📖 Novel Reading Status Guide
Understanding how Ranobe Gemini tracks your reading progress with automatic and manual status management.
Core Concept
The novel status system distinguishes between author progress and your progress. A novel's completion status depends on whether the author has finished writing it.
Primary Statuses
Reading
You are actively reading this novel and are behind the latest chapter. More content is available for you to read.
Transitions to: Up to Date (when you reach latest chapter)
Up to Date
You have read all available chapters. This status applies to:
- Ongoing novels: Author hasn't completed the series yet
- Completed novels: You've finished the entire series
Transitions to:
- Reading (when new chapters are released)
- Completed (if you mark as completed and author has finished)
Completed
You have finished reading this novel. Only available for novels completed by the author.
For ongoing/incomplete novels: Use "Up to Date" instead to indicate you're current with latest chapters.
Transitions to: Reading (if new chapters appear after author continues)
Plan to Read
You want to read this novel in the future but haven't started yet.
Manual status: Change this whenever you're ready to start reading.
On Hold
You're pausing this novel temporarily. No automatic transitions occur.
Manual status: Change back to Reading when you're ready to continue.
Dropped
You've decided not to continue reading this novel.
Manual status: Use this for novels you no longer wish to track.
Reading Lists (Badges, not statuses)
Reading lists are parallel labels that can be applied to any novel regardless of its primary status.
- 🔁 Rereading (predefined)
- ⭐ Favourites (predefined)
- Custom lists (for example: R18)
Feature highlight
🏷️ Reading-List Badges
Reading-list badges are available from each novel's status dropdown and can be toggled without changing the primary reading status.
Automatic Status Transitions
The diagram below shows every possible state and how the extension moves between them — automatically (dashed) or by your action (solid).
Diagram Elements
- Reading: Active reading in progress.
- Up to Date: Caught up with latest published chapter.
- Completed: Finished by reader, usually for finished series.
- Plan to Read: Tracked but not started.
- On Hold: Temporarily paused.
- Dropped: Intentionally stopped.
🎯 For Completed Novels (Author Finished)
When you read the final chapter of a completed novel, the status automatically changes to Up to Date. You can then manually set it to Completed.
🚀 For Ongoing Novels (Author Still Writing)
When you reach the latest chapter of an ongoing novel, it becomes Up to Date. If the author releases new chapters later, it automatically reverts to Reading.
📝 For One-shots (Single Chapter)
One-shot stories remain under your manual control. The extension doesn't automatically change status since there's no "new chapters" scenario.
⏸️ Manual Statuses (No Auto-Transition)
The following statuses never automatically change:
- Plan to Read: Changes only when you manually update
- On Hold: Stays until you manually change it
- Dropped: Permanent until manually changed
Real-World Examples
Example 1: Ongoing Web Novel
Scenario: You're reading "The Endless Tower" on Wuxia site. Author is still writing.
- You start reading → Status: Reading
- You catch up to the latest chapter → Status auto-changes to: Up to Date
- Author releases 5 new chapters → Status auto-changes back to: Reading
- You read those chapters and catch up again → Status: Up to Date
Note: Status never becomes "Completed" because the author hasn't finished writing.
Example 2: Completed Web Novel
Scenario: You're reading "The Lost Kingdom" which is fully written by the author.
- You start reading → Status: Reading
- You reach the final chapter → Status auto-changes to: Up to Date
- You manually mark as done → Status: Completed
- No new chapters can appear → Status remains: Completed
Example 3: One-shot Short Story
Scenario: You read a single-chapter short story.
- You read the story → Status: Reading (stays here)
- You manually change to: Completed
- No automatic transitions occur since it's a one-shot
- Status stays as you set it: Completed
Example 4: Series on Hiatus
Scenario: You're reading a series, but the author goes on hiatus.
- You read latest chapter → Status: Up to Date
- Author announces hiatus (no new chapters) → Status: Up to Date (stays)
- You want to pause → Manually change to: On Hold
- When author resumes → You manually change back to: Reading
Note: The extension can detect new chapters but respects your "On Hold" status if you set it.
Quick Reference
| Status | Auto-Changes? | Use When... |
|---|---|---|
| 📖 Reading | ✅ Yes | Behind the latest chapter |
| ✨ Up to Date | ✅ Yes | Caught up (ongoing or completed novels) |
| ✅ Completed | ❌ No* | Finished reading a completed novel |
| 📋 Plan to Read | ❌ No | Want to read but haven't started |
| ⏸️ On Hold | ❌ No | Temporarily pausing |
| ❌ Dropped | ❌ No | Not continuing anymore |
| 🏷️ Reading Lists (badge layer) | N/A | Parallel tags like 🔁 Rereading / ⭐ Favourites / custom labels |
*Only if author releases new chapters after completion
📌 Key Takeaway
The status system intelligently separates author progress from your reading progress. For ongoing series, "Up to Date" means you're caught up—not that the series is complete. Only use "Completed" for series that the author has actually finished. This keeps your reading status accurate and meaningful.
🔗 Shareable Novel Modals
You can share direct links that open a specific novel modal in Library.
Use links like library.html?novel=<novelId>&openModal=1
or the matching website shelf page URL. The modal now keeps
prev/next navigation scoped to the same filtered set or carousel context.
If the novel is missing locally, Ranobe Gemini offers a guided recovery flow
and auto-opens the source page.
Ready to Install
Install once, then tune everything from Library
Install Ranobe Gemini, open Library, then configure reading status, content filters, custom boxes, and backups from one place.