Calibre (software)

E-book management and editing software

Not to be confused with Calibri.

Calibre

Calibre 6.3 in Linux

Original author(s)| Kovid Goyal
Initial release| 31 October 2006; 18 years ago (2006-10-31)
Stable release|

8.8.0[1] / 8 August 2025

Repository|

* github.com/kovidgoyal/calibre

Written in| Python, C++, C
Operating system| Windows, macOS, Linux
Platform| IA-32, x64
Type| E-book reader, word processor
License| GPL-3.0-only
Website| calibre-ebook.com

Calibre (pronounced /ˈkæl.ɪ.bə(ɹ)/, /ˈkæl.ə.bɚ/, or cal-i-ber) is a cross-platform free and open-source suite of e-book software. Calibre supports organizing existing e-books into virtual libraries, displaying, editing, creating and converting e-books, as well as syncing e-books with a variety of e-readers. Editing books is supported for EPUB and AZW3 formats. Books in other formats like MOBI must first be converted to those formats, if they are to be edited. Calibre also has a large collection of community contributed plugins.[2]

## History

[edit]

On 31 October 2006, when Sony introduced its PRS-500 e-reader, Kovid Goyal started developing libprs500, aiming mainly to enable use of the PRS-500 formats on Linux.[3] With support from the MobileRead forums, Goyal reverse-engineered the proprietary Broad Band eBook (BBeB) file format. In 2008, the program, for which a graphical user interface was developed, was renamed "calibre", displayed in all lowercase.[4][5]

## Features

[edit]

Calibre supports many file formats and reading devices. Most e-book formats can be edited, for example, by changing the font, font size, margins, and metadata, and by adding an auto-generated table of contents. Conversion and editing are easily applied to appropriately licensed digital books, but commercially purchased e-books may need to have digital rights management (DRM) restrictions removed. Calibre does not natively support DRM removal, but may enable DRM removal after installing plug-ins with such a function.[6][7]

Calibre enables users to sort and group e-books by metadata fields. Metadata can be pulled from many different sources, e.g. ISBNdb.com; online booksellers; and providers of free e-books and periodicals in the US and elsewhere, such as the Internet Archive, Munsey's Magazine, and Project Gutenberg; and social networking sites for readers, such as Goodreads and LibraryThing. It is possible to search the Calibre library by various fields, such as author, title, or keyword. Full text search is available from Calibre 6.0 onwards.[8]

E-books can be imported into the Calibre library, either by sideloading files manually or by wirelessly syncing an e-book reading device with the cloud storage service in which the Calibre library is backed up, or with the computer on which Calibre resides. Also, online content can be harvested and converted to e-books. This conversion is facilitated by so-called recipes, short programs written in a Python-based domain-specific language. E-books can then be exported to all supported reading devices via USB, Calibre's integrated mail server, or wirelessly. Mailing e-books enables, for example, sending personal documents to the Amazon Kindle family of e-readers and tablet computers.[9][10][11][12]

This can be accomplished via a web browser, if the host computer is running and the device and host computer share the same network; in this case, pushing harvested content from content sources is supported on a regular interval (called 'subscription').[citation needed] Also, if the Calibre library on the host computer is stored in a cloud service, such as Box.net, Google Drive, or Dropbox, then either the cloud service or a third-party app, such as Calibre Cloud or CalibreBox, can remotely access the library.[13][14][15][16][17]

Since version 1.15, released in December 2013, Calibre also contains an application to create and edit e-books directly, similar to the more full-featured editor tools of the Sigil application, but without the latter's WYSIWYG editing mode.[18]

## Associated apps

[edit]

Synchronizing Calibre with an iPhone

* Calibre Cloud (free) and Calibre Cloud Pro (paid), apps by Intrepid Logic that let one "access your Calibre e-book library from anywhere in the world. Place your calibre library in your Dropbox, Box, or Google Drive folder, and be able to view, search, and download from your library anywhere".[19] As Jane Litte at Dear Author and John Jeremy at Teleread observe: This tool can be used to "create [one's] own Cloud of eBooks"[20] and thereby read and allow downloads and emails from one's Calibre library via the Calibre folder in Box.net, Dropbox, or Google Drive. Because the Calibre-generated local wireless feed (OPDS) can only be accessed on devices sharing the same network as the Calibre library, this feature of the Calibre Cloud apps is particularly useful when away from one's home network, because it allows one to download and read the contents of one's Calibre library via the Calibre folder in Box, Dropbox, or Google Drive.[21]
* Calibre Companion (paid), an app by MultiPie, Ltd. Was recommended by calibre's developers, "brings complete integration with calibre on your desktop, giving you total control over book management on your device."[22] John Jermey at Teleread notes this app can manage Calibre/device libraries as if one's mobile device were plugged into computer; however, unlike Calibre Cloud, Calibre Companion requires users to be at a computer and use the Calibre-generated local wireless feed (OPDS).[21]
* Calibre Library (paid), an app by Tony Maro that allows one to "Connect wirelessly to your Calibre e-book library or other Stanza source. Browse and download your e-books on the go."[23] This app's operations and benefits are similar to those offered by Calibre Cloud.[21]
* Calibre Sync (free), an app by Seng Jea Lee that "seamlessly connects to your Calibre Library and shows up as a connected device on Calibre. If Auto-Connect option is enabled, your device will attempt to connect to the Calibre Library when it is within the home Wi-Fi network. This allows Calibre to automatically update your device with the latest newspaper or magazines you have scheduled for download!"[24] As with Calibre Companion, this app requires the device to be on the same network as the Calibre library.
* CalibreBox (free and paid), an app by Eric Hoffmann that, like Calibre Cloud, accesses Calibre libraries from cloud storage.[25] Unlike Calibre Cloud, it is limited to Dropbox, but CalibreBox supports more than one library at a time, and flexible sorting and filtering. Custom column support for the book detail view, sorting, and filtering by custom columns, and adding more than two libraries are restricted to paid users. The app is built on the design principles of Google's Material Design and is under active development.[26]
* Calibre-go (free), app by Litlcode Studios lets you access your Calibre e-book library from cloud storage and access the library through Calibre-go to browse, sort, search and read books on your mobile. Calibre-go supports multiple libraries across multiple accounts simultaneously.
* Calibre Sync (paid), an Android app by BIL Studio that lets you access Calibre libraries from cloud storage (Dropbox, OneDrive, Box, and Cloud), or from SD card. Calibre Sync supports multiple libraries across multiple accounts simultaneously, also allows users to browse, sort, search, filter and download books to read on devices.

## See also

[edit]

* Books portal
* FOSS portal

* Adobe Digital Editions
* Comparison of e-readers
* List of free and open-source software packages
* OverDrive Media Console

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "version 8.8.0". 8 August 2025. Retrieved 10 August 2025.
2. ^ "Index of calibre plugins". plugins.calibre-ebook.com. Retrieved 2023-12-12.
3. ^ "Interview: Kovid Goyal, creator of calibre". Softonic. 9 October 2013.
4. ^ "calibre – About". Calibre-ebook.com. November 2009. Retrieved 2013-07-29.
5. ^ "Why the name calibre?". Calibre-ebook.com. Retrieved 2025-04-07.
6. ^ Sorrel, Charlie. "How To Strip DRM from Kindle E-Books and Others". Wired.com. Retrieved 4 August 2012.
7. ^ Zukerman, Erez (December 28, 2012). "How To Break The DRM On Kindle eBooks So You Can Enjoy Them Anywhere". MakeUseOf.
8. ^ "calibre - New in calibre 6.0". calibre-ebook.com. Retrieved 2023-05-06.
9. ^ "Transferring Kindle Books to Calibre". Amazon.com. Archived from the original on 18 October 2016. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
10. ^ "About Calibre". Calibre-ebook.com.
11. ^ Hoffmann, Eric. "EBook Software: Calibre". MobileRead Forums.
12. ^ "Featured Tips n Tricks: How to Use Dropbox to store all your ebooks in the cloud". TouchMyApps. December 5, 2011. Archived from the original on February 22, 2020. Retrieved February 22, 2020.
13. ^ Wallen, Jack (February 28, 2011). "How to Use Calibre to Access Your eBook Collection Online". TechRepublic.
14. ^ Biba, Paul (February 18, 2010). "How to Create Your Own Cloud of eBooks with Calibre, Dropbox, and Calibre OPDS". TeleRead.
15. ^ "Calibre2OPDS". MobileRead.
16. ^ Slangen, Simon (August 5, 2013). "How To Manage Your Ebook Collection For The Amazon Kindle With Calibre". MakeUseOf.
17. ^ Litte, Jane (July 24, 2011). "Create Your Own Cloud of Ebooks with Calibre + Calibre OPDS..." Dear Author. Retrieved July 24, 2011.
18. ^ "Calibre 1.15 eBook Manager Now Features a Native and Complete Book Editor". news.softpedia.com. 13 December 2013. Retrieved 2023-09-22.
19. ^ "Calibre Cloud". Google Play. Google, Inc. Archived from the original on 5 April 2016. Retrieved October 23, 2017.
20. ^ Litte, Jane. "Create Your Own Cloud of Ebooks with Calibre + Calibre OPDS..." Dear Author. Retrieved October 23, 2017.
21. ^ a b c Jermey, John (September 30, 2012). "Calibre Tools For Your Android Device". Teleread. Archived from the original on June 18, 2013.
22. ^ "Calibre Companion". MultiPie. MultiPie, Ltd. Retrieved October 23, 2017.
23. ^ Maro, Tony. "Calibre Library description". Google Play. Retrieved October 23, 2017.
24. ^ Seng, Jea Lee. "Calibre Sync". Google Play. Archived from the original on April 11, 2016. Retrieved October 23, 2017.
25. ^ Hoffmann, Eric. "CalibreBox". Google Play. Retrieved October 23, 2017.
26. ^ "CalibreBox – New Cloud-Based App". MobileRead Forums. Retrieved October 23, 2017.

## Further reading

[edit]

* Roy, Lachlan (June 9, 2011). "A User's Guide to Calibre eBook Manager". makeuseof.com.

## External links

[edit]

* Media related to Calibre at Wikimedia Commons
* Calibre – official site

* v
* t
* e

Ebooks

Formats|

* ePub
* FictionBook
* CBR/CBZ
* Kindle File Format
* Mobipocket
* PDF
* Plain text
* IBA

Reading|

| Devices|

* Amazon Kindle
* Barnes & Noble Nook
* Bookeen
* Elonex ebook
* enTourage eDGe
* Hanlin eReader
* iPad
* iRiver Story
* Kobo eReader
* Onyx Boox
* Plastic Logic Reader
* PocketBook eReader
* Rocket eBook
* SoftBook
* Smartphones
* Tablets

|

Software|

* Adobe Acrobat
* Adobe Digital Editions
* Aldiko
* Apple Books (iBooks)
* Aquafadas
* Blio
* Bluefire Reader
* Calibre
* FBReader
* Foliate
* Google Play Books
* Kindle app
* Kitabu
* Kobo
* Lector
* Lektz
* Lucifox
* Microsoft Reader
* MuPDF
* Okular
* OverDrive Media Console
* Snapplify
* STDU Viewer
* Sumatra PDF

Editing|

* ABBYY FineReader
* AbiWord
* Adobe InDesign
* Adobe RoboHelp
* Aquafadas
* Atlantis Word Processor
* Booktype
* Calibre
* Calligra Author
* Collabora Online
* eXeLearning
* Help & Manual
* HelpNDoc
* iBooks Author
* iStudio Publisher
* LaTeX
* LibreOffice
* MadCap Flare
* Oxygen XML Editor
* PagePlus
* Pages
* QuarkXPress
* Scrivener
* Sigil
* Writer2epub

Vendors|

| Commercial|

* Apple Books Store
* Amazon Kindle Store
* Baen Free Library
* Barnes & Noble
* Booktrack
* BookWalker
* Feedbooks
* Google
* Google Play
* Google Books
* Jarir.com
* Kobo Bookstore
* Sony Reader Store
* Smashwords

|

Noncommercial|

* Aozora Bunko
* Faded Page
* HathiTrust
* Internet Archive
* Project Gutenberg
* Australia
* Canada
* Standard Ebooks
* Wikisource

Related|

* Academic journal publishing reform
* Books
* Braille e-book
* Comparison of ebook readers
* Comparison of iOS ebook reader software
* Comparison of Android ebook reader software
* E-book lending
* Electronic publishing
* iBooks Author Conference
* International Digital Publishing Forum
* Kindle single
* OPDS
* Reflowable document
* Self-publishing
* Semantic publishing

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template