Skip to main content

Calibre

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.

  • For more information about this app, follow this link.

Initial Setup

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.

Calibre Content Server

Calibre can operate as a server that you can connect to from other applications, 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.
Back to top