Provided by: calibre_8.7.0+ds-1_all 
NAME
calibredb - calibredb
calibredb command [options] [arguments]
calibredb is the command line interface to the calibre database. It has several sub-commands, documented
below.
calibredb can be used to manipulate either a calibre database specified by path or a calibre Content
server running either on the local machine or over the internet. You can start a calibre Content server
using either the calibre-server program or in the main calibre program click Connect/share → Start
Content server. Since calibredb can make changes to your calibre libraries, you must setup authentication
on the server first. There are two ways to do that:
• If you plan to connect only to a server running on the same computer, you can simply use the
--enable-local-write option of the Content server, to allow any program, including calibredb,
running on the local computer to make changes to your calibre data. When running the server from the
main calibre program, this option is in Preferences → Sharing over the net → Advanced.
• If you want to enable access over the internet, then you should setup user accounts on the server
and use the --username and --password options to calibredb to give it access. You can setup user
authentication for calibre-server by using the --enable-auth option and using --manage-users to
create the user accounts. If you are running the server from the main calibre program, use
Preferences → Sharing over the net → Require username/password.
To connect to a running Content server, pass the URL of the server to the --with-library option, see the
documentation of that option for details and examples.
• Global Options
• list
• add
• Adding From Folders
• remove
• add_format
• remove_format
• show_metadata
• set_metadata
• export
• catalog
• Epub Options
• saved_searches
• add_custom_column
• custom_columns
• remove_custom_column
• set_custom
• restore_database
• check_library
• list_categories
• backup_metadata
• clone
• embed_metadata
• search
• fts_index
• fts_search
GLOBAL OPTIONS
--help, -h
show this help message and exit
--library-path, --with-library
Path to the calibre library. Default is to use the path stored in the settings. You can also
connect to a calibre Content server to perform actions on remote libraries. To do so use a URL of
the form: http://hostname:port/#library_id for example, http://localhost:8080/#mylibrary.
library_id is the library id of the library you want to connect to on the Content server. You can
use the special library_id value of - to get a list of library ids available on the server. For
details on how to setup access via a Content server, see ‐
https://manual.calibre-ebook.com/generated/en/calibredb.html.
--password
Password for connecting to a calibre Content server. To read the password from standard input, use
the special value: <stdin>. To read the password from a file, use: <f:/path/to/file> (i.e. <f:
followed by the full path to the file and a trailing >). The angle brackets in the above are
required, remember to escape them or use quotes for your shell.
--timeout
The timeout, in seconds, when connecting to a calibre library over the network. The default is two
minutes.
--username
Username for connecting to a calibre Content server
--version
show program's version number and exit
LIST
calibredb list [options]
List the books available in the calibre database.
Whenever you pass arguments to calibredb that have spaces in them, enclose the arguments in quotation
marks. For example: "/some path/with spaces"
--ascending
Sort results in ascending order
--fields, -f
The fields to display when listing books in the database. Should be a comma separated list of
fields. Available fields: author_sort, authors, comments, cover, formats, identifiers, isbn,
languages, last_modified, pubdate, publisher, rating, series, series_index, size, tags, template,
timestamp, title, uuid Default: title,authors. The special field "all" can be used to select all
fields. In addition to the builtin fields above, custom fields are also available as *field_name,
for example, for a custom field #rating, use the name: *rating
--for-machine
Generate output in JSON format, which is more suitable for machine parsing. Causes the line width
and separator options to be ignored.
--limit
The maximum number of results to display. Default: all
--line-width, -w
The maximum width of a single line in the output. Defaults to detecting screen size.
--prefix
The prefix for all file paths. Default is the absolute path to the library folder.
--search, -s
Filter the results by the search query. For the format of the search query, please see the search
related documentation in the User Manual. Default is to do no filtering.
--separator
The string used to separate fields. Default is a space.
--sort-by
The field by which to sort the results. You can specify multiple fields by separating them with
commas. Available fields: author_sort, authors, comments, cover, formats, identifiers, isbn,
languages, last_modified, pubdate, publisher, rating, series, series_index, size, tags, template,
timestamp, title, uuid Default: id
--template
The template to run if "template" is in the field list. Note that templates are ignored while
connecting to a calibre server. Default: None
--template_file, -t
Path to a file containing the template to run if "template" is in the field list. Default: None
--template_heading
Heading for the template column. Default: template. This option is ignored if the option
--for-machine is set
ADD
calibredb add [options] file1 file2 file3 ...
Add the specified files as books to the database. You can also specify folders, see the folder related
options below.
Whenever you pass arguments to calibredb that have spaces in them, enclose the arguments in quotation
marks. For example: "/some path/with spaces"
--authors, -a
Set the authors of the added book(s)
--automerge, -m
If books with similar titles and authors are found, merge the incoming formats (files)
automatically into existing book records. A value of "ignore" means duplicate formats are
discarded. A value of "overwrite" means duplicate formats in the library are overwritten with the
newly added files. A value of "new_record" means duplicate formats are placed into a new book
record.
--cover, -c
Path to the cover to use for the added book
--duplicates, -d
Add books to database even if they already exist. Comparison is done based on book titles and
authors. Note that the --automerge option takes precedence.
--empty, -e
Add an empty book (a book with no formats)
--identifier, -I
Set the identifiers for this book, e.g. -I asin:XXX -I isbn:YYY
--isbn, -i
Set the ISBN of the added book(s)
--languages, -l
A comma separated list of languages (best to use ISO639 language codes, though some language names
may also be recognized)
--series, -s
Set the series of the added book(s)
--series-index, -S
Set the series number of the added book(s)
--tags, -T
Set the tags of the added book(s)
--title, -t
Set the title of the added book(s)
Adding From Folders
Options to control the adding of books from folders. By default only files that have extensions of known
e-book file types are added.
--add A filename (glob) pattern, files matching this pattern will be added when scanning folders for
files, even if they are not of a known e-book file type. Can be specified multiple times for
multiple patterns.
--ignore
A filename (glob) pattern, files matching this pattern will be ignored when scanning folders for
files. Can be specified multiple times for multiple patterns. For example: *.pdf will ignore all
PDF files
--one-book-per-directory, -1
Assume that each folder has only a single logical book and that all files in it are different
e-book formats of that book
--recurse, -r
Process folders recursively
REMOVE
calibredb remove ids
Remove the books identified by ids from the database. ids should be a comma separated list of id numbers
(you can get id numbers by using the search command). For example, 23,34,57-85 (when specifying a range,
the last number in the range is not included).
Whenever you pass arguments to calibredb that have spaces in them, enclose the arguments in quotation
marks. For example: "/some path/with spaces"
--permanent
Do not use the Recycle Bin
ADD_FORMAT
calibredb add_format [options] id ebook_file
Add the e-book in ebook_file to the available formats for the logical book identified by id. You can get
id by using the search command. If the format already exists, it is replaced, unless the do not replace
option is specified.
Whenever you pass arguments to calibredb that have spaces in them, enclose the arguments in quotation
marks. For example: "/some path/with spaces"
--as-extra-data-file
Add the file as an extra data file to the book, not an ebook format
--dont-replace
Do not replace the format if it already exists
REMOVE_FORMAT
calibredb remove_format [options] id fmt
Remove the format fmt from the logical book identified by id. You can get id by using the search command.
fmt should be a file extension like LRF or TXT or EPUB. If the logical book does not have fmt available,
do nothing.
Whenever you pass arguments to calibredb that have spaces in them, enclose the arguments in quotation
marks. For example: "/some path/with spaces"
SHOW_METADATA
calibredb show_metadata [options] id
Show the metadata stored in the calibre database for the book identified by id. id is an id number from
the search command.
Whenever you pass arguments to calibredb that have spaces in them, enclose the arguments in quotation
marks. For example: "/some path/with spaces"
--as-opf
Print metadata in OPF form (XML)
SET_METADATA
calibredb set_metadata [options] book_id [/path/to/metadata.opf]
Set the metadata stored in the calibre database for the book identified by book_id from the OPF file
metadata.opf. book_id is a book id number from the search command. You can get a quick feel for the OPF
format by using the --as-opf switch to the show_metadata command. You can also set the metadata of
individual fields with the --field option. If you use the --field option, there is no need to specify an
OPF file.
Whenever you pass arguments to calibredb that have spaces in them, enclose the arguments in quotation
marks. For example: "/some path/with spaces"
--field, -f
The field to set. Format is field_name:value, for example: --field tags:tag1,tag2. Use
--list-fields to get a list of all field names. You can specify this option multiple times to set
multiple fields. Note: For languages you must use the ISO639 language codes (e.g. en for English,
fr for French and so on). For identifiers, the syntax is --field identifiers:isbn:XXXX,doi:YYYYY.
For boolean (yes/no) fields use true and false or yes and no.
--list-fields, -l
List the metadata field names that can be used with the --field option
EXPORT
calibredb export [options] ids
Export the books specified by ids (a comma separated list) to the filesystem. The export operation saves
all formats of the book, its cover and metadata (in an OPF file). Any extra data files associated with
the book are also saved. You can get id numbers from the search command.
Whenever you pass arguments to calibredb that have spaces in them, enclose the arguments in quotation
marks. For example: "/some path/with spaces"
--all Export all books in database, ignoring the list of ids.
--dont-asciiize
Have calibre convert all non English characters into English equivalents for the file names. This
is useful if saving to a legacy filesystem without full support for Unicode filenames. Specifying
this switch will turn this behavior off.
--dont-save-cover
Normally, calibre will save the cover in a separate file along with the actual e-book files.
Specifying this switch will turn this behavior off.
--dont-save-extra-files
Save any data files associated with the book when saving the book Specifying this switch will turn
this behavior off.
--dont-update-metadata
Normally, calibre will update the metadata in the saved files from what is in the calibre library.
Makes saving to disk slower. Specifying this switch will turn this behavior off.
--dont-write-opf
Normally, calibre will write the metadata into a separate OPF file along with the actual e-book
files. Specifying this switch will turn this behavior off.
--formats
Comma separated list of formats to save for each book. By default all available formats are saved.
--progress
Report progress
--replace-whitespace
Replace whitespace with underscores.
--single-dir
Export all books into a single folder
--template
The template to control the filename and folder structure of the saved files. Default is
"{author_sort}/{title}/{title} - {authors}" which will save books into a per-author subfolder with
filenames containing title and author. Available controls are: {author_sort, authors, id, isbn,
languages, last_modified, pubdate, publisher, rating, series, series_index, tags, timestamp,
title}
--timefmt
The format in which to display dates. %d - day, %b - month, %m - month number, %Y - year. Default
is: %b, %Y
--to-dir
Export books to the specified folder. Default is .
--to-lowercase
Convert paths to lowercase.
CATALOG
calibredb catalog /path/to/destination.(csv|epub|mobi|xml...) [options]
Export a catalog in format specified by path/to/destination extension. Options control how entries are
displayed in the generated catalog output. Note that different catalog formats support different sets of
options. To see the different options, specify the name of the output file and then the --help option.
Whenever you pass arguments to calibredb that have spaces in them, enclose the arguments in quotation
marks. For example: "/some path/with spaces"
--ids, -i
Comma-separated list of database IDs to catalog. If declared, --search is ignored. Default: all
--search, -s
Filter the results by the search query. For the format of the search query, please see the
search-related documentation in the User Manual. Default: no filtering
--verbose, -v
Show detailed output information. Useful for debugging
Epub Options
--catalog-title
Title of generated catalog used as title in metadata. Default: 'My Books' Applies to: AZW3, EPUB,
MOBI output formats
--cross-reference-authors
Create cross-references in Authors section for books with multiple authors. Default: 'False'
Applies to: AZW3, EPUB, MOBI output formats
--debug-pipeline
Save the output from different stages of the conversion pipeline to the specified folder. Useful
if you are unsure at which stage of the conversion process a bug is occurring. Default: 'None'
Applies to: AZW3, EPUB, MOBI output formats
--exclude-genre
Regex describing tags to exclude as genres. Default: '[.+]|^+$' excludes bracketed tags, e.g.
'[Project Gutenberg]', and '+', the default tag for read books. Applies to: AZW3, EPUB, MOBI
output formats
--exclusion-rules
Specifies the rules used to exclude books from the generated catalog. The model for an exclusion
rule is either ('<rule name>','Tags','<comma-separated list of tags>') or ('<rule name>','<custom
column>','<pattern>'). For example: (('Archived books','#status','Archived'),) will exclude a book
with a value of 'Archived' in the custom column 'status'. When multiple rules are defined, all
rules will be applied. Default: "(('Catalogs','Tags','Catalog'),)" Applies to: AZW3, EPUB, MOBI
output formats
--generate-authors
Include 'Authors' section in catalog. Default: 'False' Applies to: AZW3, EPUB, MOBI output formats
--generate-descriptions
Include 'Descriptions' section in catalog. Default: 'False' Applies to: AZW3, EPUB, MOBI output
formats
--generate-genres
Include 'Genres' section in catalog. Default: 'False' Applies to: AZW3, EPUB, MOBI output formats
--generate-recently-added
Include 'Recently Added' section in catalog. Default: 'False' Applies to: AZW3, EPUB, MOBI output
formats
--generate-series
Include 'Series' section in catalog. Default: 'False' Applies to: AZW3, EPUB, MOBI output formats
--generate-titles
Include 'Titles' section in catalog. Default: 'False' Applies to: AZW3, EPUB, MOBI output formats
--genre-source-field
Source field for 'Genres' section. Default: 'Tags' Applies to: AZW3, EPUB, MOBI output formats
--header-note-source-field
Custom field containing note text to insert in Description header. Default: '' Applies to: AZW3,
EPUB, MOBI output formats
--merge-comments-rule
#<custom field>:[before|after]:[True|False] specifying: <custom field> Custom field containing
notes to merge with comments [before|after] Placement of notes with respect to comments
[True|False] - A horizontal rule is inserted between notes and comments Default: '::' Applies to:
AZW3, EPUB, MOBI output formats
--output-profile
Specifies the output profile. In some cases, an output profile is required to optimize the catalog
for the device. For example, 'kindle' or 'kindle_dx' creates a structured Table of Contents with
Sections and Articles. Default: 'None' Applies to: AZW3, EPUB, MOBI output formats
--prefix-rules
Specifies the rules used to include prefixes indicating read books, wishlist items and other
user-specified prefixes. The model for a prefix rule is ('<rule name>','<source
field>','<pattern>','<prefix>'). When multiple rules are defined, the first matching rule will be
used. Default: "(('Read books','tags','+','✓'),('Wishlist item','tags','Wishlist','×'))" Applies
to: AZW3, EPUB, MOBI output formats
--preset
Use a named preset created with the GUI catalog builder. A preset specifies all settings for
building a catalog. Default: 'None' Applies to: AZW3, EPUB, MOBI output formats
--thumb-width
Size hint (in inches) for book covers in catalog. Range: 1.0 - 2.0 Default: '1.0' Applies to:
AZW3, EPUB, MOBI output formats
--use-existing-cover
Replace existing cover when generating the catalog. Default: 'False' Applies to: AZW3, EPUB, MOBI
output formats
SAVED_SEARCHES
calibredb saved_searches [options] (list|add|remove)
Manage the saved searches stored in this database. If you try to add a query with a name that already
exists, it will be replaced.
Syntax for adding:
calibredb saved_searches add search_name search_expression
Syntax for removing:
calibredb saved_searches remove search_name
Whenever you pass arguments to calibredb that have spaces in them, enclose the arguments in quotation
marks. For example: "/some path/with spaces"
ADD_CUSTOM_COLUMN
calibredb add_custom_column [options] label name datatype
Create a custom column. label is the machine friendly name of the column. Should not contain spaces or
colons. name is the human friendly name of the column. datatype is one of: bool, comments, composite,
datetime, enumeration, float, int, rating, series, text
Whenever you pass arguments to calibredb that have spaces in them, enclose the arguments in quotation
marks. For example: "/some path/with spaces"
--display
A dictionary of options to customize how the data in this column will be interpreted. This is a
JSON string. For enumeration columns, use --display"{\ "enum_values\ ":[\ "val1\ ", \ "val2\ "]}"
There are many options that can go into the display variable.The options by column type are:
composite: composite_template, composite_sort, make_category,contains_html, use_decorations
datetime: date_format enumeration: enum_values, enum_colors, use_decorations int, float:
number_format text: is_names, use_decorations The best way to find legal combinations is to
create a custom column of the appropriate type in the GUI then look at the backup OPF for a book
(ensure that a new OPF has been created since the column was added). You will see the JSON for the
"display" for the new column in the OPF.
--is-multiple
This column stores tag like data (i.e. multiple comma separated values). Only applies if datatype
is text.
CUSTOM_COLUMNS
calibredb custom_columns [options]
List available custom columns. Shows column labels and ids.
Whenever you pass arguments to calibredb that have spaces in them, enclose the arguments in quotation
marks. For example: "/some path/with spaces"
--details, -d
Show details for each column.
REMOVE_CUSTOM_COLUMN
calibredb remove_custom_column [options] label
Remove the custom column identified by label. You can see available columns with the custom_columns
command.
Whenever you pass arguments to calibredb that have spaces in them, enclose the arguments in quotation
marks. For example: "/some path/with spaces"
--force, -f
Do not ask for confirmation
SET_CUSTOM
calibredb set_custom [options] column id value
Set the value of a custom column for the book identified by id. You can get a list of ids using the
search command. You can get a list of custom column names using the custom_columns command.
Whenever you pass arguments to calibredb that have spaces in them, enclose the arguments in quotation
marks. For example: "/some path/with spaces"
--append, -a
If the column stores multiple values, append the specified values to the existing ones, instead of
replacing them.
RESTORE_DATABASE
calibredb restore_database [options]
Restore this database from the metadata stored in OPF files in each folder of the calibre library. This
is useful if your metadata.db file has been corrupted.
WARNING: This command completely regenerates your database. You will lose all saved searches, user
categories, plugboards, stored per-book conversion settings, and custom recipes. Restored metadata will
only be as accurate as what is found in the OPF files.
Whenever you pass arguments to calibredb that have spaces in them, enclose the arguments in quotation
marks. For example: "/some path/with spaces"
--really-do-it, -r
Really do the recovery. The command will not run unless this option is specified.
CHECK_LIBRARY
calibredb check_library [options]
Perform some checks on the filesystem representing a library. Reports are invalid_titles, extra_titles,
invalid_authors, extra_authors, missing_formats, extra_formats, extra_files, missing_covers,
extra_covers, failed_folders
Whenever you pass arguments to calibredb that have spaces in them, enclose the arguments in quotation
marks. For example: "/some path/with spaces"
--csv, -c
Output in CSV
--ignore_extensions, -e
Comma-separated list of extensions to ignore. Default: all
--ignore_names, -n
Comma-separated list of names to ignore. Default: all
--report, -r
Comma-separated list of reports. Default: all
--vacuum-fts-db
Vacuum the full text search database. This can be very slow and memory intensive, depending on the
size of the database.
LIST_CATEGORIES
calibredb list_categories [options]
Produce a report of the category information in the database. The information is the equivalent of what
is shown in the Tag browser.
Whenever you pass arguments to calibredb that have spaces in them, enclose the arguments in quotation
marks. For example: "/some path/with spaces"
--categories, -r
Comma-separated list of category lookup names. Default: all
--csv, -c
Output in CSV
--dialect
The type of CSV file to produce. Choices: excel, excel-tab, unix
--item_count, -i
Output only the number of items in a category instead of the counts per item within the category
--width, -w
The maximum width of a single line in the output. Defaults to detecting screen size.
BACKUP_METADATA
calibredb backup_metadata [options]
Backup the metadata stored in the database into individual OPF files in each books folder. This normally
happens automatically, but you can run this command to force re-generation of the OPF files, with the
--all option.
Note that there is normally no need to do this, as the OPF files are backed up automatically, every time
metadata is changed.
Whenever you pass arguments to calibredb that have spaces in them, enclose the arguments in quotation
marks. For example: "/some path/with spaces"
--all Normally, this command only operates on books that have out of date OPF files. This option makes
it operate on all books.
CLONE
calibredb clone path/to/new/library
Create a clone of the current library. This creates a new, empty library that has all the same custom
columns, Virtual libraries and other settings as the current library.
The cloned library will contain no books. If you want to create a full duplicate, including all books,
then simply use your filesystem tools to copy the library folder.
Whenever you pass arguments to calibredb that have spaces in them, enclose the arguments in quotation
marks. For example: "/some path/with spaces"
EMBED_METADATA
calibredb embed_metadata [options] book_id
Update the metadata in the actual book files stored in the calibre library from the metadata in the
calibre database. Normally, metadata is updated only when exporting files from calibre, this command is
useful if you want the files to be updated in place. Note that different file formats support different
amounts of metadata. You can use the special value 'all' for book_id to update metadata in all books. You
can also specify many book ids separated by spaces and id ranges separated by hyphens. For example:
calibredb embed_metadata 1 2 10-15 23
Whenever you pass arguments to calibredb that have spaces in them, enclose the arguments in quotation
marks. For example: "/some path/with spaces"
--only-formats, -f
Only update metadata in files of the specified format. Specify it multiple times for multiple
formats. By default, all formats are updated.
SEARCH
calibredb search [options] search expression
Search the library for the specified search term, returning a comma separated list of book ids matching
the search expression. The output format is useful to feed into other commands that accept a list of ids
as input.
The search expression can be anything from calibre's powerful search query language, for example:
calibredb search author:asimov 'title:"i robot"'
Whenever you pass arguments to calibredb that have spaces in them, enclose the arguments in quotation
marks. For example: "/some path/with spaces"
--limit, -l
The maximum number of results to return. Default is all results.
FTS_INDEX
calibredb fts_index [options] enable/disable/status/reindex
Control the Full text search indexing process.
enable Turns on FTS indexing for this library
disable
Turns off FTS indexing for this library
status Shows the current indexing status
reindex
Can be used to re-index either particular books or the entire library. To re-index particular
books specify the book ids as additional arguments after the reindex command. If no book ids are
specified the entire library is re-indexed.
Whenever you pass arguments to calibredb that have spaces in them, enclose the arguments in quotation
marks. For example: "/some path/with spaces"
--indexing-speed
The speed of indexing. Use fast for fast indexing using all your computers resources and slow for
less resource intensive indexing. Note that the speed is reset to slow after every invocation.
--wait-for-completion
Wait till all books are indexed, showing indexing progress periodically
FTS_SEARCH
calibredb fts_search [options] search expression
Do a full text search on the entire library or a subset of it.
Whenever you pass arguments to calibredb that have spaces in them, enclose the arguments in quotation
marks. For example: "/some path/with spaces"
--do-not-match-on-related-words
Only match on exact words not related words. So correction will not match correcting.
--include-snippets
Include snippets of the text surrounding each match. Note that this makes searching much slower.
--indexing-threshold
How much of the library must be indexed before searching is allowed, as a percentage. Defaults to
90
--match-end-marker
The marker used to indicate the end of a matched word inside a snippet
--match-start-marker
The marker used to indicate the start of a matched word inside a snippet
--output-format
The format to output the search results in. Either "text" for plain text or "json" for JSON
output.
--restrict-to
Restrict the searched books, either using a search expression or ids. For example: ids:1,2,3 to
restrict by ids or search:tag:foo to restrict to books having the tag foo.
AUTHOR
Kovid Goyal
COPYRIGHT
Kovid Goyal
8.7.0 July 18, 2025 CALIBREDB(1)