Libro.fm import

Open Get books on the shelf, then choose Libro.fm from the purchase-source dropdown. Connect your Libro.fm account with your email and password, then browse your purchases and choose Import on a book. Administrators can also use Administration → Imports. No additional downloader application is required.

OperaLibre loads all library pages, offers search and sorting, and queues selected books as background jobs. It downloads an M4B when available; otherwise it downloads and extracts the MP3 archives. Completed audio is checked and published into the server library, preserving catalog metadata in a sidecar. The book’s button changes to In library when it is ready. Choose Refresh for new purchases or Reconnect if Libro.fm expires your sign-in.

Each OperaLibre user connects their own account. Purchase lists and tokens are private to that user through the API. Downloaded audio joins the server’s library: users with all-book access can see it, and the importing user is granted access if their shelf is restricted. Unlike requests against a shared Audible account, importing your own Libro.fm purchases does not require another user’s approval. Up to three imports can be queued per user; server publication is serialized.

Your password passes through the selected OperaLibre server to Libro.fm once and is not saved. The server saves the token and catalog under data_dir/libro-accounts/, with private file permissions. Disconnecting removes that connection and cached catalog, while keeping imported books. Credentials are excluded from portable backups; reconnect after moving servers. Listening positions are maintained in OperaLibre, not synchronized back to Libro.fm.

The integration uses Libro.fm’s app endpoints, whose request shapes are also implemented by community clients. These endpoints are not a documented public developer API and may change. Catalog and download behavior is covered with fixtures; a real account is needed to verify compatibility with Libro.fm’s current authentication and delivery service.

Native device downloads without a server

On iPhone or Android, open Get books → Libro.fm and select This device. In local-library mode this is the only destination. Internet is needed to sign in, refresh purchases, and download, but no OperaLibre server is used. Completed local books play offline. Plain-browser downloads are not supported.

The device connection is separate from the server connection. Credentials are never copied between them, and an unreachable server never silently changes the destination. Anyone using the same app installation can see its device connection and cached purchases, regardless of the selected server account. Disconnect the device connection before handing the device to another person.

Download to device queues one book at a time, preferring M4B and falling back to MP3 archives. Reopen Get books after a background transfer to finish extraction and local-library indexing. Cancel stops queued/transferring downloads; final extraction/indexing finishes before cancellation can be processed. Retry obtains fresh signed URLs. An OS force-stop may pause transfers until the app reopens.

Each downloaded file and the total extracted audio are capped at 25 GiB, with a 256 MiB free-space reserve during transfer/extraction. Unsafe archive paths, duplicate filenames, and invalid audio duration are rejected. Final import copies audio into the local library: allow space for archives, extracted audio, and that copy. A process interruption during final copying can leave unindexed staging files; automatic cleanup of those orphaned copies is not yet included.

iOS stores the token in a device-only Keychain item. Android uses an Android Keystore key to encrypt it in non-backed-up app storage. The password is not saved; automatic Capacitor bridge payload logging is disabled. Catalog metadata is cached locally. Native download jobs retain temporary signed URLs, not bearer tokens. Disconnect removes the connection and cached purchase list but keeps imported books and listening history. Device books never upload automatically.

iOS MP3 extraction uses ZIPFoundation, pinned independently of Capacitor’s generated package file.

Optional watched folder

If you already download books yourself, expand Optional: import files from a server folder in Administration → Imports. This watches for completed M4Bs or extracted MP3 books and does not need a connected Libro.fm account.

Set up

1. Create a dedicated folder on the computer running OperaLibre, outside its library and data folders. The server must be able to read it; it only needs write access to its own library and data folders.
2. Sign in as the OperaLibre owner, expand the optional folder section, enter the folder’s absolute path, and choose Save folder. A phone or remote browser cannot select a folder on its own device for the server to watch.
3. Open your Libro.fm library, choose Files beside a purchased book, and download its M4B or all of its MP3 ZIPs.
4. Put a completed M4B directly in the watched folder. For MP3s, extract every ZIP outside the watched folder first, then move one complete book folder containing all its tracks into the watched folder. Use the book title as the file or folder name. Keep alternative formats outside the watched folder.

The server checks every 30 seconds and requires the same file names, sizes, and modification times for at least 60 seconds before copying. A paused download can look unchanged, so moving complete downloads into the folder is the most reliable workflow. ZIPs are shown as needing review; OperaLibre does not extract them.

Audio is validated and copied to a temporary library folder before publication. Original downloads are kept, existing book folders are not overwritten, and a library scan makes successful imports available to listeners. Embedded titles, authors, narrators, artwork, and chapters use the normal scanner. Only audio is copied; companion PDFs and other extras can be placed alongside the imported audio separately. Nested MP3 folders are flattened; duplicate track filenames need to be renamed first.

Folder access and status

Only owners can change the watched folder or stop watching. Administrators can view status and choose Check now. Imported books follow the same library access rules as administrator uploads: users with access to all books can see them, while users with selected-book access need a grant. Imports do not create reader download requests or automatically grant restricted readers access.

• Waiting for download: the book has not stayed unchanged long enough.
• Imported: the book was copied; repeat checks do not copy it again.
• Needs review: an archive, unreadable track, mixed formats, name collision, changed source, or another import problem needs attention. The existing library book is retained. Name collisions are conservative checks, not proof that two editions are identical; renamed duplicates are not matched by audio content.
• Missing library copy: a previously imported folder was removed. It is not recreated automatically; use Upload files to restore it deliberately.

Stop watching keeps original files, imported books, and import history. Saving a folder resumes watching without restarting the server. For this optional workflow, you download files from Libro.fm yourself.

The server saves the watched path and import receipts in data_dir/libro-import.config.json. This is host-specific configuration and is excluded from portable server backups, like server.config. Each imported folder also contains .operalibre-libro.json, used to recover an import if the server stopped between publishing the audio and recording its receipt. Keep these files when moving an installation. Upload size and free-space limits also apply to these imports.

In Docker, mount the watched folder into the container and enter its container path. With the hardened systemd service, place it somewhere the service can read; personal home directories may be inaccessible. See Library layout and Deployment.

Browse stores and connect more accounts

In Get books, choose the All accounts tab to browse Audible and Libro.fm purchases on the same screen. Search applies to both store sections. You can still select an individual store and filter purchases by account.

Expand Libro.fm accounts, then choose Add Libro.fm account to connect another account. Existing connections and cached purchases are preserved, including connections saved by older versions. Expand Libro.fm accounts to reconnect or disconnect a specific account; Refresh all accounts updates every connected library. Purchases show their account email, and imports use that account’s connection. Disconnecting an account keeps already imported books.

Server connections remain private to your OperaLibre user. Device connections use iOS Keychain or Android encrypted storage and are shared by users of that app on that device. Server and device connections are separate.

On the All accounts tab, the purchase account filter includes both Audible and Libro.fm accounts, grouped and labeled by store. Choosing an account shows only that account’s purchases; All accounts restores both stores. The individual store tabs keep their own account filters.

Expand Libro.fm accounts to save an optional nickname (up to 80 characters). Nicknames appear in filters and purchase labels; email addresses remain available in account settings. Clearing a nickname restores the email label. Server nicknames are saved for your OperaLibre user, while device nicknames stay with the secure connection on that device. Refreshing or reconnecting preserves nicknames.