calibredb

Command-line interface to the Calibre ebook database

TLDR

List all books

$ calibredb list

Add book to library

$ calibredb add [book.epub]

Remove book by ID

$ calibredb remove [23]

Search for books

$ calibredb search "[title:keyword]"

Show book metadata

$ calibredb show_metadata [42]

Set book metadata

$ calibredb set_metadata [42] -f [title:"New Title"]

Export books

$ calibredb export [23,45] --to-dir [output/]

Add format to existing book

$ calibredb add_format [42] [book.mobi]

SYNOPSIS

calibredb command [options] [arguments]

calibredb is the command-line interface to the Calibre ebook database. It manages ebook libraries, adds/removes books, modifies metadata, and can connect to local or remote Calibre Content servers.

PARAMETERS

--library-path path

Path to Calibre library (directory containing metadata.db).

--with-library url

Connect to a Calibre Content server (e.g., http://localhost:8080).

--username user

Username for Content server authentication.

--password pass

Password for Content server authentication.

--timeout seconds

Network connection timeout in seconds (default: 120).

-f, --field name:value

Set metadata field (used with set_metadata).

--as-opf

Output metadata as OPF XML.

--for-machine

Output in JSON format (machine-readable).

COMMANDS

list

List books in database with customizable fields and filtering.

add

Import book files into the library.

remove

Remove books by ID.

search

Query library using calibre's search syntax.

show_metadata

Display stored metadata for a book.

set_metadata

Update book metadata from OPF file or individual fields.

export

Export books to the filesystem with associated files.

add_format

Attach an ebook file format to an existing book.

remove_format

Remove a specific format from a book.

catalog

Generate a formatted catalog of the library.

backup_metadata

Export metadata to individual OPF files.

restore_database

Rebuild the database from OPF metadata files.

check_library

Validate library filesystem integrity.

clone

Create a new empty library with identical custom columns and settings.

embed_metadata

Update book file metadata from database records.

fts_index

Manage full-text search indexing.

fts_search

Perform full-text searches across library content.

CAVEATS

Book IDs can be found using the list or search commands. Arguments with spaces must be quoted. On macOS, command-line tools are inside the calibre.app bundle at `/Applications/calibre.app/Contents/MacOS/`. The Calibre GUI should not be running when using calibredb on a local library, or use --with-library to connect via the Content server instead.

HISTORY

calibredb is part of calibre, an ebook management application created by Kovid Goyal and first released in 2006.