Calibre can also be a server.
Comment on calibre 8.0
solrize@lemmy.world 1 week ago
Nice but 1) doesn’t Kobo use DRM? 2) I had thought selfhosted was about server apps. Calibre is great but it’s a client app. Should this post be in a different group?
mesamunefire@lemmy.world 1 week ago
solrize@lemmy.world 1 week ago
Thanks, I didn’t know about that. I might try it.
mesamunefire@lemmy.world 1 week ago
GL! One of my favorite open source projects!
Ushmel@lemmy.world 1 week ago
It’s a very simple UI but it works great.
non_burglar@lemmy.world 1 week ago
Kobo does not block non-drm. Calibre is used as a server all the time, see calibre-web.
vividspecter@lemm.ee 1 week ago
Calibre is used as a server all the time, see calibre-web.
calibre-webis technically not Calibre and is written and maintained by different people, although it does use the Calibre database (and I believe it must be created with desktop Calibre initially). But it’s a good option and I highly recommend it.non_burglar@lemmy.world 1 week ago
Correct, my bad
solrize@lemmy.world 1 week ago
Thanks. What I meant is, if I buy a job book off bn.com, can I read it with calibre? Those books usually have drm but maybe calibre can bypass it.
non_burglar@lemmy.world 1 week ago
Oh yeah, sorry. There is some vendor lock-in with all bookstores, but kobo looks the other way.
I have calibre-web setup with kobo sync, so calibre-web pretends to be part of the kobo store to my reader and I’m able to add non-drm books to my reader while still using the kobo store if I like.
solrize@lemmy.world 1 week ago
Thanks yeah I don’t have a kobo reader so was asking if there was a way to read paid-for kobo downloaded books that have drm, similar to how decss lets you watch DVDs that you bought. I don’t mind paying for books but don’t want a locked down reading device with it’s own crappy software and possible invasive phoning home.
cecilkorik@lemmy.ca 1 week ago
All the choices for “ebook stores” and ereader ecosystems are proprietary services with no self-hosting options. While Calibre is primarily a “local” tool it is a true alternative to all these proprietary services and I think it’s at least in the spirit of self hosting, if not strictly the letter.
For what it’s worth, I self-host a Calibre Portable library on Nextcloud, which enables me to access all my ebooks anywhere, and to upload new ones to my ereader from anywhere, as long as I have access to my Nextcloud. I retain control of all my books, I remote all the DRM and convert them to epub. Calibre isn’t a service on its own, but it fits nicely into the self-hosting ecosystem, and for that I am grateful.
robador51@lemmy.ml 1 week ago
I would greatly appreciate a bit more detail on your setup, is your calibre library simply a folder synced through next cloud?
cecilkorik@lemmy.ca 1 week ago
Yeah, that’s all it is. Calibre Portable. In a folder on Nextcloud.
Voroxpete@sh.itjust.works 1 week ago
Calibre can also be a server.
drzoidberg@lemmy.world 1 week ago
I’ve been using calibre with my kobo for years. There’s a remote server you can set up, but I just haven’t been bothered to set it up since my kobo has about 100 books I haven’t read yet.
yournamehere@lemm.ee 1 week ago
calibre is an app? i just have a docker container with calibre web for all my epub, mobi etc.since bookstack or nextcloud cant handle those. is the client app any good?
solrize@lemmy.world 1 week ago
Yes I’ve been using the calibre client app under Debian MATE and it’s decent. I’m a Luddite though, so sometimes I convert epubs to plain text with pandoc and read them in emacs or a terminal.
yournamehere@lemm.ee 1 week ago
ah. i use calibre web for conversion aswell. just never used it as an app. what is a benefit 9f having the app then?
solrize@lemmy.world 1 week ago
Avoids the need for a network connection or server, though I guess you could run it on a local socket. The UI might be preferable too.
otter@lemmy.ca 1 week ago
I’ve heard Kobo is better than the other big players when it comes to interoperability with open formats / self hosted setups.
As for the servers
The main one
github.com/janeczku/calibre-web
A popular newer one
github.com/crocodilestick/Calibre-Web-Automated
Also let’s not downvote good faith comments, especially when they’re phrased as a question and wanting to learn more
cecilkorik@lemmy.ca 1 week ago
Kobo has a great balance of good hardware, good price, and good openness. It’s not perfect on any of those categories, it just strikes a nice middle ground balance to make it an extremely popular ereader for people who require the kind of openness people like us do. There’s really nothing locked down about them, they don’t do anything in particular to make it easy, but they don’t do anything to make it hard either. “koreader” installs very nicely on Kobo devices, and then you just load your books and you’re basically off to the races.
Churbleyimyam@lemm.ee 1 week ago
Another option for some Kobos is Inkbox/QuillOS. It’s a full open source OS replacement and is very cool. It was very usable last summer when I tried it out on my Kobo Lara HD and is probably even better now.
vividspecter@lemm.ee 1 week ago
There’s also an OPDS server option with
calibre-webthat you can use to load books from if you’re usingkoreader.You can also use the Kobo server replacement option with
calibre-webalthough I personally couldn’t get it to work at the time I tried it. But this will give you a sync option that works like the official Kobo server which is quite nice.solrize@lemmy.world 1 week ago
I didn’t downvote anything fwiw.
otter@lemmy.ca 1 week ago
I should have specified, people we’re downvoting you
But looks like the score is positive again 🙂