Zimi

Name: Zimi
Author: epheterson

A modern experience for your ZIM files.

Kiwix packages the world's knowledge into ZIM files. Zimi makes them feel like the real internet with a rich web UI, fast JSON API, and an MCP server for AI agents. Everything works offline, in your language.

What's in the box

Cross-source search. Parallel full-text search across all sources with snippets and thumbnails.
Cross-language navigation. Switch articles between languages and download missing ones.
Discover. Fresh cards daily: Picture of the Day, On This Day, Quote, Word, Book, Destination, Talk, Comic, Country.
Bookmarks and history. Feel like you're in a real browser, save your place.
Kiwix Catalog. Download 1,000+ Kiwix archives across 10 categories with instant language filtering.
Library management. Auto-updates, password protection, download queue.
Collections and Favorites. Group sources for easier access and scoped search.
JSON API. Every feature accessible programmatically with token auth.
Desktop and mobile. Native macOS and Python apps. Deploy anywhere.

Screenshots

Homepage	Search Results

Language Switching	Catalog

Languages

Not an afterthought. Language is deeply integrated into every aspect of Zimi so you can focus on your content and feel at home. Enjoy filtered lists, labeled sources, RTL support and no rock left unturned.

10 languages. English, French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, Chinese, Arabic, Hindi, Hebrew.

Something not right? Open an issue.

Install

macOS

brew tap epheterson/zimi && brew install --cask zimi

Or download from GitHub Releases.

Linux

sudo snap install zimi

Or grab the AppImage.

Docker

docker run -v ./zims:/zims -v ./zimi-config:/config -p 8899:8899 epheterson/zimi

/zims is where ZIM files live. /config persists cache, indexes, and settings. Open http://localhost:8899.

Docker Compose

services:
  zimi:
    image: epheterson/zimi
    container_name: zimi
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - "8899:8899"
    volumes:
      - ./zims:/zims          # ZIM files go here
      - ./zimi-config:/config  # cache, indexes, settings

Python

pip install zimi
ZIM_DIR=./zims zimi serve --port 8899

Environment Variables

Variable	Default	Description
`ZIM_DIR`	`/zims`	Path to ZIM files (scanned for `*.zim` on startup)
`ZIMI_DATA_DIR`	`/config` (Docker) or `$ZIM_DIR/.zimi`	Cache, indexes, and settings. Mount separately in Docker.
`ZIMI_MANAGE`	`1`	Library manager. `0` to disable.
`ZIMI_MANAGE_PASSWORD`	(none)	Protect library management
`ZIMI_AUTO_UPDATE`	`0`	Auto-update ZIMs (`1` to enable)
`ZIMI_UPDATE_FREQ`	`weekly`	`daily`, `weekly`, or `monthly`
`ZIMI_RATE_LIMIT`	`60`	Requests/min/IP. `0` to disable.

API

Endpoint	Description
`GET /search?q=...&limit=5&zim=...&fast=1&lang=...`	Full-text search. `fast=1` for title matches only. `lang` filters by language.
`GET /read?zim=...&path=...&max_length=8000`	Read article as plain text
`GET /suggest?q=...&limit=10&zim=...`	Title autocomplete
`GET /list`	List all sources with metadata
`GET /article-languages?zim=...&path=...`	All languages an article is available in
`GET /catalog?zim=...`	PDF catalog for zimgit ZIMs
`GET /snippet?zim=...&path=...`	Short text snippet
`GET /random?zim=...`	Random article
`GET /collections`	List collections
`POST /collections`	Create/update a collection
`DELETE /collections?name=...`	Delete a collection
`GET /resolve?url=...`	Resolve external URL to ZIM path
`POST /resolve`	Batch resolve: `{"urls": [...]}`
`GET /health`	Health check with version
`GET /w/<zim>/<path>`	Serve raw ZIM content

Examples

# Search across all sources
curl "http://localhost:8899/search?q=python+asyncio&limit=5"

# Search in French only
curl "http://localhost:8899/search?q=eau&lang=fr&limit=5"

# Find all languages for an article
curl "http://localhost:8899/article-languages?zim=wikipedia&path=A/Water"

# Read an article
curl "http://localhost:8899/read?zim=wikipedia&path=A/Water_purification"

MCP Server

Zimi includes an MCP server for AI agents.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "zimi": {
      "command": "python3",
      "args": ["-m", "zimi.mcp_server"],
      "env": { "ZIM_DIR": "/path/to/zims" }
    }
  }
}

For Docker on a remote host:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "zimi": {
      "command": "ssh",
      "args": ["your-server", "docker", "exec", "-i", "zimi", "python3", "-m", "zimi.mcp_server"]
    }
  }
}

Tools: search (with lang filter), read, suggest, list_sources, random, article_languages, read_with_links, deep_search, list_collections, manage_collection, manage_favorites

Contributing

See CONTRIBUTING.md.

License

MIT

Built with ❤️ in California by @epheterson and Claude Code.