Top Related Projects
:books: Web app for browsing, reading and downloading eBooks stored in a Calibre database
The official source code repository for the calibre ebook manager
Media server for comics/mangas/BDs/magazines/eBooks with API, OPDS and Kobo Sync support
Book Manager and Automation (Sonarr for Ebooks)
Quick Overview
Linuxserver/docker-calibre-web is a Docker container for Calibre-Web, a web app providing a clean interface for browsing, reading, and downloading eBooks stored in a Calibre database. This project simplifies the deployment and management of Calibre-Web by packaging it into a Docker container, making it easy to run on various systems.
Pros
- Easy deployment and management through Docker containerization
- Regular updates and maintenance by the LinuxServer.io team
- Customizable through environment variables and volume mappings
- Compatible with various architectures (x86-64, arm64, armhf)
Cons
- Requires Docker knowledge for optimal use and troubleshooting
- May have a larger footprint compared to a native installation
- Potential performance overhead due to containerization
- Limited direct access to the underlying system for advanced customizations
Getting Started
To run the Calibre-Web Docker container, use the following command:
docker run -d \
--name=calibre-web \
-e PUID=1000 \
-e PGID=1000 \
-e TZ=Etc/UTC \
-e DOCKER_MODS=linuxserver/mods:universal-calibre \
-p 8083:8083 \
-v /path/to/data:/config \
-v /path/to/calibre/library:/books \
--restart unless-stopped \
lscr.io/linuxserver/calibre-web:latest
Replace /path/to/data
with the desired location for Calibre-Web's configuration files and /path/to/calibre/library
with the path to your Calibre library.
After running the container, access Calibre-Web by navigating to http://your-ip:8083
in a web browser. Follow the initial setup wizard to configure your Calibre-Web instance.
Competitor Comparisons
:books: Web app for browsing, reading and downloading eBooks stored in a Calibre database
Pros of calibre-web
- Native implementation without Docker, offering more flexibility for custom setups
- More frequent updates and active development
- Larger community and contributor base, potentially leading to faster bug fixes and feature additions
Cons of calibre-web
- Requires more manual configuration and setup compared to the Docker version
- May have compatibility issues with certain systems due to direct installation
- Potentially more complex to maintain and update without containerization
Code Comparison
calibre-web:
def get_book_cover(self, book_id):
book = self.get_book(book_id)
if book and book.has_cover:
return book.cover
return None
docker-calibre-web:
FROM lsiobase/alpine:3.13
# Install dependencies and Calibre-Web
RUN \
echo "**** install runtime packages ****" && \
apk add --no-cache \
python3 \
py3-pip \
imagemagick
The code snippets show different aspects of the projects. calibre-web focuses on Python implementation, while docker-calibre-web emphasizes containerization and dependency management.
The official source code repository for the calibre ebook manager
Pros of Calibre
- Full-featured e-book management software with a rich GUI
- Supports e-book editing, conversion between formats, and metadata management
- Extensive plugin ecosystem for additional functionality
Cons of Calibre
- Larger resource footprint due to its comprehensive feature set
- More complex setup and configuration compared to lightweight alternatives
- Not specifically designed for containerized environments
Code Comparison
Calibre (Python-based desktop application):
from calibre.ebooks.metadata.book.base import Metadata
def create_book(title, authors):
mi = Metadata(title, authors)
return mi
Docker-Calibre-Web (Dockerized web interface):
FROM lscr.io/linuxserver/calibre-web:latest
ENV PUID=1000
ENV PGID=1000
VOLUME /config /books
EXPOSE 8083
Summary
Calibre is a comprehensive e-book management solution with a desktop interface, offering extensive features for e-book enthusiasts. Docker-Calibre-Web, on the other hand, provides a lightweight, web-based interface focused on e-book organization and reading, optimized for containerized deployments. The choice between the two depends on specific needs, with Calibre offering more power and flexibility, while Docker-Calibre-Web excels in ease of deployment and resource efficiency.
Media server for comics/mangas/BDs/magazines/eBooks with API, OPDS and Kobo Sync support
Pros of Komga
- Built specifically for comic book and manga libraries, offering better support for these formats
- Modern, responsive web interface with a focus on user experience
- Supports multiple users with granular permission settings
Cons of Komga
- Limited e-book support compared to Calibre-web's extensive format compatibility
- Lacks some advanced features like metadata editing and e-book conversion
- Smaller community and fewer third-party integrations
Code Comparison
Komga (Kotlin):
@RestController
@RequestMapping("api/v1/series")
class SeriesController(
private val seriesRepository: SeriesRepository,
private val bookRepository: BookRepository
) {
@GetMapping("{seriesId}")
fun getOneSeries(@PathVariable seriesId: Long): SeriesDto =
seriesRepository.findByIdOrNull(seriesId)?.toDto()
?: throw ResponseStatusException(HttpStatus.NOT_FOUND)
}
Calibre-web (Python):
@app.route("/book/<int:book_id>")
@login_required_if_no_ano
def show_book(book_id):
entries = db.session.query(db.Books).filter(db.Books.id == book_id).first()
if entries:
return render_title_template('book.html', entry=entries, title=entries.title, page="book")
else:
flash(_(u"Error opening eBook. File does not exist or file is not accessible:"), category="error")
return redirect(url_for("index"))
Both repositories offer Docker-based solutions for managing digital book libraries, but they cater to different needs and preferences.
Book Manager and Automation (Sonarr for Ebooks)
Pros of Readarr
- Specialized for e-books and audiobooks management
- Integrates with various indexers and download clients
- Supports automatic organization and renaming of files
Cons of Readarr
- More complex setup compared to Calibre-web
- Focused on book acquisition rather than reading experience
- May require additional tools for actual e-book reading
Code Comparison
Readarr (C#):
public class BookService : IBookService
{
public Book GetBookByIsbn(string isbn)
{
// Implementation
}
}
Calibre-web (Python):
@app.route("/book/<int:book_id>")
@login_required_if_no_ano
def show_book(book_id):
# Implementation
While both projects serve book-related purposes, they have different focuses. Readarr is geared towards automated book management and acquisition, while Calibre-web provides a web interface for an existing Calibre library. Readarr is written in C# and offers more advanced features for book collection management. Calibre-web, built with Python, offers a simpler setup and direct integration with Calibre libraries, making it more suitable for users who primarily want to access their existing collection through a web interface.
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The LinuxServer.io team brings you another container release featuring:
- regular and timely application updates
- easy user mappings (PGID, PUID)
- custom base image with s6 overlay
- weekly base OS updates with common layers across the entire LinuxServer.io ecosystem to minimise space usage, down time and bandwidth
- regular security updates
Find us at:
- Blog - all the things you can do with our containers including How-To guides, opinions and much more!
- Discord - realtime support / chat with the community and the team.
- Discourse - post on our community forum.
- Fleet - an online web interface which displays all of our maintained images.
- GitHub - view the source for all of our repositories.
- Open Collective - please consider helping us by either donating or contributing to our budget
linuxserver/calibre-web
Calibre-web is a web app providing a clean interface for browsing, reading and downloading eBooks using an existing Calibre database. It is also possible to integrate google drive and edit metadata and your calibre library through the app itself.
This software is a fork of library and licensed under the GPL v3 License.
Supported Architectures
We utilise the docker manifest for multi-platform awareness. More information is available from docker here and our announcement here.
Simply pulling lscr.io/linuxserver/calibre-web:latest
should retrieve the correct image for your arch, but you can also pull specific arch images via tags.
The architectures supported by this image are:
Architecture | Available | Tag |
---|---|---|
x86-64 | â | amd64-<version tag> |
arm64 | â | arm64v8-<version tag> |
armhf | â |
Version Tags
This image provides various versions that are available via tags. Please read the descriptions carefully and exercise caution when using unstable or development tags.
Tag | Available | Description |
---|---|---|
latest | â | Releases of Calibre-Web |
nightly | â | Commits to the master branch of Calibre-Web |
Application Setup
Webui can be found at http://your-ip:8083
On the initial setup screen, enter /books
as your calibre library location.
Default admin login: Username: admin Password: admin123
If you lock yourself out or forget a password, you will need to specify the app.db similar to this:
docker exec -it calibre-web python3 /app/calibre-web/cps.py -p /config/app.db -s <user>:<pass>
If you fail to specify the proper db, it will appear to succeed, but it will not work.
Unrar is included by default and needs to be set in the Calibre-Web admin page (Basic Configuration:External Binaries) with a path of /usr/bin/unrar
64bit only We have implemented the optional ability to pull in the dependencies to enable ebook conversion utilising Calibre, this means if you don't require this feature the container isn't uneccessarily bloated but should you require it, it is easily available.
This optional layer will be rebuilt automatically on our CI pipeline upon new Calibre releases so you can stay up to date.
To use this option add the optional environmental variable as shown in the docker-mods section to pull an addition docker layer to enable ebook conversion and then in the Calibre-Web admin page (Basic Configuration:External Binaries) set the Path to Calibre E-Book Converter to /usr/bin/ebook-convert
on versions 0.6.21 and lower. For 0.6.22 and higher, set the directory, /usr/bin/
only.
This image contains the kepubify ebook conversion tool (MIT License) to convert epub to kepub. In the Calibre-Web admin page (Basic Configuration:External Binaries) set the Path to Kepubify E-Book Converter to /usr/bin/kepubify
Usage
To help you get started creating a container from this image you can either use docker-compose or the docker cli.
[!NOTE] Unless a parameter is flaged as 'optional', it is mandatory and a value must be provided.
docker-compose (recommended, click here for more info)
---
services:
calibre-web:
image: lscr.io/linuxserver/calibre-web:latest
container_name: calibre-web
environment:
- PUID=1000
- PGID=1000
- TZ=Etc/UTC
- DOCKER_MODS=linuxserver/mods:universal-calibre #optional
- OAUTHLIB_RELAX_TOKEN_SCOPE=1 #optional
volumes:
- /path/to/calibre-web/data:/config
- /path/to/calibre/library:/books
ports:
- 8083:8083
restart: unless-stopped
docker cli (click here for more info)
docker run -d \
--name=calibre-web \
-e PUID=1000 \
-e PGID=1000 \
-e TZ=Etc/UTC \
-e DOCKER_MODS=linuxserver/mods:universal-calibre `#optional` \
-e OAUTHLIB_RELAX_TOKEN_SCOPE=1 `#optional` \
-p 8083:8083 \
-v /path/to/calibre-web/data:/config \
-v /path/to/calibre/library:/books \
--restart unless-stopped \
lscr.io/linuxserver/calibre-web:latest
Parameters
Containers are configured using parameters passed at runtime (such as those above). These parameters are separated by a colon and indicate <external>:<internal>
respectively. For example, -p 8080:80
would expose port 80
from inside the container to be accessible from the host's IP on port 8080
outside the container.
Parameter | Function |
---|---|
-p 8083:8083 | WebUI |
-e PUID=1000 | for UserID - see below for explanation |
-e PGID=1000 | for GroupID - see below for explanation |
-e TZ=Etc/UTC | specify a timezone to use, see this list. |
-e DOCKER_MODS=linuxserver/mods:universal-calibre | #optional & x86-64 only Adds the ability to perform ebook conversion |
-e OAUTHLIB_RELAX_TOKEN_SCOPE=1 | Optionally set this to allow Google OAUTH to work |
-v /config | Where calibre-web stores the internal database and config. |
-v /books | Where your preexisting calibre database is located. |
Environment variables from files (Docker secrets)
You can set any environment variable from a file by using a special prepend FILE__
.
As an example:
-e FILE__MYVAR=/run/secrets/mysecretvariable
Will set the environment variable MYVAR
based on the contents of the /run/secrets/mysecretvariable
file.
Umask for running applications
For all of our images we provide the ability to override the default umask settings for services started within the containers using the optional -e UMASK=022
setting.
Keep in mind umask is not chmod it subtracts from permissions based on it's value it does not add. Please read up here before asking for support.
User / Group Identifiers
When using volumes (-v
flags), permissions issues can arise between the host OS and the container, we avoid this issue by allowing you to specify the user PUID
and group PGID
.
Ensure any volume directories on the host are owned by the same user you specify and any permissions issues will vanish like magic.
In this instance PUID=1000
and PGID=1000
, to find yours use id your_user
as below:
id your_user
Example output:
uid=1000(your_user) gid=1000(your_user) groups=1000(your_user)
Docker Mods
We publish various Docker Mods to enable additional functionality within the containers. The list of Mods available for this image (if any) as well as universal mods that can be applied to any one of our images can be accessed via the dynamic badges above.
Support Info
-
Shell access whilst the container is running:
docker exec -it calibre-web /bin/bash
-
To monitor the logs of the container in realtime:
docker logs -f calibre-web
-
Container version number:
docker inspect -f '{{ index .Config.Labels "build_version" }}' calibre-web
-
Image version number:
docker inspect -f '{{ index .Config.Labels "build_version" }}' lscr.io/linuxserver/calibre-web:latest
Updating Info
Most of our images are static, versioned, and require an image update and container recreation to update the app inside. With some exceptions (noted in the relevant readme.md), we do not recommend or support updating apps inside the container. Please consult the Application Setup section above to see if it is recommended for the image.
Below are the instructions for updating containers:
Via Docker Compose
-
Update images:
-
All images:
docker-compose pull
-
Single image:
docker-compose pull calibre-web
-
-
Update containers:
-
All containers:
docker-compose up -d
-
Single container:
docker-compose up -d calibre-web
-
-
You can also remove the old dangling images:
docker image prune
Via Docker Run
-
Update the image:
docker pull lscr.io/linuxserver/calibre-web:latest
-
Stop the running container:
docker stop calibre-web
-
Delete the container:
docker rm calibre-web
-
Recreate a new container with the same docker run parameters as instructed above (if mapped correctly to a host folder, your
/config
folder and settings will be preserved) -
You can also remove the old dangling images:
docker image prune
Image Update Notifications - Diun (Docker Image Update Notifier)
[!TIP] We recommend Diun for update notifications. Other tools that automatically update containers unattended are not recommended or supported.
Building locally
If you want to make local modifications to these images for development purposes or just to customize the logic:
git clone https://github.com/linuxserver/docker-calibre-web.git
cd docker-calibre-web
docker build \
--no-cache \
--pull \
-t lscr.io/linuxserver/calibre-web:latest .
The ARM variants can be built on x86_64 hardware and vice versa using lscr.io/linuxserver/qemu-static
docker run --rm --privileged lscr.io/linuxserver/qemu-static --reset
Once registered you can define the dockerfile to use with -f Dockerfile.aarch64
.
Versions
- 05.12.24: - Rebase to noble.
- 26.08.24: - Add new dep, xdg-utils.
- 07.07.24: - Add new dep, libmagic1.
- 17.10.23: - Remove some packages that are required by the calibre mod but not the base container.
- 07.10.23: - Install unrar from linuxserver repo. Switch to Python virtual environment.
- 13.04.23: - Deprecate armhf.
- 27.03.23: - Add cmake as build dep for Levenshtein.
- 27.12.22: - Add ghostscript, libxtst6, libxkbfile-dev.
- 20.12.22: - Improve init script and prevent harmless error.
- 19.10.22: - Rebase to jammy. Upgrade to s6v3. Clean up build dependencies.
- 04.11.21: - Update pip arguments to ignore distro installed packages.
- 24.06.21: - Add note on optional OAUTHLIB_RELAX_TOKEN_SCOPE for Google OAUTH support.
- 17.05.21: - Add linuxserver wheel index.
- 10.02.21: - Add libxrandr2
- 25.01.21: - Add nightly tag
- 19.01.21: - Add python3-pkg-resources
- 13.01.21: - Rebase to Ubuntu Focal, see here for troubleshooting armhf.
- 12.10.20: - Add libxi6
- 12.07.20: - Add kepubify for arm64v8
- 05.06.20: - Add kepubify for x86-64 and arm32v7
- 06.05.20: - Add libxslt1.1 and update ImageMagick policy
- 19.01.20: - Adding LDAP libs.
- 13.10.19: - Migrate to Python3.
- 01.08.19: - Add libxcomposite1.
- 13.06.19: - Add docker mod to enable optional ebook conversion on x86-64. Add unrar.
- 02.06.19: - Rebase to Ubuntu Bionic & add Gdrive support.
- 23.03.19: - Switching to new Base images, shift to arm32v7 tag.
- 23.02.19: - Rebase to alpine 3.9, use repo version of imagemagick.
- 11.02.19: - Add pipeline logic and multi arch.
- 03.01.19: - Remove guest user from default app.db.
- 16.08.18: - Rebase to alpine 3.8.
- 03.07.18: - New build pushed, all versions below
67
have vulnerability. - 05.01.18: - Deprecate cpu_core routine lack of scaling.
- 06.12.17: - Rebase to alpine 3.7.
- 27.11.17: - Use cpu core counting routine to speed up build time.
- 24.07.17: - Curl version for imagemagick.
- 17.07.17: - Initial release.
Top Related Projects
:books: Web app for browsing, reading and downloading eBooks stored in a Calibre database
The official source code repository for the calibre ebook manager
Media server for comics/mangas/BDs/magazines/eBooks with API, OPDS and Kobo Sync support
Book Manager and Automation (Sonarr for Ebooks)
Convert designs to code with AI
Introducing Visual Copilot: A new AI model to turn Figma designs to high quality code using your components.
Try Visual Copilot