this post was submitted on 16 Aug 2025
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Hi all, I'm looking for a one-stop selfhosted eBook software that can do the following:

  • Easily import (or upload) files and scrape metadata
  • Sync library and progress with web reader, eReader and android app(s)
  • Support for graphic novels

Basically I'm looking for Audiobookshelf but for... books

Calibre Web Automated

  • Can't sync progress with web

Kavita

  • Can't upload files

Stumpapp any good? I heard you can upload files.

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[–] AppearanceBoring9229@sh.itjust.works 1 points 16 hours ago (1 children)

I'm looking for the same. I've used moon reader on android and it can sync progress between devices. Also it supports WebDAV, so calibre may work but I haven't tried it

[–] rumba@lemmy.zip 2 points 15 hours ago

Calibre definitely works in Moon reader, The interface could be better but it's serviceable.

[–] CubitOom@infosec.pub 23 points 1 day ago (4 children)

Jellyfin actually works for ebooks too. It does all the things you specified and more.

[–] glitching@lemmy.ml 3 points 1 day ago

it also has the OPDS plugin, so compatible Android readers can get books directly off it

[–] flork@lemy.lol 17 points 1 day ago* (last edited 21 hours ago) (1 children)

Wow really? What ereaders does it page sync with?

EDIT: Oh my this could be promising.

EDIT: Jellyfin frustratingly doesn't allow you to store eBooks, Audiobooks and Comics in the same folder like CWA.

[–] CubitOom@infosec.pub 8 points 1 day ago

Besides the official jellyfin app, there is also JellyBook

[–] Artisian@lemmy.world 6 points 1 day ago

whoa that's amazing. Jellyfin does everything.

[–] fmstrat@lemmy.nowsci.com 9 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (2 children)

Kavita. It started for comics and moved on to books. It supports OPDS, the standard by which readers like KOReader and Mihon connect to fetch books.

I have tried so many, Calibre (not good for graphic novels), Komga (very dated in comparison to Kavita), and more, but for both graphic novels and books, it won't be beat.

@4dpancake92@lemmy.world if you like Komga, take a look at Kavita. I was happy with my switch.

[–] flork@lemy.lol 1 points 21 hours ago

Like I mentioned in the main post, Kavita is out because it doesn't do uploads or embed metadata, and the developer isn't interested in changing that.

[–] ikidd@lemmy.world 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Yes, in supported apps / protocols. Koreader, for example, should have 2-way sync for eBooks, and Mihon has 2-way sync for Manga.

+1 for kavita. It also has a nice webreader ui.

Haven't tried it with graphic novels but BookLore is being very actively developed so if it doesn't already support them it may be a worthy feature request.

[–] ikidd@lemmy.world 3 points 1 day ago

I do this with a calibre/calibreweb docker stack, and fbreader on my tablet/phone. Unfortunately you need to use g drive for progress sync, but that's not a huge roadblock.

[–] i_stole_ur_taco@lemmy.ca 8 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Not sure about comic support, but I think you can get much of that using a combo of Calibre and Calibre-web-automated.

[–] gedaliyah@lemmy.world 1 points 1 day ago (2 children)

I started off with calibre-web and Kavita, but transitioned to calibre-web only. I found that I have a lot of weird formats for comic books that are not handled well by regular comics hosting. If you have everything in standard CBR formats (etc), then you should have no issues.

I found Kavita and komga basically equivalent, but some people have said it makes a difference for manga series.

Calibre-web-automated is a different project with more features and more active development. I'd probably choose that if I were setting it up today.

[–] flork@lemy.lol 2 points 1 day ago

The switch to CWA is very easy (I just did it recently) but I was sad to see the web reader doesn't sync progress with Koreader or other apps.

[–] i_stole_ur_taco@lemmy.ca 1 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I was running calibre-web and tried running it side by side with calibre-web-automated and it was an absolute breeze. It’s got some really nice features on top of the original. I’d highly recommend giving it a try - it was a surprisingly low bar to get running!

[–] ssdfsdf3488sd@lemmy.world 1 points 19 hours ago

Cwas docker containers are currently broken with respecct to puid, so if you cant have any of your vol7mes as user id 911 it breaks fyi

[–] McMonster@programming.dev 4 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I'm not sure if any app syncs progress with eReaders, but I haven't looked into it. Maybe KOreader can? Other than that Audiobookshelf works well with ebooks. I haven't tested it with graphic novels, but it does handle regular ebooks (PDF and EPUB) just fine.

[–] MysteriousSophon21@lemmy.world 2 points 14 hours ago

Audiobookshelf actually handles graphic novels pretty well too - I've been using it for my manga collection and the mobile app works great for reading, but if you're on iOS check out the soundleaf app which is even beter for connecting to audiobookshelf servers.

[–] 4dpancake92@lemmy.world 3 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Maybe take a look at Komga. It does support both ebooks and graphic novels, has koreader sync for progress and can even share/distribute stuff via OPDS to koreader and other clients that support OPDS.

However file uploading is not directly possible, maybe this would work with something like a Nextcloud server?!

[–] flork@lemy.lol 1 points 1 day ago

Yeah I'm fine with a folder that it regularly scans or something, I just don't want to have to properly tag everything/get cover art manually every time.

I currently use Komga for graphic novels (cdisplayex syncs progress with it). I had no idea it had Koreader support, maybe I'll give it more of a look.

[–] tofu@lemmy.nocturnal.garden 3 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I think CWA had a recent update where they implement syncing progress with KOReader

[–] flork@lemy.lol 2 points 1 day ago

Kind of. It allows Koreader apps to sync with other koreader apps, but there is no way to check the progress in CWA and it doesn't sync with CWA's web reader.

[–] rutrapio@jlai.lu 3 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Did you try / look at Koreader?

[–] flork@lemy.lol 3 points 1 day ago

Koreader is great but it is a reading app, and it's not great on android. I'm looking for a selfhosted library that can sync Koreader or similar.