Bookwren

Support

Questions, problems or ideas about Bookwren? Write to support@studiopaperleaf.com. One person makes Bookwren and reads every message.

Report a problem

The quickest way is inside the app. Open Settings, go to About, and tap “Report a problem”. Your email app opens with Bookwren’s version, your Android version and your phone model already filled in. Add what happened and what you expected, then send it. The email never includes your library.

Writing from somewhere else? Please include:

the app version, shown in Settings, About;
your phone model and Android version;
what you did, what happened, and what you expected;
a screenshot, if it helps.

If Bookwren shows its error screen (“Something went wrong. Your books are safe.”), tap “Send report” to send us that crash report.

Back up your library

Your library lives on your phone. A backup file keeps a copy somewhere else, and it is how your books move to a new phone.

Open Settings and find Your data.
Tap “Back up now”.
Android’s save screen opens. Choose Google Drive, or a folder on your phone.

Bookwren writes one file with a name like “Bookwren backup 2026-10-09 (214 books).json”, and Settings shows the date under “Last backup”.

You can also tap “Send a copy” to share the file, for example by email to yourself. Only “Back up now” updates the “Last backup” date, because that is the save Bookwren can confirm.

The file holds your books, reading history, ratings, notes, quotes, reviews, tags, goals and settings. Covers are not in it: they come back from Open Library after a restore. Books in Recently deleted are left out.

If you have at least five books and no backup in 30 days, Home shows a quiet reminder card, at most once a month. You can turn it off in Settings.

Restore a backup

On a new phone, or after reinstalling: tap “Restore a Bookwren backup” on the welcome screen.
Already using Bookwren: open Settings, Your data, and tap Restore.

Pick your backup file. Bookwren first shows a preview with the backup’s date and how many books, journal entries, sessions and goals it holds, beside what is on this phone. Nothing changes until you confirm.

Replace swaps the library on this phone for the one in the file. Bookwren takes a safety copy first, and “Undo restore” stays on the result screen until your next change or until you next open Bookwren. Where your version of Bookwren also offers Merge, it combines the backup with the books already on this phone.

Later, the copy from before the restore stays in Settings, Your data, Safety copies, where “Put this copy back” returns it. Bookwren keeps the three newest safety copies, plus two from before app updates.

If a restore stops

“This backup is from a newer Bookwren. Update the app to restore it.” Update Bookwren from Google Play, then try again.
“This file can’t be read. Nothing changed.” The file is damaged or incomplete. Try another copy of it.
“This file isn’t a Bookwren backup.” Pick the file whose name starts with “Bookwren backup”.
“Restore not finished. Nothing changed.” Email us the reason code it shows, and we will help.

Move to a new phone

On your old phone, tap “Back up now” in Settings, Your data, and save to Google Drive, or email the file to yourself.
Install Bookwren on the new phone.
Tap “Restore a Bookwren backup” on the welcome screen, and pick the file.

There is no Bookwren account and no copy on our servers, so a backup file is the sure way to carry your library. Make one before you reset, sell or trade in your old phone.

Questions

Does Bookwren work offline?: Bookwren works offline for your library, progress, notes and stats. Search and covers need a connection.
Is there an iPhone or web version?: Not yet. Bookwren keeps your library on your phone. There is no Bookwren account, no cloud sync and no web version yet. Android only for now.
My book’s barcode won’t scan.: Bookwren reads ISBN barcodes, which start with 978 or 979. On older US mass-market paperbacks, the ISBN barcode is inside the front cover. You can also tap “Type ISBN”.
I can’t find my book.: Open Library doesn’t have every edition. Try the author’s name or the ISBN. If it still isn’t there, tap “Add it by hand” at the end of the results, and what you typed becomes the title.
Can I turn off crash reports?: Yes. Open Settings, About, and turn off “Send crash reports”. Bookwren then sends no crash reports, unless you tap “Send report” after an error.
How do I delete my data?: Delete books in the app, or uninstall Bookwren. The privacy policy explains what is kept where, and for how long.