Readkave › FB2 reader
FB2 reader for Chrome
Open an FB2 file in Chrome and you get a wall of XML code. Readkave is a free extension that opens FB2, FBZ and FB2.ZIP books in a browser tab as a real book: pages, contents, search, bookmarks, highlights and read aloud.
Add to ChromeHelpWorks in Chrome and other Chromium browsers such as Edge and Brave. Desktop only: Chrome for Android and iOS has no extensions.
Open an FB2 book in Chrome
- Install Readkave from the Chrome Web Store (free, no account).
- Click the Readkave icon in the toolbar to open your library.
- Drop the .fb2 (or .fbz, .fb2.zip) file onto the page, or click Add books.
To open FB2 files straight from Chrome, turn on "Open ebook files in Readkave" in the library settings: a local .fb2 opened in Chrome then goes to the reader instead of showing XML. On Windows, make Chrome the app for .fb2 files (right-click the file, Open with, Choose another app, Choose an app on your PC, chrome.exe, Always) and a double-click in Explorer opens the book. Full setup. A longer guide: opening EPUB and FB2 files in Chrome.
What is FB2?
FB2, short for FictionBook, is an XML-based ebook format that is widely used for Russian-language books. A browser sees an FB2 file as plain XML, so unless something renders it, you read tags instead of a book.
Reading FB2 in Readkave
- Cyrillic and other scripts display correctly, with chapters from the book's structure in the contents panel.
- Search the whole book, add bookmarks, highlights in four colours and notes.
- Light, sepia and dark themes; font, size, spacing, margins and one or two columns.
- Read aloud with a voice installed on your computer (Readkave lists voices for the book's language first).
- Look up a word in Wiktionary or translate a passage. For Uzbek books, in Latin or Cyrillic, the lookup reduces the word to its dictionary form first.
- Your place is saved in every book.
Questions
Why does Chrome show code when I open an FB2 file?
Chrome treats .fb2 as an XML document and displays the markup. With Readkave's "Open ebook files" setting on, the file opens in the reader instead.
Can Readkave open FB2.ZIP and FBZ?
Yes. FB2, FBZ and FB2.ZIP files all open.
Do I have to convert FB2 to EPUB?
No, Readkave reads FB2 directly. A converter such as Calibre is only needed if you want the book on a device that cannot read FB2.
Is it free and private?
Yes. No account, no ads, and your books stay in your browser.
Which other formats does it open?
EPUB, MOBI, AZW3 and CBZ. See the EPUB reader page.