How watched-folder auto-delivery works

Auto-delivery is the feature that saves you a trip to the website every time you save a new manga volume. You point the MangaSendr desktop app at a folder where your manga files end up, such as your Downloads folder, a cloud-sync folder or a NAS mount. From then on, the app checks that folder about once an hour and converts and emails new CBZ, ZIP, EPUB or PDF files to your Kindle. There's no browser tab to open and no button to press.

It only works with files you put in the folder yourself, and only while the app is running. MangaSendr doesn't download chapters from the internet or watch for new releases. This guide explains what happens behind the scenes, what you can control, and where the limits are.

The 30-second version

1. Install the MangaSendr desktop app for macOS or Windows from the download page. It's free to install.
2. Sign in and set up your Kindle, including adding delivery@mangasendr.com to Amazon's approved sender list. If you already did this on the website, it carries over.
3. Pick a watched folder on your disk.
4. When the app has scanned the folder, add the series you want sent automatically to your library.
5. Leave the app running. About once an hour it checks the folder and converts and emails new files from those series to your Kindle.

The rest of this page covers the details and the limits.

What "auto-delivery" actually means

Auto-delivery is two separate things working together.

Folder checks. About once an hour, the desktop app looks through the folders you picked for files it hasn't seen before. It doesn't react the moment a file appears. A file you save now goes out at the next hourly check.

Delivery. For each new file in a series you follow, the app converts it to a fixed-layout EPUB sized for your Kindle model, trims plain white borders, splits it into parts if it's too big for one email, and sends it to your Kindle's email address from delivery@mangasendr.com.

Only series you've added to your library get sent. Everything else in the folder still shows up under Local Files in the app, but nothing is emailed until you follow it.

Separately, the desktop app can copy files to a Kindle over USB when the Kindle shows up as a drive on your computer.

What formats get picked up

The watched folder picks up:

• CBZ and ZIP archives, the usual formats for scanned manga.
• EPUB files, which are re-processed for your Kindle model.
• PDF files, whose pages are resized and recompressed for e-ink.

CBR files and folders of loose images are skipped. To send those, extract the CBR with 7-Zip (Windows) or Keka or The Unarchiver (macOS), zip the images, and save the ZIP into the watched folder. The app ignores anything else in the folder, such as a stray .txt file, a .nfo or a hidden .DS_Store.

How quickly auto-delivery reacts

It isn't instant. Because the app checks about once an hour, a new file can sit in the folder for up to an hour before it goes out. After that, conversion and email take a few minutes, and most files land on the Kindle within a few minutes of being sent.

The app has to be running for any of this to happen. If it's closed or the computer is asleep, nothing is checked, and files saved in the meantime go out within about an hour of the app starting again.

Files that were already in the folder

When you follow a series, the app treats every file from that series that hasn't been sent or marked as read as new. So if a followed series has three volumes in the folder you haven't sent yet, all three go out at the next check. If you've already read some of them, mark them as read in the app first.

If a series has more than 5 new files, the app sends the oldest 5 at that check and the rest at the following checks, 5 at a time, so your Kindle isn't flooded. To skip some of them, mark them as read first.

What it costs

The desktop app is free to install. Sends from the watched folder use the same allowance as uploads on the website, so the free first delivery on your account can come from either one.

Where to see what auto-delivery is doing

Delivery history. Every send, including the ones from your watched folder, is listed in the delivery history. It's a quick way to confirm that the file you saved an hour ago actually went out.

Sending files yourself: on the website you can drop up to 50 files at once, and they're sent one after another, in order. For a Kobo or another e-reader, the free converter turns CBZ, ZIP or image files into an EPUB or CBZ that you download and copy over yourself. MangaSendr only emails Kindles.

What can go wrong

The app isn't running. Nothing gets checked while the app is closed. Open it again and the next check picks up whatever you saved in the meantime.

The series isn't in your library. Files from series you haven't followed are listed under Local Files but never sent automatically. Add the series to your library.

The file is in an unsupported format. Anything that isn't CBZ, ZIP, EPUB or PDF is skipped, including CBR files and folders of loose images. Convert them to a ZIP as described above.

The file is corrupted or incomplete. If the conversion fails, the file isn't delivered. Fix or replace the file, then send it by hand.

The file is over Amazon's 50MB Send-to-Kindle limit. MangaSendr splits big files automatically into parts of roughly 26 MB, named like "(1 of 3)", and each part gets its own cover. The split is by size, so a part can end in the middle of a chapter. Each part arrives on the Kindle as its own document.

The sender address isn't whitelisted. This is by far the most common reason people set everything up and nothing arrives. Amazon silently drops emails from senders that aren't approved. Open Amazon > Manage Your Content and Devices > Preferences > Personal Document Settings and add delivery@mangasendr.com to the Approved Personal Document E-mail List.

Your watched folder is on a network drive that's disconnected. The app can't see files on a drive that isn't mounted. Once the drive is back, the next hourly check picks them up.

Disabling auto-delivery

To stop automatic sends for one series, remove it from your library in the desktop app. Its files stay under Local Files, so you can still send them by hand.

To stop watching a folder altogether, remove it under Settings > Watched Folders in the desktop app. And if you just want a break, quit the app: nothing is checked or sent while it's closed.

The web app has no auto-delivery

The website only sends files you upload yourself, one at a time. A browser tab can't keep watching a folder on your computer, and MangaSendr doesn't fetch new chapters from manga sites or send release alerts. If you want files to go out without pressing anything, the desktop app's watched folder is the only way, and it only sends files you've saved there.

Summary

Watched-folder auto-delivery is the main reason to install the MangaSendr desktop app. You set it up once (pick a folder, follow the series you want, set up your Kindle and approve the sender) and leave the app running. New CBZ, ZIP, EPUB or PDF files in that folder go out at the next hourly check and usually reach your Kindle a few minutes later.

Your first delivery is free. Pricing covers what's included after that.

Download the desktop app