Transferring your collection between devices
From best to worst option
- Transfer your library to your SD card (see below)
- Transfer your library to your new phone's internal memory using an SD card (see below)
- Transfer your library to your new phone's internal memory using your computer as a temporary storage (see below)
- Export Hentoid metadata to your new phone and make it redownload everything
NB : The last option is strongly discouraged as :
- Somes sources might have entirely disappeared (e.g. Hentai Cafe, Hentai Nexus)
- Some books or pages might have been removed from their source, for copyright or technical reasons
- Some sites might react to your mass redownloading by banning your IP or account
- Redownloading gigabytes of data because you're too lazy to transfer them manually isn't exactly eco-friendly
There is no automated way to move your library to your SD card. The recommended process is as follows :
- Open Hentoid
- Use "Preferences > Select downloads folder"
- Browse to any location on your SD card
- Select that location using the validation button of your file browser
Hentoid will then create its own folder structure there, which is as follows : .Hentoid/<source>
- Open your favourite file manager
- Go to the Hentoid folder you want to move
- Select all its subfolders
- Copy them
- Go to the newer location that you created on your SD card at step 4
- Paste all subfolders here
- Open Hentoid
- Use "Preferences > Select downloads folder"
- Browse to the location that you created on your SD card at step 4
- Select that location using the validation button of your file browser
- Hentoid should display a dialog saying that an existing library has been detected. Select OK
- Hentoid should display a progress bar and display "OPEN LOG" when import is complete
- Go back to the library screen and check if all your books are there
In case of any issue, repeat steps 11 to 16, tap the OPEN LOG button and send that log to the dev team, using the GitHub issue form or contacting us on Discord (#help channel).
The recommended steps are as follows :
- Make sure your folders are named as you want (Preferences > Storage > Folder Names)
If they are not :
2a. Select the naming convention you like with Preferences > Storage > Folder Names
2b. Optionally truncate folder names to a set length to avoid issues under Windows (Preferences > Storage > Truncate folder name)
-
Use Preferences > Storage > Refresh library, check Rename all folders according to the current naming and max length preference and press OK
-
Wait until the progress bar reaches 100%
5a. Using an USB cable (Android 8+)
Connect your phone to your computer with an USB cable and transfer your files using your computer's file explorer.
You might have to temporarily rename the .Hentoid folder to Hentoid for the computer to be able to detect it.
ADB is also a fast and reliable solution if you're tech-savvy (see https://www.xda-developers.com/install-adb-windows-macos-linux/) - the pull command is what you're looking for
NB : If you get a failed to create file/directory or no such directory issue during transfer, that means the name of your book folders is too long. Go back to step 2b. and use the "Truncate folder name" setting
or
5b. Using an app (Any version of Android)
Use any file transfer app (such as AirDroid) to transfer the folders from Android to the computer.
Pro tip : If you're dealing with large collections or large books (500+ pages), you can gain precious time by zipping folders before transferring them and proceeding step by step instead of trying to transfer your entire library in one go. This is especially true when transferring from your computer to a mobile device.
For instance, your transfer will be much faster if you create one ZIP file per site (e.g. nhentai.zip, tsumino.zip...) and then transfer these archives instead of transferring every single image inside these folders. If you have a gigantic quantity of books from one given site, you can even create multiple archives (e.g. nhentai_A-F.zip, nhentai_G-J.zip, nhentai_K-Z.zip).
If you want to delete the books from your phone :
-
Delete the folders you've just transferred
-
Use Preferences > Storage > Refresh library, uncheck Rename all folders [...] and press OK
-
Wait until the progress bar reaches 100%
Your library is now updated and doesn't list the deleted folders anymore.
If you want to keep track of these books without removing them entirely, you can choose to switch them to streaming : the app will remove their files while keeping their metadata in your library.
If you're dealing with large collections or large books (500+ pages), you can gain precious time by zipping folders before transferring them and proceeding step by step instead of trying to transfer your entire library in one go. This is especially true when transferring from your computer to a mobile device.
For instance, your transfer will be much faster if you create one ZIP file per site (e.g. nhentai.zip, tsumino.zip...) and then transfer these archives instead of transferring every single image inside these folders. If you have a gigantic quantity of books from one given site, you can even create multiple archives (e.g. nhentai_A-F.zip, nhentai_G-J.zip, nhentai_K-Z.zip).
Two possibilities :
-
Some of these books might have been partially downloaded then canceled, but all files haven't been properly removed (used to happen with older versions of the app)
-
Some of these books are streamed books, hence they are stored with no downloaded picture. The app can import them and download all pictured if needed.
You can import them as external books, using the external library feature
