calibre

Ebook management and format conversion suite

TLDR

Start Calibre GUI
$ calibre
Add book to library
$ calibredb add [book.epub]
Convert ebook format
$ ebook-convert [input.epub] [output.mobi]
Start content server
$ calibre-server
Edit ebook
$ ebook-edit [book.epub]

SYNOPSIS

calibre

DESCRIPTION

calibre is a comprehensive ebook management application. It provides ebook library organization, format conversion, metadata editing, ebook syncing to devices, and a built-in reader and editor.The application supports virtually all ebook formats and most ebook readers.

CONFIGURATION

~/.config/calibre/

Configuration directory containing preferences, plugins, and library settings

COMPONENTS

calibre

Main GUI application
calibredb
Command-line library management
ebook-convert
Format conversion
ebook-edit
EPUB editor
calibre-server
Web-based library access
ebook-viewer
Ebook reader

FEATURES

- Library management- Format conversion (25+ formats)- Metadata editing and download- News downloading from websites- Ebook editing- Device syncing- Content server (web access)- Search and filtering- Custom columns and tags

SUPPORTED FORMATS

Input: EPUB, MOBI, AZW, PDF, HTML, TXT, and 20+ moreOutput: EPUB, MOBI, AZW3, PDF, TXT, and more

COMMAND-LINE USAGE

$ # Add book
calibredb add book.epub

# List books
calibredb list

# Convert format
ebook-convert input.epub output.mobi

# Start server
calibre-server /path/to/library

# Fetch metadata
fetch-ebook-metadata --isbn 9780123456789

INSTALL

sudo dnf install calibre
sudo pacman -S calibre
sudo zypper install calibre
nix profile install nixpkgs#calibre

CAVEATS

Large library can be slow. DRM removal not included (requires plugins). Qt-based (larger footprint). Some conversions imperfect. Kindle's AZW3 support requires Amazon account for some features.

HISTORY

Calibre was created by Kovid Goyal in 2006 to manage ebooks and became the de facto standard for ebook management and conversion.

SEE ALSO

ebook-convert(1), calibredb(1), pandoc(1)

RESOURCES

Source code · Homepage · Documentation