Hey all! I’m creating this post because I’ve been working on a third-party WaniKani app the past few months which will (hopefully) have a beta version ready for release in the next month or two. I’m a full-time software engineer with a lot on my plate, and this is a side project of mine I work on whenever I have free time.
For now this is a space for questions, feedback, and requests about the upcoming app, since I noticed I was using the Jakeipuu app thread to talk to others about this app and realized it’d make sense to have a dedicated topic.
Disclaimer: I’m generally good about replying, but I’m also a queer autistic person that’s prone to burnout/feeling overwhelmed, so please take that into account 
TLDR: iOS app is finally being tested now that I’ll actually have a device w Xcode, beta release estimated during December, Android alpha version is available now! You can get it here:
No concrete date for full Android release yet (when I feel like it’s a reliable and fully-featured app)
What is the app?
Hakubun (博聞 or はくぶん, meaning well-informed or erudite) is meant to be used in the same way Tsurukame, Flaming/Smouldering Durtles, or Jakeipuu (RIP 
) are used.
This means you’ll be able to do the following:
- Lessons
- By subject type selection
- By subject selection (e.g. want to study specific kanji)
- Normal vanilla selection
- By current level
- Reviews
- By subject type selection
- By subject selection
- Normal vanilla selection
- By current level
- Back to back (reading then meaning, meaning then reading, or just shuffled)
- Search (for radicals, kanji, vocab, kana vocab)
- User settings
- Defaults for audio, sort order, batch size, and more
- Light theme or dark theme
What does it look like?
Some of the design is inspired from the Jakeipuu app, but the code is all my own (as much as anyone can really own code lol) and I by no means want to replicate that app exactly.
Home Screen
Reviews
Lessons
Subjects
Subject Details (seen in reviews, lessons, clicking on a subject)
Search
User Settings
FAQ
Can I use it with a screen reader or keyboard?
Accessibility is a big focus of mine, and I’ve spent a lot of time making sure things are screen-reader/keyboard compatible by using WAI-ARIA compliant tools wherever I can. I’m not an accessibility engineer though and don’t use a screen-reader myself (keyboard user sometimes), so please message me and let me know if you run into any issues. I’ll be testing everything out with a screen-reader and keyboard before release.
What platforms is it on?
None rn as it’s not released, but this is a cross platform app. It’s the worst when an app you love is only on Android/iOS and you don’t use that platform. I’ve been prioritizing the release of mobile apps first, so initially the following versions will be released:
- iOS
- Android
After spending some time making sure the app is nice and useable for larger screens, I’ll be releasing these versions:
- Web (mobile, desktop)
- iPad
- Android tablets
Only one codebase is used for creating this app, and I’m using some software that essentially converts it to the other platforms.
When will it be released?
This is a tentative date range, but with my current progress I’m estimating late August or sometime in early September. Edit: Looking like early September! The Android alpha version is available now, link below 
I’m working on testing the app on iOS so that’s taking a bit longer. But on the bright side, it’ll be further along feature-wise once it’s released!
When it’s close to being released I’ll also make the code open-source 
Update: You can find the repo here, need to add more to the readme cuz it’s super barebones rn 
Wanna support me/the project?
This app is completely free and I don’t make any money off it. I enjoy working on it so I don’t mind that fact But it actually costs me money to develop/maintain the app due to the $99/year iOS developer account. If you’re interested in and able to offset those costs a bit, you can here:
Update: Android alpha version now available to download/test here 
I’m sure I’ll edit this post plenty with updates and more details… but for that’s all I have in my brain for now lol
