Audiobookshelf

Audiobookshelf is a self-hosted server for managing and streaming audiobooks and podcasts. It provides library organization, metadata handling, and playback progress syncing across devices via web and mobile clients.

Key Features

• Audiobook and podcast library management with search, organization, and cover art/metadata fetching
• Streaming playback with per-user progress tracking and sync across devices
• Podcast discovery with episode downloads and auto-download support
• Multi-user support with custom permissions
• Web client plus Progressive Web App (PWA) experience
• Mobile apps (Android and iOS in beta)
• Bulk uploads via drag-and-drop folders for books and podcasts
• Automated library update detection (no manual re-scan required)
• Metadata backup with automated daily backups
• Tools for chapters and audio file handling (e.g., merge to M4B, embed metadata)

Use Cases

• Run a private audiobook server for a family with separate users and synced progress
• Manage and download podcasts centrally for offline listening across devices
• Organize large audiobook collections with consistent metadata, chapters, and cover art

Limitations and Considerations

• Reverse proxy setups must support WebSocket connections for the web app to work correctly
• Subfolder deployments are constrained to a fixed path ("/audiobookshelf")

Audiobookshelf fits users who want a private, feature-complete alternative for audiobook and podcast hosting with strong library management and multi-device playback. It is especially useful for multi-user households and homelabs that need centralized media control and backups.