Aikatsu

Watch anime with Indonesian subtitles on Linux, Windows, macOS, and Android, without ads or a browser.

Features

Search multiple sources at once, with results appearing as each source responds. Show pages include covers, descriptions, scores, genres, episode titles, and filler or recap markers when available.

The player remembers your position and quality preference. You can let it choose a quality, adjust playback speed, switch available audio and subtitle tracks, and continue to the next episode after a countdown. Skip openings and endings manually or automatically when timing data is available.

Optional Anime4K presets sharpen video on desktop and Android. Performance depends on your GPU or phone. You can also download an episode, a range, or a whole series with file names Plex and Jellyfin recognize.

Sign in to sync history and settings between your phone and computer using Aikatsu's server, or run your own with Docker. Both apps have light and dark themes. Desktop can share your watching activity on Discord, with an option to turn it off in Settings.

Install sources from Kyoko or another plugin repo in Settings. Aikatsu checks for plugin updates at startup, but you choose when to download them from Plugins. You can disable startup checks in Settings.

Documentation

The documentation site covers using the app, managing sources, and writing plugins.

To edit the site locally, open docs/ and run cd docs, npm ci, then npm run dev. Changes on main deploy to GitHub Pages. See editing the docs for build and hosting details.

Keyboard shortcuts (desktop)

Key	Action
Space or K	Play / pause
← / → (or J / L)	Back / forward 5 seconds (hold Shift for 85 seconds)
↑ / ↓	Volume
M	Mute
F or double-click	Fullscreen
N / P	Next / previous episode
S	Skip opening or ending
Esc	Leave fullscreen, then close the player
Ctrl+L	Show the log (Developer Mode)

On Android, tap the video for the controls, double-tap its left or right side to jump 10 seconds, and long-press an episode or a card for more options.

Download

Download the latest version from Releases:

• Windows: download the -setup.exe, accept the license agreement, and choose an installation folder. The default folder needs no admin rights. Or download the .zip, unpack it anywhere, and run aikatsu.exe.
• macOS (Apple silicon, macOS 14+): open the .dmg and drag Aikatsu to Applications. It isn't notarized, so the first time, allow it under System Settings > Privacy & Security > Open Anyway.
• Linux: download the .AppImage, make it executable (chmod +x Aikatsu-*.AppImage), and run it. On Debian or Ubuntu you can sudo apt install ./Aikatsu-*.deb instead, or unpack the .tar.gz and run aikatsu/AppRun.
• Android: download the -android-arm64-v8a.apk on your phone and open it (allow installing from your browser when asked). Older 32-bit phones need the -armeabi-v7a.apk instead.

Install ffmpeg to help save HLS downloads as MP4 files.

Build it yourself

Linux

You need Rust 1.88+, Qt 6.11+ (qt6-base qt6-declarative qt6-svg qt6-imageformats), mpv, cmake and a C compiler. Install ffmpeg to help save HLS downloads as MP4 files.

cargo build --release
./target/release/aikatsu

To add it to your app menu:

install -Dm755 target/release/aikatsu ~/.local/bin/aikatsu
install -Dm644 desktop/packaging/aikatsu.desktop ~/.local/share/applications/aikatsu.desktop
install -Dm644 desktop/assets/icon.svg ~/.local/share/icons/hicolor/scalable/apps/aikatsu.svg

If more than one Qt version is installed, point the build at Qt 6 with QMAKE=/usr/bin/qmake6.

macOS

You need Rust, Xcode's command-line tools, Qt 6.11+ for macOS including Qt Image Formats (for example aqt install-qt mac desktop 6.11.2 clang_64 --modules qtimageformats), and Homebrew's mpv and pkgconf.

brew install mpv pkgconf
QMAKE=~/Qt/6.11.2/macos/bin/qmake cargo build --release
./target/release/aikatsu

The release workflow shows how to package it as Aikatsu.app.

Windows (MSVC)

1. Install Rust (MSVC toolchain), Visual Studio Build Tools, CMake, NASM, and Qt 6.11+ for MSVC including Qt Image Formats (for example aqt install-qt windows desktop 6.11.2 win64_msvc2022_64 --modules qtimageformats).
2. Unpack an mpv-dev-x86_64-*.7z from https://github.com/shinchiro/mpv-winbuild-cmake/releases. If it has no mpv.lib, make one next to libmpv-2.dll (gendef comes with mingw-w64):

   gendef libmpv-2.dll
   lib /def:libmpv-2.def /name:libmpv-2.dll /out:mpv.lib /machine:x64

3. Build:

   set QMAKE=C:\Qt\6.11.2\msvc2022_64\bin\qmake.exe
   set MPV_DIR=C:\path\to\mpv-dev
   cargo build --release

4. Package:

   mkdir dist && copy target\release\aikatsu.exe dist\ && copy %MPV_DIR%\libmpv-2.dll dist\
   C:\Qt\6.11.2\msvc2022_64\bin\windeployqt.exe --qmldir desktop\qml dist\aikatsu.exe

   Zip dist\. Include ffmpeg.exe beside aikatsu.exe or on PATH for HLS-to-MP4 downloads.

Android

You need Flutter 3.47+, Rust through rustup with the Android target (rustup target add aarch64-linux-android), the Android SDK, and cmake. The NDK is installed on first build if missing.

cd mobile
flutter run                                                                     # on a connected phone or an emulator
flutter build apk --release --split-per-abi --obfuscate --split-debug-info=build/debug-info   # one APK per ABI in build/app/outputs/flutter-apk/

Keep --split-per-abi for release builds so each APK includes native libraries for one CPU architecture. Without it, --target-platform can leave media_kit libraries for other architectures in the APK without a matching Rust core. The app could then install on those devices but fail to start.

To build only the ARM64 APK, also add --target-platform android-arm64.

For release signing, set storeFile, storePassword, keyAlias, and keyPassword in mobile/android/key.properties. Without that file, local builds use the debug key.

After changing mobile/rust/src/api/mod.rs, regenerate the Dart bindings. Pass the flags below because cargo expand replaces those from .cargo/config.toml:

cd mobile && RUSTFLAGS='--cfg reqwest_unstable' flutter_rust_bridge_codegen generate

Development

Android releases need these repository secrets:

• ANDROID_KEYSTORE_B64: the base64-encoded .jks signing key
• ANDROID_KEYSTORE_PASSWORD: its password
• ANDROID_KEY_ALIAS: its key alias

Tag builds fail without them. Updates must use the same signing key as the installed APK.

Set the AIKATSU_SYNC_SERVER secret to include a default sync server in the apps. Without it, users must enter a server address.

cargo test --workspace                                    # offline tests
cargo test -p aikatsu-core live_ -- --ignored --nocapture  # hits the real sources (LIVE_Q=<query>)
aikatsu --search <query> --open --play --screenshot out.png   # drive the UI and save a screenshot

Set XDG_DATA_HOME, XDG_CONFIG_HOME, and XDG_CACHE_HOME to absolute scratch paths to keep test runs separate from your history, settings, and cache.

• core/: everything the apps share. A UI calls api::call / api::get (JSON in and out) and receives events.
  • core/src/plugins.rs: the plugin engine and repo management.
  • core/src/sources.rs: source types and the search/playback contract.
  • core/src/api.rs: the method table both UIs call, where new shared features start.
  • core/src/proxy.rs: local relay for the hosts mpv can't play directly.
• desktop/: the Qt app.
  • desktop/src/bridge.rs: the Backend object QML talks to.
  • desktop/cpp/mpvitem.*: the video item (libmpv).
  • desktop/qml/: the interface.
• mobile/: the Flutter app for Android.
  • mobile/rust/src/api/mod.rs: the same call / get / events surface for Dart (flutter_rust_bridge).
  • mobile/lib/api.dart: the Dart twin of desktop/qml/Api.qml.
  • mobile/lib/pages/: one file per screen, ported from desktop/qml/pages/. The player uses media_kit (also libmpv).

Disclaimer

Aikatsu has no official connection to or endorsement from any other company, organization, or media franchise.

The app retrieves media, video streams, and metadata from publicly available third-party sources. Its developers do not host, upload, maintain, or control that content. They accept no responsibility or liability for third-party content, copyright compliance, or how the software is used.

License

GPL-3.0. Bundled fonts: Google Sans Flex (SIL OFL 1.1) and Material Symbols Rounded (Apache-2.0), see desktop/assets/fonts/.