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Archive of Our Own

Archive of Our Own is a nonprofit fanworks archive known for detailed tagging, flexible publishing controls, and a vast reader-supported catalog.

Runs on Web

Available on Web

Built for Communities Everyday Users

Overview

What is Archive of Our Own?

A library built around fandom

AO3 holds fanfiction, podfic, meta, and embedded visual fanworks across an enormous range of fandoms. Authors set ratings, archive warnings, relationships, characters, and freeform tags. Readers can leave kudos and comments, while the archive’s design prioritizes preservation rather than a recommendation feed.

How discovery works

Open a fandom, relationship, character, or tag page.
Narrow the list by rating, warning, completion status, word count, language, and included or excluded tags.
Sort what remains by date, kudos, comments, bookmarks, hits, or length.

Everything stays free

Reading and publishing cost nothing, and there is no paid tier or advertising. An account adds subscriptions, saved history, private bookmarks, and posting tools, though much of the archive is open to visitors. Donations to the Organization for Transformative Works cover operations. Works can be downloaded as EPUB, MOBI, AZW3, PDF, or HTML for offline reading and personal archiving.

Capabilities

Key features

Series organization

Group connected works in a defined reading order

Pseudonym management

Publish under multiple names from one account

Work subscriptions

Get email alerts when followed works or authors update

Challenge collections

Run exchanges, prompts, reveals, and anonymous posting periods

Custom work skins

Style individual works using archive-supported CSS

Keep exploring

Still weighing your options?

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