Calibre Catalog

A mobile-first, searchable catalog of your Calibre ebook library. Exports your library to a static site you can check from your phone.

Setup

Prerequisites

• Python 3
• Calibre installed (provides the calibredb CLI)
• Optional: Node.js (for PageCrypt password protection)

Configure

Edit export.py and set CALIBRE_LIBRARY_PATH to your Calibre library location:

# ============================================================
# CONFIGURE THIS: path to your Calibre library
# ============================================================
CALIBRE_LIBRARY_PATH = "/path/to/your/Calibre Library"

The default macOS path is ~/Calibre Library.

Export your library

PAGECRYPT_PASSWORD=yourpassword python3 export.py

This generates docs/index.html, encrypts it with PageCrypt, and pushes to your remote. The script requires PAGECRYPT_PASSWORD to be set to prevent accidentally pushing unencrypted data.

Deploy

Push to GitHub and enable GitHub Pages from the docs/ folder in repo settings.

Preview with sample data

To see the site without Calibre installed:

python3 -c "
from pathlib import Path
t = Path('template.html').read_text()
d = Path('sample_books.json').read_text()
Path('docs').mkdir(exist_ok=True)
Path('docs/index.html').write_text(t.replace('__BOOKS_DATA__', d))
"
open docs/index.html

Keep it updated

Run python3 export.py whenever you add new books. The script commits and pushes automatically. Or set up a launch agent to run it on a schedule — see launchd.example.plist.