Audiobookshelf · Library Hub

Audiobookshelf is a self-hosted server for audiobooks and ebooks. Turn it on in Settings → Library Hub → Providers and its books join your notes: one note per book, whichever place holds it.

What it brings#

Notes for your audiobooks and ebooks. A book you also have in Calibre or Audible joins that note (matched by ISBN, ASIN, then title and author); one only Audiobookshelf has gets its own note (turn that off with Notes for books only another provider has).
Details: narrators, length, series and its number, publisher and language, under the same fields Audible fills.
What you did with it: a book you have started shows reading_status: reading and started; one you have finished shows read and finished. These fill blanks only. Where your note says something different, the sync preview lists it under Differences from providers for you to accept (see Reading activity). How far you have listened is kept as audiobookshelf_progress.
Ebook files in the reader. This book: Read opens an ebook Audiobookshelf holds (EPUB, or PDF) in the reader, with your place remembered.
A link to the audiobook. An audiobook has no file to read here, so it opens its page on your server. This book: Open with… lists both ways when a book has both.

It is read-only: it never changes anything on your server. Podcast libraries are skipped.

Connect#

In Audiobookshelf choose Settings → API Keys → Add, and copy the key. (The login token the web app uses expires; an API key does not.)
In Providers, turn Audiobookshelf on and choose Connect….
Enter the server address (for example http://localhost:13378) and paste the key. It is kept in Obsidian's keychain.
Choose which libraries to read, or leave all off for every book library, then Test.

Try it without your own server#

scripts/audiobookshelf-test-server.sh starts a throwaway server in Docker with three invented books and prints an address and an API key to paste in. scripts/audiobookshelf-test-server.sh stop removes it.

What it sends#

Requests go only to your server, with the API key as a bearer token. Nothing from your vault is sent.