Calibre & Calibre-Web

Calibre is a cross-platform free and open-source suite of e-book software. Calibre supports organizing existing e-books into virtual libraries, displaying, editing, creating and converting e-books, as well as syncing e-books with a variety of e-readers.

Calibre
Calibre-Web

Calibre

For more information about this app, follow this link.

Initial Setup

Install Calibre from the Installers tab on the User Control Panel. Make sure to choose a strong password.

Configuration

Once you have installed Calibre, paste the copied URL into your web browser to access the web UI, you will be greeted by a login form. Log in with your username and the password you set during the installation.
Our Calibre installation comes with a pre-configured library:
- ~/media/Calibre Library
You could choose a different path within your home directory, though the directory needs to be created and be empty OR include a Calibre database library from a previous installation.

In this guide, we will be using the default path ~/media/Calibre Library.
Click the Next button.

Choose the generic device you will be using to read your ebooks.
Click the Next button.

Click the Finish button to complete the setup of Calibre.

Add Books

Books can be added to the database library by manually adding them into default library path, in this guide that would be ~/media/Calibre Library.
Books can also be manually added by clicking the Add Books button within the Calibre UI.

Next, choose how you want to add books, in this guide we will choose Add books from a single folder
Note that the file dialog defaults to the /config directory of the docker. Navigate to /home/username to enter your home directory. The next time you use the file dialog, click the file path and you will have the option to select previously selected paths (e.g. your home directory).

Navigate to the location where your book is located, mark it and click Open.

If done successfully, you should see your book added to the library. To read it, simply double-click on it or click the View button in the top bar.
However, you will have a better reading experience with Calibre-Web or a third-party reader such as Moon+ Reader.

Plugins

Enable/Disable Plugins

The functionality of Calibre can be extended by the use of plugins. For a complete list of all available plugins, follow this link.

To enable a Calibre plugin, click on Preferences in the top menu bar.
Then, click on Plugins.

Next, in the search field, type the plugin name you want to enable, and press ENTER on your keyboard.
- Plugins that are already enabled, will be marked with a green puzzle piece icon.

In the search results listed, highlight the plugin you want to enable.
Press Enable/disable plugin.

Add External Plugin

In addition to the plugins that are already available within Calibre, external plugins can be installed from the Index of Calibre plugins. To install one of these plugins, follow the below instructions.

In the Plugins window, press the Get new plugins button.

A new window called User plugins will appear.
Search the plugin
Highlight the plugin
Press the Install button.

A warning about virus/malware may appear. Press the Yes button.
Depending on what plugin you have installed, you may be asked to restart Calibre.
Done!

Calibre Content Server

Due to Calibre running in a Docker container, the Calibre Content Server can only be accessed internally by applications running on your Ultra service. To remotely access your Calibre instance, you can set up Calibre-Web to access your ebook library from a third-party ebook reader such as Moon+ Reader.

Calibre can operate as a server that you can connect to from other applications within the Ultra.cc infrastructure, such as Readarr. In this section, we will show you how to set up and start your Calibre content server.

In Calibre, click on Preferences in the top menu bar.
Click on Sharing over the net.

Next, change the Port field to your Calibre port.
- You can find your Calibre port by executing app-ports show.
Make sure to enable:
- Require username and password to access the Content server
- Run server automatically when calibre starts

Next, click the User Accounts tab.

Then, click the + Add User button.
Choose a Username and Password.
Click the OK button.

To save the changes, click Apply and OK.
Restart Calibre by executing app-calibre restart, then wait 2-3 minutes to let the Calibre Content Server initialize.

Once Calibre has been successfully restarted, go to Preferences > Sharing over the net, and take note of the IP-address and port the content server is listening at. In your case, the IP-address and port will be different than what is shown in the above image.
The IP-address and port will be needed when connecting to your Calibre Content Server from another application, such as Readarr.

Calibre CLI

Calibre can also be managed via Command Line Interface instead of the webUI by interacting with the Calibre binaries. Documentation regarding the usage of the Calibre binaries can be found here. To execute an internal Calibre binary, you can use the app-calibre exec command.

To list the binaries that are allowed on your Ultra.cc service, execute the following command:

app-calibre exec -l

To execute an internal binary with included command option, execute the command in the following format:

app-calibre exec -c calibre-customize -a "--list-plugins"

app-calibre exec -c ebook-convert -a "--help"

The above commands can of course be edited to any of the allowed binaries and their respective command options. Usage instructions can be found here.

Calibre-Web

Calibre-Web is a web app that offers a clean and intuitive interface for browsing, reading, and downloading eBooks using a valid Calibre database.

For more information about this app, follow this link.

Initial Setup

Install Calibre-Web from the Installers tab on the User Control Panel. Make sure to choose a strong password.

Usage

Once Calibre-Web has been successfully installed, paste the copied URL into your web browser.
A login form should appear.

Enter your username and the password you previously set during installation of Calibre-Web.
Click the Login button.

Once logged in, the Calibre-Web UI will appear and any books you have previously added during the setup of Calibre, will appear on the home page.
To read a book, click on the book cover to reveal the reading options available.

To read the book, simply click the Read in Browser - epub as shown in the above image.
- To download the book for offline reading, click the Download button on the left.

Access from Moon+ Reader

You can also access your Calibre ebook library from a third-party ebook reader such as Moon+ Reader. Follow the instructions below to set it up.

Go to the Google Play store, download and install Moon+ Reader.
When you first open the app, you will need to allow "All files access" permission to the app, as shown in the below image.

Click OK to open internal permission settings.

Find Moon+ Reader in the list and enable "All files access", as shown in the above image.
Next, go back to the Moon+ Reader app to add access to your Calibre ebook library.

In the expandable menu, click on Net Library, as shown in the above image.

Next, click the three dots icon in the top right corner.
In the menu that appears, click Add new catalog, as shown in the below image.

You will be presented with a form where you can add Catalog Name and Catalog URL.

Catalog Name can be set to whatever you please.
Catalog URL needs to be set to https://username.hostname.usbx.me/calibre-web
- Make sure to replace http:// with https://
- Make sure to replace username and hostname with your Ultra.cc service specific username and hostname.
Click OK to proceed.

You should now see your Calibre ebook library added at the bottom of the Net Library. In this example, we named it Calibre.
Click the Calibre icon to open your Calibre ebook library.

If done correctly, you should be presented with a login form to access Calibre-Web.
Log in with your Ultra.cc service username and the password you previously set during the Calibre-Web installation.
Done!