Audiobookshelf

What it does

Audiobookshelf turns a folder of audiobooks and podcasts into a beautiful library you can listen to anywhere. It remembers where each person stopped, on every device, and fetches covers and book details for you. Everyone in the family gets their own login and progress. It runs on your own computer or server, with free phone apps.

• Plays every audio format, in the browser and in free Android and iOS apps
• Keeps each person's place in sync across devices
• Downloads new podcast episodes automatically
• Fetches covers, descriptions and chapters for you

Great for: Families and listeners with their own audiobook or podcast files who want one private place to play them.

Make it yours: ideas

Pick an idea to start from, or describe your own.

• Settings, no code A safe children's library with its own logins “My two kids should only see the children's books folder, can't delete anything, and each keeps their own place in the story.” Start with this idea
• Extend: themes, plugins, API Tell me on Telegram when a new podcast episode arrives “When a new episode of my favourite podcasts is downloaded, send me a Telegram message with the title.” Start with this idea
• Code changes Bedtime mode with a big sleep timer “Add a bedtime button for the kids' tablet: dim screen, huge play/pause, and it stops by itself after 20 minutes.” Start with this idea
• Code changes Family reading challenge page “Show a page with how many hours each of us listened this month and a little leaderboard for our family book club.” Start with this idea
• Extend: themes, plugins, API Book details from a source the built-in providers miss “Most of my audiobooks are in Welsh. Get covers and descriptions from the publisher's website instead.” Start with this idea

How easy is it to adapt?

A Node.js server with a Nuxt 2 web client and a single SQLite database. Most family needs are settings. Upstream is rewriting the web client in React and is not taking pull requests for the current Vue client, so client changes stay in your own copy. Your AI always tries the gentlest step first, so your version stays easy to update.

1. 1

   Settings 3 options

   No code. Change it in the app or its config.

   • Which folders hold books or podcasts, and how titles, authors and series are read from folder names and tags.
   • A login per family member, with what each can see (e.g. hide adult books from children) and whether they can download.
   • Where covers and book details come from, plus your own genres and tags.
2. 2

   Extend 3 options

   Themes, plugins, webhooks and the API. Still no fork.

   • Messages when new podcast episodes download or a backup fails.
   • Plug in your own book-details service, e.g. for a language or publisher the built-in sources miss.
   • Scripts, smart-speaker skills and other players that read your library or progress.
3. 3

   Code 2 options

   Your AI edits the source for anything else.

   • New screens, layouts and colours in the current Vue web client.
   • New data, new API endpoints and background jobs.

Can I trust it?

• GPL-3.0-only. Free to use and change. If you share your changed version with other people (give them the code or app), you must share your source code under the same licence. Running it for yourself and your household has no extra obligations.
• Your data: stores personal data, on your own device or server. SQLite database in /config; covers, cache and backups in /metadata; your audio files stay in your own media folders.
• Other services: Book and podcast metadata (Audible, Google Books, Open Library, iTunes, Audnexus and others) (optional, free); Apprise API server (optional, free (self-hosted)); Email (SMTP) (optional, free with most providers)
• Pinned version 743d915. Every handover uses exactly this code, which we've reviewed.
• Self-hosted with its own login. Use strong passwords and HTTPS (with websocket support) before exposing it to the internet.
• Give children and guests ordinary user accounts, not admin.
• API keys and SMTP passwords are secrets. Never paste them into an AI chat.

Did it work for people?

Tell us how it went

For your AI

The project pack has the pinned version, how to run it, and where to customise it. Your prompt links to it automatically.

https://handoff.bespokeai.software/p/audiobookshelf/743d915/pack.md

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