Calibre Server

Connect Crow to Calibre's content server to search, browse, and download ebooks from your library through your AI assistant.

What You Get

• Search books by title, author, or tag
• Browse by category (author, tag, series, publisher)
• Get book details and metadata
• Download books in any available format
• Browse your full Calibre library via OPDS

Setup

Crow supports two modes for Calibre: self-hosting via Docker or connecting to an existing instance.

Option A: Docker (self-hosted)

Install Calibre as a Crow bundle. This runs Calibre's content server in Docker alongside your Crow gateway.

"Crow, install the Calibre Server bundle"

Or install from the Extensions panel in the Crow's Nest.

After installation, set the path to your Calibre library directory:

# In your .env file
CALIBRE_LIBRARY_PATH=/path/to/your/calibre/library

Restart the bundle for changes to take effect:

"Crow, restart the Calibre Server bundle"

Calibre's content server will be available at http://your-server:8081.

Option B: Connect to existing Calibre

If you already run a Calibre content server, connect Crow to it directly.

Step 1: Note your server URL

Find the URL where your Calibre content server is running (usually http://hostname:8080 or http://hostname:8081).

Step 2: Add to Crow

Set the following in your .env file or via Crow's Nest > Settings > Integrations:

CALIBRE_URL=http://your-calibre-server:8081

# Only needed if authentication is enabled
CALIBRE_USERNAME=your-username
CALIBRE_PASSWORD=your-password

AI Tools

Once connected, you can interact with Calibre through your AI:

"Search my ebooks for science fiction"

"Show me books by Isaac Asimov"

"Download that book as EPUB"

"What categories are in my Calibre library?"

Troubleshooting

"Connection refused" or timeout

Make sure the CALIBRE_URL is reachable from the machine running Crow. If Calibre is on a different machine, use the correct IP or hostname.

"401 Unauthorized"

If your Calibre server has authentication enabled, verify that CALIBRE_USERNAME and CALIBRE_PASSWORD are set correctly in your .env file.

Books not appearing

Verify that CALIBRE_LIBRARY_PATH points to the directory containing your metadata.db file. This is the root of your Calibre library, not a subfolder within it.