Main.ts

Now that pbconfig.ts is configured, we can look at main.ts, the heart of your extension. This is the file that ties all of the other pieces together.

Top comments

Just below the copyright header, you will find a TODO block. Think of it as a small notebook: a convenient place to jot down what needs doing the next time you open the file. You can also place TODO comments directly above any piece of code that still needs work.

Implementing the extension

Every extension exports a single class that implements ExtensionImpl<T>:

export class ContentTemplateExtension implements ExtensionImpl<typeof ContentTemplateConfig>

The <T> generic, here <typeof ContentTemplateConfig> ties the class directly to your pbconfig.ts configuration. This means the TypeScript compiler will enforce that your class exposes exactly the methods that your declared capabilities require. An extension that synchronises a reading library, for example, has no need to export a function that reads a chapter.

This is also a good moment to rename all ContentTemplate references in the file. Use your editor's search-and-replace to swap them for your extension's name, which should match the name of its directory.

At the end of the file you will see something like :

export const ContentTemplate = new ContentTemplateExtension();

This is the true way for paperback to interact with your code, and the const should ALWAYS have the same name then your directory

Capabilities

As covered in First Edits, the capabilities you declare in pbconfig.ts determine which methods your class must implement. The table below is a quick reference, with full signatures for each capability listed underneath.

But if you don't care, just can skip to the next part

Quick reference

Capability	Required	Optional
NONE	0	0
CHAPTER_PROVIDING	2	1
PROGRESS_PROVIDING	3	0
DISCOVER_SECTION_PROVIDING	2	0
MANAGED_COLLECTION_PROVIDING	3	0
CLOUDFLARE_BYPASS_PROVIDING	0	2
SETTINGS_FORM_PROVIDING	1	0
SEARCH_RESULT_PROVIDING	1	2

NONE

No methods required.

CHAPTER_PROVIDING

// Required
getChapters(sourceManga: SourceManga, sinceDate?: Date): Promise<Chapter[]>;
getChapterDetails(chapter: Chapter): Promise<ChapterDetails>;

// Optional
processTitlesForUpdates?(updateManager: UpdateManager, lastUpdateDate?: Date):  Promise<ChapterReadActionQueueProcessingResult>;

PROGRESS_PROVIDING

// Required
getMangaProgressManagementForm(sourceManga: SourceManga): Promise<Form>;
getMangaProgress(sourceManga: SourceManga): Promise<MangaProgress | undefined>;
processChapterReadActionQueue(actions: TrackedMangaChapterReadAction[]): Promise<ChapterReadActionQueueProcessingResult>;

DISCOVER_SECTION_PROVIDING

// Required
getDiscoverSections(): Promise<DiscoverSection[]>;
getDiscoverSectionItems(section: DiscoverSection, metadata?: Metadata): Promise<PagedResults<DiscoverSectionItem>>;

MANAGED_COLLECTION_PROVIDING

// Required
getManagedLibraryCollections(): Promise<ManagedCollection[]>;
commitManagedCollectionChanges(changeset: ManagedCollectionChangeset): Promise<void>;
getSourceMangaInManagedCollection(managedCollection: ManagedCollection): Promise<SourceManga[]>;

CLOUDFLARE_BYPASS_PROVIDING

All methods for this capability are optional.

// Optional
saveCloudflareBypassCookies?(cookies: Cookie[]): Promise<void>;
cloudflareBypassCompleted?(request: Request, cookies: Cookie[], localStorage: Record<string, string>): Promise<void>;

SETTINGS_FORM_PROVIDING

// Required
getSettingsForm(): Promise<Form>;

SEARCH_RESULT_PROVIDING

// Required
getSearchResults(
  query: SearchQuery<Metadata>,
  metadata: Metadata | undefined,
  sortingOption: SortingOption | undefined
): Promise<PagedResults<SearchResultItem>>;

// Optional
getSortingOptions?(query: SearchQuery<Metadata>): Promise<SortingOption[]>;
getAdvancedSearchForm?(query: SearchQuery<Metadata>): Promise<AdvancedSearchForm>;

What does this means for us?

Together, we will see how to build each kind of extension based on their capabilities.

For example,

• I want to build an extension just to see my favourite mangas or light novel -> CHAPTER_PROVIDING (to read the chapters)
• I want people to discover those books from the homepage selection of the website -> DISCOVER_SECTION_PROVIDING (lets you show the homepage item in the Home tab of Paperback)
• The website uses CloudFlare as protection and I can't access anything -> CLOUDFLARE_BYPASS_PROVIDING
• I want people to search for titles -> SEARCH_RESULT_PROVIDING (for simple search, and maybe sorting and advanced filter search)
• My extension is more and more complex and I want to let the user to decide how it works for them -> SETTINGS_FORM_PROVIDING (lets you make extension settings)
• The website also allows you to connect to your account and remember when you left reading -> PROGRESS_PROVIDING (syncs per-title reading progress: chapter, rating, to your account)
• The website lets you organize titles into lists -> MANAGED_COLLECTION_PROVIDING (syncs reading shelves like "Reading", "Completed", "On Hold" between Paperback and the website)

And you can mix and match anything you want.

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Later in the guide if we are talking about a capability that doesn't interset you, you will have links to skip this part