Comparisons

Comparisons and Tool Selection

Last reviewed: August 2026

Tako is a browser-native manga downloader built into Chrome's Side Panel. This guide compares its architecture, setup, site coverage, output formats, queue behavior, and license with several other downloaders.

Comparison table

Tool	Architecture	Source / Installation	Site support	Output formats	Queue & retry	Browser-native	Open source license
Tako	Chrome extension (MV3)	Chrome Web Store / GitHub	MangaDex, Pixiv Comic, Shonen Jump+, Manhuagui, Comic Nettai, and MangaMillion	CBZ, ZIP, loose images	✅	✅ (Side Panel)	MIT
HakuNeko	Desktop application (Electron)	App installer / GitHub	Broad scraper connectors	CBZ, PDF, EPUB, loose images	✅	❌ (Standalone app)	The Unlicense
Suwayomi Server (formerly Tachidesk-Server)	Self-hosted server (Java/Kotlin)	Docker, binary / GitHub	Tachiyomi extension ecosystem	CBZ, loose images	✅	❌ (Server + Web UI)	MPL-2.0
mangadex-downloader	CLI tool (Python)	pip install / GitHub	MangaDex	CBZ, PDF, EPUB, raw images	✅	❌ (Terminal CLI)	MIT

Who Tako is for

Tako is for readers who want to download in the browser without setting up a separate desktop runtime or server.

Choose Tako if:

• Select chapters and monitor downloads in Chrome's Side Panel next to your reading tab.
• Tako runs in Chrome with no Python, Node.js, Java, or Docker setup.
• CBZ exports can include standard ComicInfo.xml metadata for Komga, Kavita, and other library managers.
• Save chapters directly to a local library folder through the File System Access API.
• Tako runs no analytics backend and processes archives in an offscreen document. Downloads connect directly to providers, including required MangaDex@Home reports when enabled; see the privacy policy.

Key features of Tako

• Manifest V3 architecture — A Service Worker manages state, and an offscreen document handles downloads and archive creation.
• Durable queue with retry and recovery — Queue and history state are preserved locally. After a restart, surviving work is reconciled; use Retry failed or Restart task when processing was lost. Partial image or archive bytes are not resumed after a full browser restart.
• Path and filename templates — Use macros such as <SERIES_TITLE>, <CHAPTER_NUMBER>, and <VOLUME_NUMBER> to organize downloads.
• Privacy — Configuration and queue data stay in local browser storage.