Calibre-Web
Calibre-Web is a free, open-source web application that exposes a Calibre eBook library through a clean, responsive web UI. It lets you browse, read, download and manage an existing Calibre database from any browser or OPDS-capable client while running on your own server or NAS.
It’s aimed at home-lab users, families and individual power-users who want a self-hosted, web-accessible front-end for an existing Calibre collection — providing mobile-friendly browsing, OPDS feeds for eReaders, basic metadata editing and options to send books to devices.
Use Cases
- Home library sharing: provide family members/household access to a single curated eBook collection with per-user permissions.
- Mobile and in-browser reading: quick previews or full reading of EPUBs and supported formats without downloading files locally.
- OPDS access for eReaders and apps: connect Moon+ Reader, Aldiko or other OPDS clients to browse and download books directly.
- Device delivery workflows: one-click send-to-device or email-to-Kindle delivery for convenient device syncing (subject to external providers).
- Migrating an existing Calibre library: point Calibre-Web at an existing Calibre DB to avoid rebuilding metadata or folder structure.
- Small-team or lab integration: integrate with LDAP/OAuth or reverse-proxy auth for straightforward user management on a private server.
Strengths
- Self-hosted and open-source — no recurring fees and full control over your data and deployment.
- Feature-rich web UI — responsive browsing, search, built-in reader, metadata editing and custom shelves make daily library use simple.
- OPDS and download controls — exposes catalogs to eReader apps while letting you restrict formats and download options per user or globally.
- Good Calibre compatibility — can use an existing Calibre database and optionally call Calibre binaries for conversions when available on the host.
- Docker-friendly deployment — official/community images and many guides make reproducible installs on home servers, NAS and cloud VMs straightforward.
- Flexible authentication — supports LDAP, OAuth, proxy auth and local accounts to fit into existing auth setups.
- Active community and maintenance — frequent commits, community contributions and many deployment recipes reduce long-term maintenance risk.
Limitations
- Occasional reliability quirks — conversions, Send-to-Kindle and edge-case features sometimes require environment-specific troubleshooting.
- Documentation gaps for certain hosts and advanced setups — Windows or some NAS environments can require hunting through issues and community posts for complete instructions.
- File-locking and DB concurrency — running Calibre desktop and Calibre-Web against the same DB needs careful workflows to avoid corruption or locking problems.
- Send-to-Kindle depends on external services — Amazon’s email delivery and SMTP policies can break the workflow outside of the app’s control.
- Not a full replacement for Calibre desktop — complex conversions, plugin-based workflows and heavy-duty editing still require Calibre desktop or its binaries.
Final Thoughts
Calibre-Web is a pragmatic, well-scoped solution if your goal is to make an existing Calibre library accessible over the web or to OPDS-capable devices. It balances useful features (reader, metadata edits, OPDS) with lightweight hosting needs and integrates well into Docker-based home-server setups.
Practical advice: deploy with a Docker image (LinuxServer or the project’s recommended image) on a dedicated volume, keep regular backups of the Calibre DB, avoid simultaneous writes from Calibre desktop and Calibre-Web, and retain Calibre desktop for complex conversions or plugin workflows. Test Send-to-Kindle and SMTP settings ahead of relying on them, and use LDAP/OAuth when you want centralized auth.