Request a Novel

How to request a novel and track its progress.

Search by name before pasting a URL: most novels people go looking for are already on the site, and a search that finds one doesn't spend a request. This page covers both ways to request a novel and what happens afterward.

Requesting by URL#

  1. Go to Request.
  2. Paste the novel's source URL into the input.
  3. Submit.

The source must be one of the supported sources. An unsupported domain is rejected with a message telling you so.

Requesting by name#

  1. Go to Request.
  2. Type the novel's name into the same input instead of a URL.

The site searches supported sources and lists the novel under each source it found it on, so you can pick where to read it from, with a Preview link to check the source before adding it and an Add button to request it. If the novel is already on RandomTranslator, you see an "Already on RandomTranslator" banner with a Read button instead of search results.

If nothing turns up, you get a message that no supported source was found, with a shortcut to search Google for the novel yourself, so you can find and paste a URL. Before you search, the page also links out to DaoSearch, an external novel search tool, to help you find a novel to request.

Note Name search requires signing in, but not a Patreon membership. Every tier gets a monthly search allowance. See Pricing and limits.

Search and request quotas#

Name searches draw from your monthly search quota, available to every signed-in account. A full request draws from your monthly novel requests and a preview from your monthly previews, two separate counts that both need a Patreon membership of $12 a month or higher. When your remaining searches run low, the page shows how many you have left for the month. See Pricing and limits for the exact numbers and when they reset.

What a request costs#

A full novel is charged by its size, because a long novel takes far more fetching and translating than a short one:

Chapters when added Novel requests used
Fewer than 200 Half a request
200 to 2,000 1
More than 2,000 1, plus 1 for every 2,000 chapters (4,500 chapters uses 3)
  • The site only learns the chapter count once it has fetched the chapter list, so a request takes one full request up front. If the novel turns out to be short, half is handed back a moment later. Two short novels use one request between them.
  • Get Full Novel on a preview follows the same table. The chapter count is already known by then, so the right amount is taken straight away.
  • The size is measured when the novel is added. An ongoing novel that later grows past 200 chapters isn't charged again.
  • A preview always uses one preview, whatever the novel's size, except that a novel over 2,000 chapters uses extra previews on the same every-2,000 rule.

My Limits shows half requests as they are, for example "22.5 / 32".

Preview vs. full requests#

The Preview switch on the Request page is on by default. With it on, a request only fetches and translates the novel's first 50 chapters, useful for trying a novel before committing a full request to it. A preview novel is marked with a blue "P" badge wherever its title appears.

To get the rest of a preview novel, open its page, open its menu, and choose Get Full Novel. This spends novel requests, not a preview, by the size table above, and cannot be undone. See How translation works for the full conversion flow.

Tip If a novel has 50 chapters or fewer in total, requesting it as a preview adds the whole thing. There is nothing left to convert later.

After you submit#

Once a request is queued, you can track it in two panels at the bottom of the Request page:

  • Queue Status shows how many jobs are waiting per queue.
  • Currently Processing lists novels and chapters actively being fetched or translated right now.

There is no per-request queue position. These panels show totals across all users, not where your specific request sits in line.

You also get a notification when your novel finishes: "Novel Added Successfully" (or "(Preview)" for a preview request), with a Read Now link.

Source uptime#

Reliability varies by source. The Source Uptime panel, also at the bottom of the Request page, shows each source's status (Operational, Degraded, Down, or Unknown) and a 90-day uptime history. Check it if a source seems to be failing consistently.

When a request fails#

If fetching fails after your request was queued, you get a "Novel Request Failed" notification explaining what happened and suggesting you double-check the URL, try again in a few minutes, or reach out on Discord if it keeps failing. Failed requests are refunded automatically, in full, whatever the novel's size: a failed request costs you nothing.

If you submit the same URL twice within a minute, the second submission is treated as the same request and is not charged again.

Duplicate novels#

If the novel you requested is already on the site (even under a different URL or source), the request is matched to the existing novel instead of creating a copy, and you are not charged a quota slot. In the rare case where two requests for the same novel are processed at almost the same time, the later one is automatically removed and refunded, and you are notified.

If you spot two separate novel entries that are actually the same novel, report it (see Reporting) rather than requesting it again. Merging duplicate entries is handled by moderators, and your library, ratings, and reading progress move over automatically when they do.