Turn reading from a solo habit into a shared experience.
Chaptered is an open-source social reading platform — currently in the idea stage and being built from scratch. If you love reading and want to help build something meaningful, you're in the right place.
This project is at day zero. No code has been written yet. We're laying the foundation — defining what we're building, how it'll work, and how contributors can get involved early.
This is a great time to join. You can shape the direction of the project, pick up foundational tasks, and grow alongside the codebase.
Most reading apps treat reading as a solo activity. Chaptered wants to change that.
The goal is a web app that combines:
- 📖 Personal reading tracking — log books, record sessions, build streaks
- 📊 Reading insights — see your habits, progress, and stats over time
- 👥 Book clubs — create or join clubs, read together, vote on next books
- 💬 Real-time discussion — chat with your club as you read
Less "books gathering dust." More "stories sparking conversations."
These are the features we're planning to build, roughly in order.
- User authentication (sign up, log in, sessions)
- Book search via Google Books API + manual entry
- Reading session logging (pages read, time spent)
- Reading streaks and basic stats
- Personal dashboard
- Book clubs (create, join via invite code)
- Real-time club chat (Socket.io)
- Book voting within clubs
- Premium tier (Stripe)
- AI reading coach
- Personalized book recommendations
- Mobile app (React Native)
- Video book club meetings
- Reading challenges and badges
- Push notifications
| Layer | Technology |
|---|---|
| Frontend | React 18, TypeScript, Vite, Tailwind CSS |
| State management | Zustand |
| Backend | Node.js, Express, TypeScript |
| Database | MongoDB + Mongoose |
| Auth | JWT |
| Real-time | Socket.io |
| Deployment | Vercel (frontend), Railway (backend), MongoDB Atlas |
These choices aren't locked in stone yet. If you have a strong opinion on any of them, open a discussion!
chaptered/
├── chaptered-web/ ← React frontend
├── chaptered-api/ ← Node.js backend
└── README.md
We're actively looking for contributors to help build Chaptered from the ground up.
- Project setup — scaffolding the frontend and backend repos
- Database schema design — modeling users, books, clubs, sessions
- API design — defining the routes and contract between frontend and backend
- UI/UX — wireframes, component design, design system decisions
- Discussions — help shape features, tech decisions, and priorities
- Browse or open issues — check what's being discussed or propose something new
- Join the conversation — use GitHub Discussions for questions, ideas, and feedback
- Pick something up — grab an open issue, comment that you're working on it, and go
No contribution is too small. Questions, suggestions, and opinions are just as valuable as code right now.
(To be expanded as the project grows)
When we do start writing code, we'll follow these principles:
- Use TypeScript throughout
- Keep functions small and focused
- Follow the existing folder structure
- Write clear commit messages using conventional commits:
feat:— new featurefix:— bug fixdocs:— documentationchore:— setup, config, tooling
- Have an idea? → Open a GitHub Discussion
- Found a problem or want to propose something specific? → Open an Issue
- Not sure where to start? → Say hi in Discussions — we'll help point you in the right direction
MIT — free to use, modify, and distribute.
Vanshika Sharma — open to collaborations and contributions. Building in public, one chapter at a time.