Audiobookshelf

A self-hosted server for audiobooks and podcasts that streams your library, tracks listening progress per user and syncs it across devices.

14.9k stars, 1.2k forks JavaScript On GitHub since August 2021

Visit website View on GitHub How to run it

What is Audiobookshelf?

Audiobookshelf manages a library of audiobooks and podcasts on your own server and streams any audio format on the fly. It remembers where each user stopped and syncs progress between the web app and the Android and iOS apps, both still in beta. It subscribes to podcasts and downloads new episodes, fetches metadata and covers, edits chapters, merges audio files into a single m4b and writes metadata back into files. Basic ebook support covers EPUB, PDF and comic formats, including sending books to a Kindle.

Good fit if

  • You own audiobooks as files and want an Audible-style player for your household.
  • You want podcast episodes downloaded to your own server instead of to each phone.

Look elsewhere if

  • You want one server for films, series and music: Jellyfin.
  • Your collection is mostly music: Navidrome.

Before you adopt it

Audiobookshelf is GPL-3.0 with no paid parts in the repository, and its mobile apps are open source as well. The repository belongs to a personal account, and one developer writes about 60 percent of the commits. The web interface is being rewritten in React, so pull requests for the current Vue frontend are not reviewed. It needs WebSocket connections, which matters when you put it behind a reverse proxy.

Drafted with AI from the project's README and repository data, then checked against that data on 31 October 2026. Report a correction

Audiobookshelf health: is it still maintained?

84 of 100, actively developed

  • Activity
    131 commits in the last 90 days, the latest on 31 October 2026.
    26 / 30
  • Contributors
    19 people wrote the latest 100 commits; the most active wrote 63% of them.
    17 / 20
  • Releases
    14 releases in the last 12 months; the latest, v2.37.2, on 23 October 2026.
    19 / 20
  • Replies to issues
    Maintainers answered 61% of recent issues, with a median first reply after 0 hours.
    17 / 20
  • Security practices
    No OpenSSF Scorecard for this repository yet, so this part gets a neutral score.
    5 / 10

Read from GitHub on 1 November 2026. How the score works

Audiobookshelf license: is it open source?

Audiobookshelf uses GPL-3.0, an open-source license approved by the OSI.

  1. August 2021First published on GitHub.
  2. TodayGPL-3.0.

How to run Audiobookshelf yourself

Docker
Dockerfile or compose file in the repository
Compose file
docker-compose.yml: 1 service
Setup effort
1 of 5, judged from the compose file
Kubernetes
No Helm chart in the repository
Desktop and mobile
No app builds in GitHub releases
Interface languages
English only

Install instructions: audiobookshelf.org or the README on GitHub.

Alternatives to Audiobookshelf

  • NavidromeYour Personal Streaming Service 84 health · GPL-3.0 · 24.5k stars
  • JellyfinThe Free Software Media System - Server Backend & API 94 health · GPL-2.0 · 58.9k stars

All 3 projects in Media servers & streaming

Questions about Audiobookshelf

Is Audiobookshelf open source?

Yes. Audiobookshelf is published under GPL-3.0, an OSI-approved open-source license.

Is Audiobookshelf still maintained?

Its health score is 84 of 100 (actively developed). It had 131 commits in the last 90 days, the latest on 31 October 2026, and its latest release came out on 23 October 2026.

How do I run Audiobookshelf?

You can run it with Docker. The README on GitHub has the exact steps.

What are the alternatives to Audiobookshelf?

Close alternatives in the Media servers & streaming category include Navidrome, Jellyfin.