Calibre is the best ebook library manager there is. But it runs on your desktop, and when you want to read on your phone or tablet, you need a way to get those books across. Calibre Companion used to handle this on iOS, but it was abandoned years ago.
Here are two ways to read your Calibre library on iPhone, iPad, and Mac – plus a third option for KOReader users on macOS.
Method 1: Folder Import (Simplest)
This is the easiest approach and requires no server. Point BookShelves on your Mac at your Calibre library folder, and it imports everything. Folder import is a Mac feature: BookShelves on iPhone and iPad imports individual files, not folders.
How it works:
Keep your Calibre library on your Mac’s local disk. BookShelves does not read the library in place. Import copies every book into BookShelves’ own storage, so a library you keep in iCloud Drive, Dropbox, Google Drive, or OneDrive is stored twice, once in that folder and once in BookShelves.
In BookShelves on your Mac, choose File > Import… (or click + in the library toolbar) and select the root of your Calibre library, the folder that contains
metadata.db. The panel shows Calibre Library detected. Keep Use library metadata turned on and click Import.BookShelves reads the folder structure and pulls in your books with covers and your Calibre metadata – title, authors, tags, ISBN, publisher, and language, all from your
metadata.db.If you have multiple formats per book (for example, EPUB + MOBI + PDF), BookShelves picks the best format automatically. The priority order is: EPUB > FB2 > MOBI > PDF for books, and CBZ > CBR > CB7 > PDF for comics.
On iPhone and iPad: With iCloud Sync on, the books you imported on your Mac appear on your iPhone and iPad, because BookShelves syncs its own copy. You can also tap + > Import from Files to add book files from the Files app. For a whole library without iCloud Sync, use the OPDS method below.
Adding books later: BookShelves imports once and does not watch your Calibre folder. When you add books in Calibre, run the import again on your Mac and select the same folder. Books BookShelves already has are skipped as duplicates, so only the new ones are added. A second import does not update books you imported earlier, so edit their details in BookShelves instead.
What you need: A Mac with BookShelves and your Calibre library on its local disk. No server, no port forwarding, no authentication setup.
Method 2: OPDS (No Cloud Needed)
If you run Calibre’s content server or calibre-web, you can browse and download books via OPDS on any device.
How it works:
Start Calibre’s content server: Connect/share > Start content server. Note the server address (usually
http://your-ip:8080).In BookShelves on iPhone or iPad, tap + > Import from OPDS. On a Mac, choose File > Import from OPDS Server…. Enter the OPDS URL:
http://your-ip:8080/opds.Browse your library, tap a book, and download it.
This works on iPhone, iPad, and Mac. BookShelves is also an OPDS server itself – you can share your BookShelves library with other readers on your network.
What you need: Calibre’s content server running, or calibre-web, or any OPDS-compatible server. Both devices need network access to the server.
Method 3: KOReader Wireless Sync (macOS Only)
BookShelves on macOS includes a built-in Calibre-compatible wireless sync server for KOReader e-ink devices. This is a macOS-only feature – Apple does not allow server mode on iOS.
How it works:
Open BookShelves on your Mac. Go to Settings > Advanced > Calibre Wireless Server and enable it.
On your KOReader device, go to the Calibre wireless connection option and connect to your Mac.
Books transfer over Wi-Fi with metadata and covers.
This replaces the need to run Calibre desktop just for sending books to your e-reader. For a detailed walkthrough, see our KOReader wireless sync guide.
What you need: A Mac running BookShelves and a KOReader device on the same Wi-Fi network.
After Import: What You Get
Once your books are in BookShelves, you get features that Calibre’s viewer doesn’t offer:
- Reading progress synced across devices via iCloud. Start on your Mac, pick up on your iPhone.
- Highlights and annotations with export to Markdown, JSON, or CSV.
- Typography controls – font weight slider (7 stops), paragraph spacing, line spacing, margins, justify toggle.
- 10 built-in fonts including OpenDyslexic and Atkinson Hyperlegible Next for accessibility.
- Scroll and paginated modes – choose continuous scroll or traditional page turns.
- Dark mode that works with publisher CSS instead of just inverting colors.
What Calibre Still Does Better
BookShelves is a reader, not a library manager. You’ll still want Calibre for:
- Bulk metadata editing – fixing 50 books at once is a desktop job
- Format conversion – Calibre’s converter handles edge cases nothing else touches
- Plugin ecosystem – metadata download, custom columns, templates
- E-ink device management – sending books to Kobo, Kindle, PocketBook
The workflow that works: Calibre manages your library. BookShelves imports a copy and handles the reading. They don’t need to be the same app.
Read your Calibre library on iPhone and Mac
Folder import, OPDS, KOReader sync. iCloud sync across devices.
