Bookil 2026.06 release notes
What changed in the 2026.06 release.
Released: June 24, 2026 — The 2026.06 release is the largest update Bookil has shipped. At its core is a move to Bookil’s own PDF rendering engine, alongside collections, private (locked) collections, bookmarks, and a chapter scrubber. The app stays free and remains localized in 14 languages.
Highlights
Collections
Group PDFs into named folders. A single PDF can belong to multiple collections.
See Organize your library with collections.
Private collections
Lock a collection so its books are hidden from All Books, Unfiled, and search. Unlock with Face ID, Touch ID, or your device passcode. The lock follows the same design as the Hidden album in Apple Photos — it hides the books from view.
See Private collections.
New reader
Bookil now has its own PDF rendering engine. It powers:
- Color themes — Default, Sepia (with strength), Black.
- Brightness and contrast sliders.
- Page transitions — Slide (default), Fade, Curl, Scroll.
- Film grain to soften screen glare.
See Customize the reading experience.
Bookmarks
Mark any page and jump back to it later. Bookmarks are saved in your library and included in backups.
Chapter scrubber
The scrubber at the bottom of the reader now shows chapter markers when the PDF has a table of contents. Drag to jump anywhere in the document.
Auto page layout
The reader can pick Single or Double layout automatically based on the available width. The setting is in the reader’s Aa sheet.
File Info sheet
A new sheet shows PDF metadata (title, author, page size, version, protection) alongside your reading log. Open it from the library context menu or the reader’s … menu.
Files app integration
Settings has a new Show files in Files app action that opens Bookil’s folder directly. Useful for adding PDFs in bulk or removing files that won’t import.
Behavior changes
A few defaults have changed. If you set these yourself in a previous version, your settings are kept.
- Page layout defaults to Single. The previous default was Double. Change it in the reader’s Aa sheet.
- Page transition defaults to Slide. The previous default was Curl, and the None option has been removed.
- The export format has changed. Backups from Bookil 2025.08.1 or earlier can’t be imported into this version. Re-export your library after upgrading.
What’s new in this release that was previously planned
- Bookmarks — shipping now.
What’s still planned
- iCloud sync — Bookil’s data model is ready for sync, but the feature isn’t shipping yet.
- Widgets.
Known limits
- Text selection, copying, in-document search, and translation are not available in Bookil’s reader.
- PDFs with interactive forms can’t be opened — open them in another app.
- Collections can’t be reordered in the sidebar in this release.
Backup file format
The export format moves to version 1 of Bookil Library.json. The new format includes collections (with lock state). Bookmarks and ink-page metadata are included. PDF files themselves are not in the export. See Export file format.