Audiobookshelf Auto-Upload

Libation can optionally upload each book to your Audiobookshelf server right after liberation. Local files are never deleted - upload only copies them to Audiobookshelf.

Available in Classic (WinForms), Chardonnay (Avalonia), and the CLI liberate command.

Setup

1. Open Settings -> Audiobookshelf.
2. Enable Automatically upload downloaded books.
3. Enter your Audiobookshelf Server URL and API Token (see below).
4. Click Connect / Refresh. Libation loads your book libraries and folders.
5. Choose the target Library and Folder, then save settings.

Only libraries with media type book are listed (podcast libraries are excluded).

Server URL

Use the base address of your Audiobookshelf server - the same host (and optional subpath) you use to open the web UI, without a library, book, or other page path.

Examples:

Setup	Server URL
Local default install	http://localhost:13378
Hosted / reverse proxy at root	https://abs.example.com
Served under a subpath	https://example.com/audiobookshelf

Do not paste a browser address for a specific library or book, such as:

• http://localhost:13378/library/<id>
• https://example.com/audiobookshelf/library/<id>/bookshelf

Libation calls the Audiobookshelf API at {Server URL}/api/.... If the Server URL already includes /library/..., that request path will be wrong.

Libation will try to strip common browser paths (and a trailing /api) automatically when you connect or save. If connection still fails with 404, double-check that the URL is only the server base (plus subpath, if any).

API token storage

The API token is stored in Libation's settings. When Libation's token storage is set to encrypted (and the OS secret store is available), the Audiobookshelf token is encrypted the same way as Audible auth tokens. If encryption is not in effect, Settings shows a plaintext warning.

Create an API token in Audiobookshelf under your user account settings (see Audiobookshelf's docs for the current location).

Connection troubleshooting

• 404 when fetching libraries - Server URL is usually wrong (page URL instead of base, or missing/extra subpath). See Server URL.
• 401 / 403 - API token is missing, incorrect, or expired. Create a new token in Audiobookshelf and paste it again.
• Timeout / could not reach server - Confirm Audiobookshelf is running, the host and port are correct, and (if Libation runs on another machine) that the server is reachable on the network. localhost only works when Audiobookshelf is on the same computer as Libation.

How it works

When auto-upload is enabled and configured:

1. Libation liberates the book as usual (download and decrypt, then PDF if any).
2. Libation uploads the liberated audio file(s) to the selected Audiobookshelf library and folder.
3. If Libation saved cover art for that book, the cover image is included in the upload.
4. Title, author, and series from Libation's library data are sent as upload metadata.

Upload runs for GUI download/decrypt and for CLI liberate. It does not run on the separate Convert to MP3 queue or libationcli convert - those paths only convert local files.

Duplicate handling

Before uploading, Libation searches the target Audiobookshelf library for an existing item with a matching title (and author when available). If a match is found, or Audiobookshelf reports that the destination already exists, Libation skips the upload and continues.

Failures do not fail liberation

If the Audiobookshelf server is unreachable, the token is wrong, or upload fails for another reason:

• The book remains liberated on disk.
• The queue or CLI does not treat the book as a failed/bad liberate.
• Status text and the log still report the upload error.

Tips

• Point the target folder at the Audiobookshelf library folder you want new titles to land in.
• Prefer enabling Save cover art in Libation's audio/download settings if you want covers included in the upload.
• For listening apps and other self-hosted options, see Now That I've Downloaded My Books, How Can I Listen to Them?.