Getting started with Audiobookshelf

Audiobookshelf is our server’s home for audiobooks, podcasts and ebooks. It keeps your place in every book, syncs it between your phone, tablet and computer, and lets you download books to listen offline.

What you’ll find here: three libraries, Audiobooks, Podcasts and Ebooks.

1. Get your login

The server admin creates your account and sends you:

• Server address: https://audiobooks.ourshelfmedia.com (https://ourshelfaudio.com goes to the same place)
• Username
• Temporary password

2. Sign in on the web first

1. Go to audiobooks.ourshelfmedia.com.
2. Sign in with your username and temporary password.
3. Change your password: click your name at the top right → Account → Change Password.

You can listen right here in the browser: pick a book and press play.

3. Install a listening app

When an app asks for a server address, enter https://audiobooks.ourshelfmedia.com, then your username and password.

Device	App
Android phone / tablet	Audiobookshelf (official, Google Play)
iPhone / iPad	Audiobookshelf (official). Popular alternatives: ShelfPlayer and Plappa (App Store)
Computer	The website, nothing to install
Kindle / e-reader	See Ebooks below

All of these sync your progress with the server, so you can start a book on your phone and finish it on your computer.

4. Listening to audiobooks

• Continue Listening on the home screen takes you back to where you stopped.
• Playback speed: tap the speed button (1.0x) in the player. Most people like 1.2x to 1.5x.
• Sleep timer: the moon/clock icon stops playback after a set time or at the end of the chapter.
• Chapters: the list icon in the player jumps between chapters.
• Bookmarks: save a spot to come back to.
• Download for offline: tap the download icon on a book before a trip. Downloads play without internet, and your progress syncs the next time you’re online.
• Mark as finished (or reset progress) from the ⋯ menu on a book.

5. Podcasts

The Podcasts library holds shows the server downloads automatically. Pick a show, choose an episode and play it like an audiobook. Want a podcast added? Ask the admin.

6. Ebooks

The Ebooks library holds EPUB and PDF books.

• Read in the browser or app: open a book and click Read. Your page is saved like audiobook progress.
• Download the file: use the ⋯ menu → Download to open it in Apple Books, Google Play Books or another reader.
• Send to Kindle: download the EPUB, then send it with Amazon’s Send to Kindle page or app.

7. Asking for a book

Book and audiobook requests go through the admin. Send the title, author and whether you want the audiobook, ebook or both. (On our home Wi-Fi there’s also a request page; the admin can show you.) New books show up in the library on their own, usually within a day; occasionally they appear only after the nightly library scan.

Troubleshooting

Problem	Try this
The app can’t connect	Use the full address with https:// and no port number. Check that you can sign in on the website.
My progress didn’t sync	Make sure the app was online after you listened, then pull down to refresh. Avoid playing the same book on two devices at once.
A downloaded book won’t play offline	Open the app’s Downloads page and check the download finished; delete and download again if not.
A new book isn’t showing yet	Give it until the next day; the library scans for new books on a schedule.
Wrong cover, title or narrator	Tell the admin which book; they can fix the details.
Forgotten password	Ask the admin to reset it.

Need help?

Contact the server admin: {{ADMIN_CONTACT}}

Include your username (never your password), the app and device, and the book you were on.

House rules

• Your account is for you and your household. Please don’t share your login.
• Downloaded books are for your own listening. Please don’t pass the files on.