Loan rules
How long someone can keep a book, how many renewals they get, grace days before a fine starts, and the fine per day.
14 days2 renewalsRs 5/day
Open-source library management system
Library software that stays in the library.
Khulla is an open-source library management system for schools, community libraries and reading rooms. Catalogue, circulation, members, fines and reports in one app that runs on the desk computer. No server, no subscription, and no internet needed.
Khulla Digital Library Return a copy Check out a copy
Copies borrowed
184 vs last week
Copies returned
149 vs last week
Overdue
14 vs last week
Fines outstanding
Rs 545 vs last week
Library usage
Checkouts and returns, day by day
CheckoutsReturns
Fines accrued
What overdue copies have cost members
Rs 1,240-18.4%
Collection at a glance
Where every copy in the catalogue is right now
4,812copies
- Available4,443
- On loan312
- Reserved38
- Lost12
- Damaged7
Recent activity
Checkouts and returns from the last seven days
| Item | Member | When | Activity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Muna Madan | SASangam Adhikari | 17 Sep, 2:40 PM | Borrowed |
| Seto Dharti | TATalha Anjum | 17 Sep, 1:15 PM | Fine raised |
| Palpasa Café | EFEzra Furman | 17 Sep, 11:52 AM | Reserved |
| Karnali Blues | MCMagnus Carlsen | 17 Sep, 10:20 AM | Returned |
| Sapiens | TYTalha Yunus | 16 Sep, 4:05 PM | Borrowed |
Needs attention
Overdue loans, holds waiting to be filled, copies reported lost
Most borrowed
This month
- 1MMMuna MadanLaxmi Prasad Devkota23 loans
- 2PCPalpasa CaféNarayan Wagle19 loans
- 3KBKarnali BluesBuddhisagar17 loans
- 4SDSeto DhartiAmar Neupane14 loans
Most active members
This month
- 1EFEzra FurmanTeacher · M-031112 loans
- 2SASangam AdhikariAdult · M-01929 loans
- 3JLJohn LennonStudent · M-05028 loans
- 4TYTalha YunusStudent · M-04157 loans
| Title | ISBN | Subject | Copies | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Muna MadanLaxmi Prasad Devkota | 978-9937-8905-1-2 | Poetry | 6 | Available |
| ShakuntalaLaxmi Prasad Devkota | 978-9937-8905-3-6 | Poetry | 2 | Last copy out |
| SulochanaLaxmi Prasad Devkota | 978-9937-8905-2-9 | Poetry | 3 | Available |
| Devkota: A LifeKumar Pradhan | 978-9993-3-1402-6 | Biography | 1 | Reference only |
| The Lunatic and Other PoemsLaxmi Prasad Devkota, tr. | 978-9993-3-0981-7 | Poetry | 2 | Reserved |
| Shakuntala Devi: PuzzlesShakuntala Devi | 978-8-12-220531-4 | Mathematics | 4 | Available |
| Palpasa CaféNarayan Wagle · Devanagari ed. | 978-9993-3-0556-4 | Fiction | 4 | Reserved |
| DevghatLil Bahadur Chettri | 978-9993-3-2217-5 | Fiction | 3 | Available |
Search matches any three letters of a title or author123
| Copy | Member | Issued | Due | Status | Fine |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seto DhartiKDL-00318 | Talha Anjum | 12 Aug | 2 Sep | Overdue | Rs 45 |
| SumnimaKDL-01122 | Magnus Carlsen | 15 Aug | 5 Sep | Overdue | Rs 30 |
| Muna MadanKDL-00041 | Sangam Adhikari | 29 Aug | 12 Sep | Due soon | — |
| SapiensKDL-02210 | Talha Yunus | 1 Sep | 15 Sep | On loan | — |
| Things Fall ApartKDL-01907 | John Lennon | 4 Sep | 18 Sep | Renewed | — |
| Karnali BluesKDL-00870 | Ezra Furman | 3 Sep | 17 Sep | On loan | — |
| Palpasa CaféKDL-00552 | Joyner Lucas | 6 Sep | 20 Sep | On loan | — |
| JholaKDL-00733 | Sangam Adhikari | 7 Sep | 21 Sep | On loan | — |
Fines are raised automatically on return12…32
| Member | Category | On loan | Owes | Membership |
|---|---|---|---|---|
SASangam AdhikariM-0192 | Adult | 2 | — | Active |
TATalha AnjumM-0237 | Student | 1 | Rs 45 | Has overdue |
EFEzra FurmanM-0311 | Teacher | 3 | — | Active |
TYTalha YunusM-0415 | Student | 1 | — | Expiring |
MCMagnus CarlsenM-0448 | Adult | 1 | Rs 30 | Has overdue |
JLJohn LennonM-0502 | Student | 2 | — | Active |
JLJoyner LucasM-0533 | Child | 0 | — | Expired |
The desk won't lend to a member who is already late12…121
Fines raised
Rs 4,820
over six months Collected
Rs 3,91581%
at the desk Waived
Rs 360
written off New members
14612%
since April Circulation over time
Loans issued against copies returned
IssuedReturned
| Role | What they can do | People | Access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Administrator | Everything, including staff accounts, backups and library settings. | 1 | Full |
| Librarian | The whole catalogue and circulation desk, plus fines and reports. | 2 | 18 of 22 |
| Desk assistant | The circulation desk: check out, return, and look up a member. | 4 | 7 of 22 |
| Read only | Look at the catalogue and reports. Change nothing. | 3 | View |
Staff sign in to this installation — not to a service
Loan periods
Defaults for a new loan. A member's category can override them.
Fines
What a late copy costs, and how much slack the desk gives first.
At the desk
How strict the circulation desk is.
Block members with overdue loans
The desk cannot check out to a member who is already late.
Renew automatically when nobody is waiting
A loan with no hold against its title extends on its due date.
Make it yours
It should look like your library, not like ours.
Name, logo, colour, currency and loan rules are all settings — no code required. Change them once and every screen, receipt and report picks them up.
Sangam Digital LibraryRecord a payment
MemberBikash Thapa · M-0237
CopySeto Dharti · 9 days late
Fine per day, after 2 grace daysRs 5
Amount dueRs 35
Waive Record payment
Barcodes
A prefix and the next number in line. Staff can leave the field blank when adding a copy — Khulla fills in the next one.
Prefix SNGNext SNG-00421
Holds
When a copy comes back and someone is waiting, it sits on the hold shelf for this many days before going to the next member.
7 days on shelf
Get Khulla
Download it, or build it yourself.
Every release is built by CI from the same source for four platforms. No sign-up, no trial, and no admin rights needed.
Windows
khulla-<version>-windows-x64-setup.exekhulla-<version>-windows-x64.zip Installer (recommended) — Start Menu entry and uninstaller. No admin required.
Portable zip — unzip anywhere, run khulla.exe.
SmartScreen warns on both. Click More infoRun anyway.
Android
khulla-<version>-android.apk Open the APK and allow installs from your browser or file manager when asked.
Download …
Web, self-hosted
khulla-<version>-web.tar.gz Serve the extracted folder from any static host. No rewrite rules and no backend needed.
Download …
Just looking?
No download Open the demo in a browser. Its catalogue lives in that browser's storage, and clearing site data wipes it.
Open the demo Loading latest release… SHA-256 checksums
macOS and iOS build from the same source but aren't published yet. Both need an Apple Developer account to produce something you can open.
Need a hand installing it, or moving your records over from a register or spreadsheet? Message us on WhatsApp or send an email.
bash
$ git clone https://github.com/sawongam/khulla-digital-library.git $ cd khulla-digital-library # Install the pinned Flutter SDK $ dart pub global activate fvm $ fvm install # Bootstrap the workspace $ make bootstrap $ make build $ make localize $ make run-windows # or: make run-web, make run-linux
You'll need FVM, plus
Visual Studio with Desktop development with C++ on Windows, or
clang cmake ninja-build libgtk-3-dev on Linux.
Get help
Stuck, or need it to do something else? Ask us.
Khulla is built in the open by people who want small libraries to have good software. Tell us what your library needs.
- Setting it upGetting it onto the desk machine, cataloguing your first shelf, and setting up backups that actually happen.
- A feature you needIf your library works a particular way, that's useful to us. Describe the job, not just the button.
- Something brokeTell us the platform, and whether it was a fresh install or an existing catalogue.
Want a hand, or something built for your library?
We can install Khulla with you, move your records over from a register or spreadsheet, and add features your library needs. Message us on WhatsApp or send an email.
Is there anything to pay for?
No. Khulla is open source under the AGPL-3.0, with no paid tier, no hosted plan and nothing to renew. You can use it, change it and give it to other libraries.
The only thing sold is a commercial licence, for companies that want to resell Khulla or run it as a paid online service without sharing their source code. A library using Khulla never needs one. For commercial licensing, email info@sangamadhikari.com.
Who is it for?
Libraries run from one desk: school and college libraries, community and public libraries, reading rooms, and the book collections of NGOs, offices and places of worship. If you are keeping loans in a register or a spreadsheet today, it is built for you.
Does it need the internet?
No. The catalogue is a SQLite database on the machine, and nothing the desk does goes online. You only need a connection to download Khulla or an update.
Where are our records kept?
On Windows and Linux, in the app's data folder on that computer, outside the app itself, so uninstalling doesn't delete them. On Android, they're in the app's own storage, and uninstalling removes them, so take a backup first.
In the web version, they're in that browser's storage, and clearing site data erases them. Nothing is ever sent to us.
Does it work with a barcode scanner?
Yes. A USB or Bluetooth scanner types into Khulla like a keyboard, so scanning a copy at the desk finds it straight away. Khulla also numbers new copies for you and prints the spine labels and barcode sheets to stick on them.
How is it different from Koha?
Koha is a full integrated library system that runs on a server, with a web server and a database that someone has to install and look after. Khulla installs like any desktop or phone app and keeps the whole catalogue in one file on that machine. It suits a library with one desk and no IT staff. A large library with several branches, MARC cataloguing and a public online catalogue is better served by Koha. See Khulla as a Koha alternative, or how the open-source library systems compare.
Can two computers share one catalogue?
Not yet. Each installation is its own library. The code already has a clear place for sync to go, and a library that genuinely needs several desks writing to one catalogue is what will make us build it. If that's you, tell us.
How do we move to a new computer?
Go to Settings → Backup on the old machine and export the library as one file. Install Khulla on the new one and restore from that file.
Is it safe to update?
A new version upgrades the database through tested migrations. If you ever open a database with an older version, Khulla refuses to open it rather than risk damaging it. Take a backup before upgrading anyway.
Can it work in Nepali, or in our currency?
Yes to both. The interface is available in English and Nepali: pick it under Settings → Appearance. Titles, authors and member names can be typed and searched in Nepali Unicode.
The currency is a setting too: Nepalese rupee, Indian rupee, US dollar and many more, with lakh-style digit grouping (1,23,456) for South Asia. More for libraries in Nepal.
Can someone help us set it up?
Yes. Message us on WhatsApp at +977 981-9102869 or email info@sangamadhikari.com. The contact page lists what to tell us.
What about Mac and iPhone?
Both build from the same source, but we don't publish them yet, because a Mac or iOS build people can actually open needs an Apple Developer account. Until then, the web version works in Safari.
Ready?
Your library's records, on your library's machine.
Download Khulla and run it. No account to create, no server to configure.