My pleasure! Thanks for helping get that sorted 🍻

Thanks for your patience with this - it's still a bit mysterious as I haven't been able to reproduce the issue my end. I suspect it's a font thing though from the screenshot so I've gone ahead and bundled the fonts with the app on Linux builds in case it's your system's font lookup. I'm hopeful but not certain this will fix it. I'd be super grateful if you could try the latest build (0.5.19) and let me know!

Thanks again for the detailed reports so far.

Snipping tool finally built! Added to the latest beta v0.5.18. Thanks for the request - couldn't live without it now myself!

It might be a simpler process than I thought.. I'll take another look at it this week.

OK, some things to try which will help me narrow it down:

Could you try launching the app from a terminal with this in front of the command?

For the AppImage, from the folder it's in:

chmod +x Dungeon.Reader_0.5.16_amd64.AppImage

WEBKIT_DISABLE_DMABUF_RENDERER=1 ./Dungeon.Reader_0.5.16_amd64.AppImage

If the text is still missing, try the same thing with WEBKIT_DISABLE_COMPOSITING_MODE=1 instead.

It would be awesome if you could let me know which one works (if either does) so I can build the fix into the next release. If neither works, could you send me:

- your distro and version

- your graphics card and driver (e.g. NVIDIA proprietary, Mesa)

Thanks!

Thanks for the feedback. I haven't done a lot of testing on the Linux versions so this is vital info. Looking into it!

I can see how that would improve flow inside Foundry for sure. After a little dig into the possibilities, I'm thinking VTT integration is a whole world of its own and probably beyond scope... Foundry module developers could do a much better job anyway! Dungeon Reader is designed to be a 'reader' app first and foremost, with just enough tooling to enable the GM to stay in the book, and maintain immersion. I love the idea of it helping you in the VTT context, but all I can suggest (though it pains me to say it!) is to have it sitting happily in that other tab... 🙏

EDIT: Not ruling out some kind of snipping tool though, to copy a map or image straight off the page to the clipboard. Fairly straightforward to build and useful with any VTT... might make some of those things you mentioned more streamlined? 

Thanks for the input! Initial thoughts: it's very much in the spirit of the thing - if Foundry is your table then a separate tab is exactly the kind of switching I'm trying to get rid of. I'm guessing there will be some browser storage issues running web apps within web apps - not sure, but will do some homework.

Out of curiosity, how would you use it? ...just you in a pop-out window, or would you want players to see anything?

Hello All!

Beta 5 is live at long last, and with it the first desktop builds of Dungeon Reader for Windows, macOS and Linux.

The desktop app takes the project's goals even further, distancing the ever-present distraction of the web itself! There's no browser involved, it runs offline, and it lets us open several documents in the one context.

What's new

🖥 Desktop app (beta). The most requested thing since launch (going back to @BettyBoopdaboop's very first comment) and a fun mission that's introduced me to Tauri and the whole world of web app wrapping. It's pay what you want: download it free, or chip in if it earns a place at your table.

📑 Tabs (desktop only). Keep the module, maps and rulebook open together. Thanks to @jbuhrig here and @Dingo on Discord for making the case!

📜 Sample module (web). New visitors can now open Tomb of the Serpent Kings by Skerples straight from the welcome screen, annotated as a short tour of the basics. If you're already a user, you probs won't see this option because it will default to the last document opened. I've added the annotation file to the Marginalia Library on the Discord server (with a link to the module) if you're interested.

🖋 Flyleaf. A new journal feature in marginalia. This caused a small existential crisis, because Dungeon Reader is a 'Reader' - not a note-taking tool - but there has to be somewhere to jot down brief session notes and whatever else (or we still need a separate note-taking tool!). The minimal solution was the same used by readers over the centuries: write on the flyleaf! (The flyleaf is the blank page at the front or back of a book, traditionally where people jotted names, notes and reminders.)

🛠 Smoother. Long-overdue rendering fixes - now noticeably smoother scrolling, especially on older machines. Search has also moved into a tidier sub-header.

Installing the desktop app

The builds aren't code-signed yet, so Windows and macOS will warn you the first time you open them. Annoying, I know. There are short notes for each system on the main page. If anything goes wrong, tell me in the comments or in #bug-reports on Discord.

The Marginalia Library

The Discord Server has a forum for sharing annotation files: prep notes, conversions and guided reading paths for the modules you run. No PDFs, just the notes. Come and share yours!

__________

This is the first desktop release, so I'd love to hear from anyone who tries it. A quick comment is all I need:

• Your system: Windows, macOS (Intel or Apple Silicon) or Linux, and which version.
• Installing: did the security warning and the install notes make sense, or did you get stuck?
• Tabs: how does it feel with a couple of big PDFs open, like a module and a rulebook?
• Anything missing or broken compared with the web version.

Drop it in the comments here or in #bug-reports on Discord. And if Dungeon Reader has earned it, a rating on itch helps other GMs find it.

Cheers All!

– Sebastian

Dungeon Mixer is the first of my experiments in taking responsive web tools and wrapping them into native desktop applications via Tauri. It's now a dedicated standalone desktop app for Windows, macOS and Linux - running alongside the browser edition!

The browser version will always remain free and accessible, but running Dungeon Mixer natively in its own window brings nice perks to the game table:

• Zero Browser Clutter: Runs in a dedicated low-profile CRT window with full hardware-accelerated sound mixing.
• Instant Session Hotkeys: Fire stingers (keys 1-6), master mute (space-bar), and trigger scene fades (Esc) without worrying about active browser tabs or accidentally refreshing.
• Native Offline Reliability: No network calls, zero latency, and self-contained campaign file management.

Feedback Wanted! 💬

This thing is still in beta release at v0.4.4 while we battle-test the native builds across different OS configurations. If you run into:

• Audio glitches or sound latency
• Window sizing, resolution, or UI scaling issues
• Quirks importing/exporting .dungeon campaign bundles

Please drop a comment below or leave feedback on the board. Let us know your operating system and what happened so we can polish everything up for the official v1.0 release!

Hi - thanks for your support and for taking the time to write such detailed feedback! It's great to hear that it's proving useful. 

All your points seem like definite improvements: 

• Ordering the highlights by page number makes definite sense, and will be a snap to implement.
• The sub-section persistence in the Table of Contents feels like a smart move - I'll def. look into what's involved there.
• The d100 issue is a carryover from pairing it with a d10 - I've had it on my to-do list for a while but will fast-track that simple fix for the next patch!
• The search function / exact matching is very feasible, and will def. improve precision.

Thanks so much for helping shape things - these are all fairly simple adjustments but real enhancements in terms of streamlining navigation and ease of use. Please keep the thoughts coming!

Hey everyone,

One of the earliest feature requests for Dungeon Reader was to be able to quickly glance at a bookmarked page without having to jump away from the current page. I have no idea why I didn't think of this when I was building the app in the early days - but being able to quickly reference a map, table, or stat block is a game-changer during play.

Every time we flip away from the active room description to check a wandering monster table, reference an appendix, or check where a corridor leads on the map - the GM mental stack has to do a reshuffle. If you're brain's anything like mine, even that tiny friction adds up over a four-hour session.

Thanks to everyone who pushed for this workflow on Discord. Bookmark Scrying is now live on dungeonreader.app.

🍻

Thanks for the feedback & apologies for the late reply!

Regarding multiple PDFs, that is def. on the plan as I figure out the standalone desktop version of the app. Right now, running multiple browser tabs side-by-side works ok, but there is one counter-intuitive quirk to keep in mind due to local browser storage: the app stores a single document as the global "most recently opened" PDF - so when you open a fresh tab it will automatically load whichever file was opened last, rather than remembering that specific tab's previous book.

That said, your saved work is completely safe. Annotations, highlights, and bookmarks are strictly tied to each PDF file's unique ID. Just keep in mind that refreshing an individual tab will jump it to whatever book you opened most recently.

Hope that makes sense

Thanks for the feedback! Yeah, spot on - that's just a reflection of the sort of modules I tend to use. I haven't got around to giving the auto-parser more general powers. As it is now it would get totally confused with the Savage Worlds attributes. Ultimately I really want Dungeon Reader to feel natural across all systems, so I'll def. start to take think about how to pull that off. Meanwhile, you can always manually add any custom attribute on the annotation card and star* the most important ones to pin them to the top. 

 Keep an eye out here & I'll let you know when the stat parser gets an upgrade.

I really appreciate you taking the time to give it a spin!  

Hi All,

BETA 4 is Live!

When I set out to build Dungeon Reader, the goal was to build a fast, quiet, distraction-free environment to prep and run modules without the bloat and context-switching of full virtual tabletops.

Over the past week, thanks to a ton of thoughtful feedback and real-world table testing from pals of mine, the app has undergone its biggest rework yet. I've totally restructured how annotations work, and added a suite of tactile tools designed to keep you focused on the page.

Here is a look at what’s new in Beta 4.

🔗 Native PDF Links

• Embedded PDF Links now work out of the box with zero setup. The styling is designed to be minimal so as not to visually dominate the reading experience, but I'm interested in feedback from the community re. the ideal styling of these in-line links.
• Interactive Discovery Pulses: Jumping to annotations or search results now fires a subtle reticle ring pulse so your eye instantly catches the room or paragraph you jumped to.

📄 The Annotation Overhaul: Freeform Tagging & Dynamic Attributes

The old, rigid categories (Notes, Monsters, NPCs) were becoming burdensome for quite a few people. Initially I thought that these restraints would help minimise cognitive overheads, but simplicity wins for me every time, and it made sense to completely replace that high level categorisation with a flexible, tag-driven approach:

• Custom Tags & Visual Presets: Tag pins however your adventure or GM style demands - whether it's Traps, Secrets, Factions, or custom dungeon zones. Colour themes adapt dynamically to your tags.
• Auto-Parse Statblocks: These work the same way, but aren't tied down to Monster or NPC categories. If the parser engine thinks it's looking at stats, it does what it can to translate that automatically to the annotation card.

🔖 Dedicated Bookmarks

This is a major rethink of the way bookmarks work in the app, and a shout out to the guys on Discord who challenged the existing framework to get things back to a more user-friendly user experience in this regard. The new implementation is, I hope, a much more natural way to navigate the module.

• Page Level Bookmarks: Bookmarking is now as simple as toggling the bookmark top left of the page. Bookmarks now sit along the left edge of the viewer as tactile physical post-it tabs in their own sidebar which you can hide/show from the header. You can rename them and change the colours to create your own bookmarking system.

🕣 Browsing History & The Spine Tab Stack

Whenever you follow an internal link or jump across chapters, Dungeon Reader leaves temporary breadcrumb tabs on the spine. Tap on these to get back to where you were. Hotkeys: tilde (~) or (shift+tab) flips back, (tab) flips forward. You can think of this history stack as having up to five fingers in different pages of the book.

🧙‍♂️ Magic Dice Scanner (experimental!)

This was a cool request from @LohrumIpsum on the Discord server - for the app to scan the text for dice roll formulas like '1d6' or '3d8' and automatically convert them into clickable action buttons. It's not a scary reality! 

• Inline Formula Detection: Hit the wand icon in the top header, and Dungeon Reader scans the active page’s text layer for dice formulas (like 2d6+2, 1d20, 3d8), turning them into click-to-roll inline buttons.

🛠 Ongoing performance improvements

One of the major development challenges is to ensure that feature growth doesn't undermine the core performance of Dungeon Reader as an immersive PDF reader, so this update includes numerous fixes and refinements under the hood.

I hope the changes help your own immersion and flow! Please drop bug reports and feature requests in the comments below, or jump into the conversation on Discord! 

Try Beta 4 Now:

👉 dungeonreader.app

Thanks again everyone for helping to shape Dungeon Reader into the ultimate PDF Reader for Game Masters.

– Sebastian

Hi everyone,

Beta 3 of Dungeon Reader is now live!

The goal of Dungeon Reader is pretty simple really: to make it possible to run adventures directly from the sourcebook - without being pulled away into outside tabs, note apps or other forms of digital clutter that break immersion.

The enthusiasm from the OSR community has been truly amazing so far and I want to express my gratitude for getting behind the project. The feedback is directly shaping this tool into a more focused reading & playing space.

🎲 Multi-Dice Rolling & Die Clusters

You can now adjust your dice count and roll groups (like 3d6 or damage pools) right from the tray. Huge thanks to @BettyBoopdaboop for pushing for this!

An interesting side-effect is the creation of a persistent die cluster: once rolled onto the page, the cluster remains interactive so you can re-roll it repeatedly during combat, then throw it off the edge of the page when you’re done.

🌙 Inverted & Sepia Reading Profiles

A massive shout-out to @1000PowerLiches on Discord for this suggestion. You can now toggle Inverted (Dark) and Warm Sepia display modes. Inversion will be a welcome feature for solo players and late night preppers to reduce eye strain. The sepia profile cuts blue light by around 65% so it’s a good night light option that keeps pictures intact (plus it gives modules an awesome vintage look on screen!).

🖥️ Dedicated Fullscreen Mode

A simple addition that makes a massive difference to immersion.

🛠️ In the Pipeline: Standalone Desktop Edition

Work has officially begun on a cross-platform standalone desktop version of Dungeon Reader! A slice of my brain is now dedicated to a native build, which will follow some time after the stable 1.0 web release. 

In the meantime, keep the feedback coming - and I hope the updates make a real difference to your adventures!

Try Beta 3 Now:

👉 dungeonreader.app

Please drop bug reports and feature requests in the comments below, or jump into the conversation on Discord!

– Sebastian

I've managed to patch that page jumping issue. 

Thanks for helping out!

Thanks for the feedback, and please let me know how it goes in the session! Weirdly enough embedded hyperlinks are slightly messy to implement just because of how the marker overlay works - but certainly not impossible. I'll put it on the to-do list!
Enjoy your game!  

Wow, thanks for the encouragement, and for the awesome feedback. I'll get digging into that page number jump issue right away - sounds very annoying. 

I've been trying to think of a way to add the multiple dice for ages, but the idea of a simple text input field seems kind of brilliantly simple. I'll give that some serious consideration for the next beta.

The offlline program is definitely the plan once the beta phase is through. I wasn't sure how much enthusiasm there would be for the project tbh, but the response has been amazing so far - so will def. see it through to a standalone app.

Thanks again for contributing - and Keep the suggestions coming! I'm really interested to hear how it can be improved for solo players. 

Welcome to the Dungeon Reader open beta!

If you've tried the app at your table I'd love to hear how it went. Drop any thoughts or frustrations below.

Helpful things to mention:

• browser/device/platform specific issues
• what's working well - esp. in terms of helping with focus and flow during prep & play
• what feels clunky or counter-intuitive (performance-wise, layout, navigation, etc.)
• bugs

🙏 Thanks for helping shape Dungeon Reader!

Why Dungeon Reader?

In my eternal effort to minimise clutter behind the screen, I decided to make a browser-based PDF Reader that lets me run the game directly from the adventure module.

Instead of extracting an adventure into external tools, Dungeon Reader keeps prep right on the source text as annotations: you can easily:

• add searchable highlights, notes, bookmarks, monster & NPC annotations (it even auto-populates stats from highlighted text)

• drop draggable links to existing annotations on a map (or anywhere else)

• roll dice right on the page

• navigate the sourcebook with built-in doc outlines and full-text search

It’s just a clean, familiar PDF reader with the right tools built in, so you can run the whole session from the document itself.

Dungeon Reader is 100% client-side and privacy-friendly. 

Your PDFs and annotations are processed directly in your browser using local storage. Nothing is ever uploaded to a server or stored in the cloud, meaning once the web app is loaded, it runs completely offline.

What's New in Beta 2

Thanks to early feedback from the OSR community, the latest build includes:

• Two-Page Spread & Page Turning: Traditional book-style reading and single-page keyboard controls.
• Smart Page Rendering: Kinder on device GPUs and memory when reading 100+ page campaign books.
• Streamlined Header Trays: drop-markers and dice rollers have been relocated into clean dropdown trays to free up the page.
• Performance & Touch Polish: Laying the groundwork for smoother mobile and tablet interactions.

What’s Next on the Roadmap?

• Touch & Mobile Optimisations
• Trying to make the auto stat parser a little smarter! adding support for vertical line breaks and system presets for OSE, Shadowdark, Cairn, and Mothership (so stats extract cleanly without getting dumped into notes )
• Standalone Desktop App: A dedicated, lightweight desktop client (exploring Tauri) is officially in the pipeline for those who prefer native apps over browser tabs. I'll be keeping it free / pay-what-you-want on itch so it's accessible to everyone.

Join the Playtesting & Feedback

Dungeon Reader is free and actively evolving. If you’d like to report bugs, suggest features, or chat about GM workflows in real time, jump into the conversation:

• Launch the Web App: dungeonreader.app
• Join the Community Discord: https://discord.gg/rpKhnnkVk

Drop your thoughts in the comments below or come say hello in Discord. 

Thanks for helping make this the perfect PDF Reader for Game Masters!