Android app¶

wuDict searches .mdx, .ifo, .slob, .dsl, .bgl, .zim and .wudict.md dictionaries on the phone. The app runs the wudict server on the phone's loopback address and shows its pages; network use is listed in the Privacy Policy.

Requires Android 8.0 or later on a 64-bit ARM (arm64) device.

Builds¶

Install the FOSS build¶

1. Download wudict-android-arm64-foss-<version>.apk from the releases page.
2. Open it from the file manager or the download notification. Android asks once to allow Install unknown apps for that app.
3. On first start, choose Grant access, then turn on All files access. With Later the app starts without dictionaries and asks again on the next start.

Add dictionaries¶

FOSS build¶

Copy the dictionary files to Internal storage → Dictionaries with a file manager, over USB, or with adb push. Subfolders are read. Then ☰ → folder summary → Rescan folders.

Copy every file of a dictionary:

A subfolder named by a language code, such as es/, sets the language of the dictionaries in it, which lemmatization needs when a dictionary declares none (language detection).

Google Play build¶

On first start, Import dictionaries → Choose folder copies a folder's dictionaries into the app, then offers to delete the originals. Dictionaries in Android/data/com.legbehindneck.wudict/files/Dictionaries on a microSD card are read without importing.

Both builds¶

Share a dictionary file, an archive or a link to wuDict, or open one with wuDict: the Add dictionaries dialog lists what it contains and installs the ones you tick. The setup page's Add dictionaries does the same for a file or a pasted link.

Look up a word from another app¶

• Text selection menu: select a word; the menu shows wuDict next to Copy.
• Share menu: Share → wuDict, for apps without the selection menu entry or for a longer passage.
• A reading app's dictionary button: see the table below.
• A wudict://lookup?q=word link: from automation apps, note apps and scripts.

The lookup opens in a floating window. Back, or a tap outside it, closes it; it is not listed in Recents. Settings → Look up in the full app opens the full app instead, per source.

am start -a android.intent.action.VIEW -d "wudict://lookup?q=phubbing"

The link also takes mode=exact|prefix|fts|wildcard, dict=<name>, and full=1 (full app) or full=0 (floating window). In a wildcard query, write ? as %3F.

Reading apps¶

If the app a reader names (GoldenDict, Aard2, Lingvo, Fora, QuickDic, YunCi, Dictan) is also installed, Android asks which app to use the first time; choose wuDict and Always.

KOReader reads its list of outside dictionaries from a file you can replace. Create koreader/dictionaries.lua in internal storage:

return {
    { "wudict", "wuDict", false, "com.legbehindneck.wudict", "search" },
}

The file replaces KOReader's built-in list, so add back any dictionary app you still use. Then, in KOReader: Dictionary settings → check Use external dictionary → Dictionary: wuDict.

Settings¶

Long-press the app icon → Settings.

Files¶

Uninstalling the app deletes Android/data/com.legbehindneck.wudict; Internal storage → Dictionaries remains. Android 11 and later hide Android/data from other file managers: reach it over USB (File transfer) or with adb pull and adb push. The dictionary panel and Settings cover the usual settings, so wudict.toml rarely needs editing; all keys are in Configuration.

Remove dictionaries¶

☰ → the dictionary's file row (e.g. Oxford.mdx) → 🗑 Remove…. The file row shows the disk space the dictionary uses. See Remove a dictionary.

Battery and memory¶

• While the app is not visible, the server uses one CPU core, starts no new indexing, and closes the dictionaries it can reopen; indexed dictionaries stay open. Indexing, downloads and rebuilds already running continue in a foreground service with a notification.
• Android memory defaults are lower than on a desktop: MEMORY_LIMIT is 1/16 of the device's RAM (192–384 MiB), PREVIEW_MEMORY a third of it, SEARCH_MEMORY equal to it, and MORPH_CACHE 1.
• The keyboard hides when you scroll an article.

Differences from the desktop¶

Next¶

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