Day Experience
This is where Kavita really shines.
The UI is sleek, smooth, and responsive. There’s no stuttering, lag, or sluggishness — even when browsing larger sections of the library. Navigation is intuitive, and organising content into libraries is straightforward.
The mobile experience is excellent. Reading on a phone or tablet feels natural, and Kavita works well across different screen sizes without feeling like a compromised web app.
That said, uploading content isn’t fully automated. Files need to be manually added, which I handled via Google Drive or Raspberry Pi Connect. Occasionally, Kavita would throw an error when scanning newly added files. In every case, this was fixable with a bit of troubleshooting, but it’s worth knowing that it’s not completely hands-off.
After six months of continuous use, Kavita has remained rock solid.
No crashes
No unexplained slowdowns
No memory or CPU-related issues
Library scans do take longer when bulk-adding files, but that’s expected and didn’t impact day-to-day use. Once indexing is complete, performance returns to normal immediately.
Maintenance & Updates
So far, maintenance has been minimal.
Kavita’s update cadence recommends updating every second release, and at the time of writing, that update hasn’t arrived yet. This means I haven’t needed to touch the system much at all — it’s been very much a set-and-forget experience.
What Kavita Does Really Well
Excellent comic and manga handling
Clean, modern reading interface
Smooth performance even on ARM hardware
Simple user experience without unnecessary clutter
What surprised me most was just how pleasant it is to use. This isn’t a tool you tolerate — it’s one you actually enjoy opening.
Where It Falls Short
Kavita isn’t perfect, and it’s worth being honest about that.
File uploads are manual and could be more streamlined
Occasional scan errors require user intervention
Advanced automation and power-user features are limited
None of these are deal-breakers, but they may matter to users with very large or frequently changing libraries.
Raspberry Pi Specific Observations
Switching from an SD card to an SSD made a noticeable difference, especially for scans and general responsiveness. If you’re planning to run Kavita long-term, SSD storage is highly recommended.
Cooling and power stability were non-issues on the Raspberry Pi 5, especially with a proper case and power supply. For my use case, I never felt limited by the Pi — although extremely large libraries might benefit from a mini-PC or NAS.
Final Verdict
If you enjoy tinkering, you’ll like Kavita. If you don’t enjoy tinkering, you’ll still be fine once it’s set up.
Would I run Kavita on a Raspberry Pi again?
Yes, without hesitation.
Would I upgrade the hardware next time?
Only the storage — the Pi itself has been more than capable.
What Should I Review Next?
If there’s another Raspberry Pi service you’d like to see a long-term, real-world review of, let me know. Otherwise if you enjoyed this article please share it to another maker or check out the rest of our blog for more projects and news!
