Cover-Posterizer

Build a clean cover-art poster from a folder of .cbr / .cbz comic archives, plus optional upload-ready BBCode or Markdown text.

I use this kind of output for private tracker uploads where a pack benefits from a single visual overview and a tidy included-file list. Use it only for content you have the right to share.

What It Does

• Scans a folder for .cbr and .cbz files
• Extracts the best likely cover from each archive
  • prefers filenames like cover, front, or fc
  • otherwise falls back to natural page order
• Builds one tiled JPEG poster with consistent cover heights
• Writes a tracker-friendly BBCode text file by default
• Can write Markdown instead
• Skips unreadable archives without killing the whole run
• Handles CBZ files without UnRAR
• Supports CBR/RAR files when WinRAR/UnRAR is installed

Install

Recommended: install it with pipx. This clones the GitHub repo, creates an isolated environment, installs the Python dependencies, and adds a cover-posterizer command.

If you already have pipx:

pipx install git+https://github.com/Maxikozie/cover-posterizer.git

Fresh Windows machine:

py -m pip install --user pipx
py -m pipx ensurepath
pipx install git+https://github.com/Maxikozie/cover-posterizer.git

Restart your terminal after ensurepath if cover-posterizer is not found.

Upgrade later with:

pipx upgrade cover-posterizer

Uninstall with:

pipx uninstall cover-posterizer

CBR Support

The Python dependencies are installed automatically by pipx, including rarfile. For .cbr files, you still need the external WinRAR/UnRAR program installed because Python packages cannot bundle the Windows RAR extractor.

CBZ files work without WinRAR/UnRAR.

If UnRAR is not on your PATH, pass it explicitly with --unrar.

Basic Usage

cover-posterizer "D:\Comics\Largo Winch 01-10"

Outputs are written to a sibling .poster folder:

• Largo Winch_poster.jpg
• Largo Winch_bbcode.txt

Example poster:

Useful Options

cover-posterizer "D:\Comics\Pack" --height 700 --pad 10 --columns 5

cover-posterizer "D:\Comics\Pack" --image-url "https://example.com/poster.jpg"

cover-posterizer "D:\Comics\Pack" --markdown

cover-posterizer "D:\Comics\Pack" --recursive --keep-covers

Developer Usage

For local repo work:

git clone https://github.com/Maxikozie/cover-posterizer.git
cd cover-posterizer
py -m pip install -e .
cover-posterizer --help

CLI Reference

Option	Description
folder	Folder containing .cbr / .cbz files. If omitted, the script prompts for it.
--height	Cover thumbnail height in pixels. Default: 600.
--pad	Padding between covers in pixels. Default: 8.
--columns	Force a fixed column count instead of automatic square-ish layout.
--quality	JPEG quality from 1 to 95. Default: 92.
--background	Poster background color as hex. Default: #121212.
--recursive	Scan subfolders too.
--keep-covers	Keep the extracted temporary cover JPGs.
--output-dir	Custom destination folder. Default: sibling .poster.
--name	Custom output base name.
--unrar	Explicit path to UnRAR.
--image-url	URL to use inside the generated BBCode/Markdown poster tag.
--markdown	Generate Markdown instead of BBCode.
--no-text	Generate only the poster image.

Example Output Text

Pack information
[code]
Archives: 10
Folder size: 1.4 GiB
Source folder: Largo Winch 01-10
[/code]