VerseDB plugs into ComicTagger as a metadata source, alongside Comic Vine, Metron, and GCD. Match a series, and the plugin writes full metadata — credits, characters, story arcs, covers, and more — straight into your comic archives. It covers western comics, manga, manhwa, manhua, bande dessinée, and magazines, so one source can tag a mixed shelf.
What you need#
- ComicTagger 1.6.0b7 or later — earlier versions are missing a feature the plugin relies on.
- A VerseDB account and a personal API token with the
read:publicscope. Create one at versedb.com/my/apps/custom.
A free account is enough to tag with. Pro raises your hourly request budget and unlocks variant covers, which helps with cover matching on bulk runs.
Installing the plugin#
How you install depends on how you run ComicTagger.
Standalone app (Windows, macOS, Linux builds). The packaged builds load plugins from a folder. Download the .whl file from the latest release and drop it — as a file, not unzipped — into ComicTagger's plugin directory:
- Windows:
%APPDATA%\ComicTagger\plugins - macOS:
~/Library/Application Support/ComicTagger/plugins - Linux:
~/.config/ComicTagger/plugins
ComicTagger also shows this path as a clickable Plugin Dir link under Settings. Restart ComicTagger, then pick VerseDB under Settings → Comic Sources.
When you upgrade, delete the old .whl first. ComicTagger loads every file in the plugin folder without checking versions, so two copies will clash.
Running ComicTagger from Python. Install the wheel into the same environment ComicTagger runs in with pip install versedb_talker-<version>-py3-none-any.whl. ComicTagger finds it automatically through its plugin entry point. Restart ComicTagger.
Settings#
Open Settings → Comic Sources and select VerseDB. Every setting also has a command-line flag.
Click Test Source after entering your token to confirm it works before you start a big tagging run.
Tagging your comics#
Search for a series the way you would with any other source, match your issue, and write the tags. A single issue lookup returns almost everything ComicTagger stores, so tagging is usually one request per issue.
The plugin fills in the series, issue number, and title, publisher and imprint, cover and release dates, description, genres, credits with roles, characters, teams, story arcs, locations, page count, price, language, format, maturity and critical ratings, the cover image, and a link back to the issue on VerseDB. Manga, manhwa, and manhua are flagged as manga, so right-to-left reading is set correctly. Key issues — first appearances, origins, deaths, and major events — come through wherever VerseDB has marked them.
Matching works by series search and issue number, the same as the other sources. VerseDB's public API doesn't expose Comic Vine, GCD, or Metron IDs, so there's no match-by-ID shortcut.
Rate limits and account settings#
The API allows 300 requests an hour on a free account and 1,000 on Pro, counted against your account. The plugin spaces out its requests and caches results in ComicTagger, so repeat lookups don't go back to the server. If it does hit the limit, it waits and retries. A large run can use up the free budget, so Pro is the better fit for bulk tagging.
Your results are filtered by the content preferences on your VerseDB account — NSFW visibility and any hidden mediums, languages, or genres. If a series doesn't appear when you expect it to, check those settings on the website, since your token inherits them.
