Manga Reader Apps That Sync With AniList and MyAnimeList (iOS and Android)

AniList and MyAnimeList are only useful if the chapter counts on them are right, and updating them by hand after every chapter gets old quickly. Many manga reader apps can do it for you. This post covers how that sync works, which apps on iPhone and Android support it, and what to check when it stops updating.

How tracker sync works in a manga reader

A tracker is a list service: AniList, MyAnimeList, Kitsu, MangaUpdates and a few others. A reader that supports one connects to your account and writes to your list when you read.

Setting it up follows the same pattern in most apps:

1. Sign in to the tracker from the reader’s settings. The app opens the tracker’s own login page (OAuth), you approve access, and the tracker hands a token back to the app. The reader never sees your password.
2. Link each series to its tracker entry. Open a manga in your library, find the tracking option, search the tracker, and pick the right entry. Some apps try to match automatically; it’s worth checking the match, because many series have spin-offs, one-shots or novel entries with nearly the same title.
3. Read. When you finish a chapter, the app sends the new chapter count to the tracker. Most apps also let you set status, score and start and finish dates from the same screen.

Linking happens per series, so when you change apps the links are usually lost unless the new app can import the old app’s backup with its tracking data.

What gets synced, and in which direction

The thing nearly every reader syncs is your chapter progress. AniList and MyAnimeList store this as a single whole number per series, so a reader that has read chapter 45.5 will usually record 45. Status (reading, completed, on hold, dropped, planning) and score are often synced too, and some apps fill in start and finish dates automatically.

The bigger difference between apps is direction:

• One-way (push) sync sends your progress from the app to the tracker and nothing else. If you change something on the AniList website, the app doesn’t know, and the next update from the app can overwrite it.
• Two-way sync also pulls changes you make on the tracker’s site back into the app, so editing your list on a laptop and then reading on your phone doesn’t leave the two out of step.

Many Mihon-style apps are mostly push-based, with a manual refresh to pull the tracker’s current values.

Which readers support AniList and MyAnimeList?

Mihon (Android)

Mihon, the continuation of Tachiyomi, has built-in tracking for AniList, MyAnimeList and several other services. It’s Android-only. Tracking is set up under the app’s settings, then linked per series from each manga’s page.

Paperback (iOS)

Paperback supports external trackers, including AniList and MyAnimeList, through tracker extensions you install separately. The App Store version has been on 0.8.11 since February 2025, with newer builds on TestFlight, and extensions don’t always work across both, so check which version a tracker extension is made for. Our Paperback alternatives guide covers the version split in more detail.

Aidoku (iOS)

Aidoku can link series to AniList and MyAnimeList. It isn’t on the App Store, so it’s installed through TestFlight, AltStore or a sideloaded IPA, and it uses its own source format rather than Mihon extensions. See our Aidoku alternatives guide for more.

Tachimanga (iOS)

Tachimanga is a source-based reader for iPhone and iPad with tracker support that includes MyAnimeList, AniList, Bangumi and MangaBaka. Some features sit behind a Premium unlock. We compared it with our own app in Tachimanga vs Madomi.

MAL-Sync (desktop browsers)

MAL-Sync is a browser extension rather than a reader. It watches supported manga sites and updates MyAnimeList, AniList or Kitsu as you read in a desktop browser. It’s a reasonable choice if you read on a computer, but it doesn’t help on a phone.

Madomi (iOS and Android)

Madomi is our app, so weigh this section accordingly. It’s a manga reader for Android and iOS that syncs with seven trackers: MyAnimeList, AniList, Kitsu, MangaUpdates, Shikimori, Bangumi and MangaBaka. Sync runs in both directions, so edits made on the tracker’s site are pulled back into the app. It can import Mihon .tachibk and Tachimanga .tmb backups with their tracking intact. Tracker sync is free, like the rest of the reader. It used to need a one-time purchase, and we explained the change in Madomi’s tracker sync is now free.

Why does AniList tracking stop updating?

This is the most common complaint about tracker sync, and Mihon’s issue tracker has plenty of reports of it: HTTP 429 errors when adding tracking, 403 errors on updates, and MyAnimeList logins that look connected but aren’t. The causes are usually one of these.

Rate limits. AniList limits how many requests an app can make in a short window. A library update that touches hundreds of tracked series at once can hit that limit, and the tracker answers with HTTP 429 (too many requests). Waiting a few minutes and trying again normally works.

Expired or revoked tokens. The token the tracker gave the app at sign-in doesn’t last forever, and changing your password or revoking app access on the tracker’s site cancels it. Updates then fail, sometimes with a 401 or 403 error. Logging out of the tracker in the app and signing in again issues a new token, which is why that’s the fix people repeat.

The wrong entry is linked. If progress shows up on a different series on your list, or nowhere, open the tracking screen for that manga and check which entry it’s linked to. Unlinking and searching again fixes it.

Chapter numbering doesn’t match. Sources and trackers don’t always count chapters the same way. Extras, side stories and half chapters can make the app’s count run ahead of or behind the tracker’s. You may need to correct the number by hand once.

The update happened offline. If you read downloaded chapters with no connection, some apps don’t retry the tracker update later. Open the manga’s tracking screen once you’re back online and check the count.

Does tracking work for manhwa and manhua?

Yes. AniList, MyAnimeList and MangaUpdates list Korean manhwa and Chinese manhua alongside Japanese manga, so you link them the same way. Untranslated series sometimes have sparse entries or appear only under their original title, so search by the Korean, Chinese or romanised name if the English title finds nothing. Our guides to reading Korean manhwa without knowing Korean and reading Chinese manhua in English cover where to find those series.

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