Your Audiobooks. Your Server. No Middleman.

A self-hosted audiobook library that syncs playback across every device, organizes your collection with AI-powered metadata, and lets you completely customize the player — all running on your own hardware with no subscriptions.

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Self-hosted Your hardware, your rules
Sync everywhere Pick up where you left off
AI-powered imports Metadata in seconds
Private by default No ads, no tracking, ever

How it works

Three moving parts, zero compromises.

1

Point the server at your audiobooks

Install on any Linux machine — a home server, NAS, or cloud VPS. Point it at your audiobook directory and the server handles the rest. Import with AI-powered metadata extraction from filenames, audio tags, or external sources like Google Books and Audible.

2

Connect your devices

Install the client on Android, iOS, Amazon devices, Windows, or Linux. Scan a QR code or enter your server URL. Your library, playback position, bookmarks, and listening stats sync automatically across every device.

3

Make it yours

Change the player's look with community skins and themes, or design your own with the built-in visual editor. Share your creations, fork others' work, and switch between designs as easily as changing a playlist.

Everything you need for your audiobook collection

Built for listeners who want control over their library.

Self-hosted library server

Your audiobooks live on your hardware, served from your own storage. Support for M4B, M4A, MP3, AAC, WAV, and FLAC — no conversion required. No monthly fees, no DRM, no one else deciding what you can listen to.

Playback sync across devices

Start on your phone during your commute, pick up on your tablet at home. Position, bookmarks, and listening events sync automatically with conflict resolution so you never lose your place — even offline.

AI-powered imports

Drop a directory of audiobooks and let AI extract titles, authors, narrators, series, and genres from filenames and audio tags. Multi-provider support (Gemini, Claude, OpenAI) with confidence-based review before committing.

Shared libraries

Invite family or trusted listeners to your collection. Each user gets their own account with independent playback progress, bookmarks, playlists, and listening stats — all against the same shared library.

Free books via LibriVox

Browse and stream thousands of public-domain audiobooks from LibriVox right out of the box — no server setup needed. Full catalog sync with chapter-level detail, genre browsing, and offline downloads.

Skin & theme gallery

Completely change the player's look with community-created skins and themes. Use the built-in designer with live preview, fork existing designs, or export your creations as shareable packages.

Drive Mode

A large-button overlay with play/pause and 30-second skip controls that works on top of any skin. Bright and dark themes for day or night driving — because fiddling with tiny buttons at 60 mph is a terrible idea.

Listening statistics

Track your listening habits with daily, weekly, and yearly trends. See your top books, streaks, and time spent listening. Set time-based goals and watch your progress climb across devices.

Private by default

No advertising networks. No analytics dashboards. No selling your listening habits. When you self-host, your data never leaves your infrastructure. The code is open source so you can verify it yourself.

Open source

Server, client, and website code are all open source. Audit it, modify it, or contribute to it. No vendor lock-in, no disappearing features behind a paywall, no surprise pricing changes.

Multi-backend support

Connect to Audiobook Librarian Server, Lite, Audiobookshelf, Plex, Google Drive, or Dropbox — all from the same client app. Browse and download from multiple sources without switching apps.

Dedicated playback controls

Variable speed (0.5x–2.0x), sleep timer with fade-out, chapter navigation, bookmarks, and skip buttons with speed-aware timing. Built for long-form audio, not music.

Run Your Own Server

Audiobook Librarian is open-source and designed to be self-hosted. Install the server on any Linux machine — your home server, a NAS, or a cloud VPS — and your entire library lives under your control.

  • Serves M4B, M4A, MP3, AAC, WAV, and FLAC directly from your storage
  • AI-powered metadata extraction from filenames, tags, or external APIs
  • Multi-library support — serve different collections from one server
  • Library repair system auto-detects and fixes common issues
  • No monthly fees, no per-book charges, no vendor lock-in
  • Full control over who has access with role-based permissions
  • Built-in LibriVox mode for free public-domain content
  • Docker support with zero-config SQLite demo
View on GitHub

Free Books with LibriVox

LibriVox is a volunteer project that produces free public-domain audiobook recordings. Audiobook Librarian has a built-in LibriVox mode that lets you browse and stream their entire catalog without setting up your own audio library.

All LibriVox recordings are released into the public domain worldwide — free to use, forever. No account required, no server setup needed.

Get the App

Connect to your server or browse LibriVox — on any device.

Android

Google Play Store

Coming Soon

Amazon

Amazon Appstore

Coming Soon

iOS

Apple App Store

Coming Soon

Desktop

Windows, Linux & macOS

Coming Soon

Frequently Asked Questions

The stuff people actually want to know.

Not to get started. Audiobook Librarian includes a built-in LibriVox mode that lets you browse and stream thousands of free public-domain audiobooks without any server setup. Running your own server unlocks personal library management, playback sync, shared libraries, AI-powered imports, and the full skin/theme gallery experience.

The server serves M4B, M4A, MP3, AAC, WAV, and FLAC files directly from your storage — no conversion required. M4B is the primary format with full chapter extraction. The client apps support the same formats across Android, iOS, and desktop platforms.

Each client app reports your listening progress back to your server. When you open the same book on a different device, it picks up from the last known position. Bookmarks and listening events sync the same way. If two devices report different positions, you get a conflict resolution dialog to choose which one to keep. Everything works offline and syncs when you reconnect.

Yes. As a library administrator, you can invite other users to access your collection. Each user gets their own account with independent playback progress, bookmarks, playlists, and listening stats — all against the same shared library. Role-based permissions control who can do what.

Skins are ZIP packages that completely change the player's visual appearance — backgrounds, colors, fonts, layout, and button styles. Themes are color schemes that work across skins. You can browse the community gallery, use the built-in designer with live preview to create your own, or fork any existing design to make it yours. Drive Mode is a large-button overlay that works on top of any skin.

When you point the server at a directory of audiobooks, the AI can extract titles, authors, narrators, series names, series numbers, and genres from filenames and audio file tags. It supports multiple AI providers (Google Gemini, Anthropic Claude, OpenAI) and flags low-confidence results for manual review. You can also pull metadata from Google Books, Audible, and other external sources.

Yes. When you self-host, your audiobook files, listening history, and personal data never leave your server. There are no advertising networks, no analytics, and no third-party tracking. The project is open source so you can verify exactly what the code does.

The software is free and open source. You only need hardware to run the server — any Linux machine will do, from a Raspberry Pi to a cloud VPS. The client apps are also free with no subscription or in-app purchases. If you use AI-powered imports, you'll need an API key from a supported provider (Gemini has a free tier).

The client apps can download audiobooks from your server for offline listening. Playback progress is recorded locally and syncs when you reconnect. The LibriVox mode also supports offline downloads so you can listen without a connection to your server.

Yes. The client app supports multiple backends simultaneously. You can connect to Audiobook Librarian Server, Audiobook Librarian Lite (sync/stats only), Audiobookshelf, Plex, Google Drive, and Dropbox — all from the same app. Browse and download from any connected service without switching apps.