Provided by: calibre_5.37.0+dfsg-1build1_all bug

NAME

       calibredb - calibredb

          calibredb command [options] [arguments]

       calibredb  is  the  command  line  interface  to  the  calibre  database.  It  has several
       sub-commands, documented below.

       calibredb can be used to manipulate either a calibre  database  specified  by  path  or  a
       calibre  Content  server running either on the local machine or over the internet. You can
       start a calibre Content server using either the calibre-server  program  or  in  the  main
       calibre  program  click  Connect/share   →  Start Content server. Since calibredb can make
       changes to your calibre libraries, you must setup  authentication  on  the  server  first.
       There are two ways to do that:

          • If  you plan to connect only to a server running on the same computer, you can simply
            use the --enable-local-write option of the Content  server,  to  allow  any  program,
            including  calibredb,  running  on the local computer to make changes to your calibre
            data. When running the server from the  main  calibre  program,  this  option  is  in
            Preferences → Sharing over the net → Advanced.

          • If  you  want to enable access over the internet, then you should setup user accounts
            on the server and use the --username and --password options to calibredb to  give  it
            access.   You   can  setup  user  authentication  for  calibre-server  by  using  the
            --enable-auth option and using --manage-users to create the user  accounts.   If  you
            are  running the server from the main calibre program, use Preferences → Sharing over
            the net → Require username/password.

       To connect to a running Content server, pass the URL of the server to  the  --with-library
       option, see the documentation of that option for details and examples.

       • Global OptionslistaddAdding From Foldersremoveadd_formatremove_formatshow_metadataset_metadataexportcatalogEpub Optionssaved_searchesadd_custom_columncustom_columnsremove_custom_columnset_customrestore_databasecheck_librarylist_categoriesbackup_metadatacloneembed_metadatasearch

GLOBAL OPTIONS

       --help, -h
              show this help message and exit

       --library-path, --with-library
              Path to the calibre library. Default is to use the path stored in the settings. You
              can also connect  to  a  calibre  Content  server  to  perform  actions  on  remote
              libraries.  To  do  so  use a URL of the form: http://hostname:port/#library_id for
              example, http://localhost:8080/#mylibrary. library_id is  the  library  id  of  the
              library  you  want  to  connect  to  on the Content server. You can use the special
              library_id value of - to get a list of library ids available  on  the  server.  For
              details    on    how    to    setup    access    via    a   Content   server,   see
              https://manual.calibre-ebook.com/generated/en/calibredb.html.

       --password
              Password for connecting to a calibre Content server.  To  read  the  password  from
              standard  input,  use the special value: <stdin>. To read the password from a file,
              use: <f:/path/to/file> (i.e. <f: followed by the  full  path  to  the  file  and  a
              trailing  >). The angle brackets in the above are required, remember to escape them
              or use quotes for your shell.

       --timeout
              The timeout, in seconds, when connecting to a calibre library over the network. The
              default is two minutes.

       --username
              Username for connecting to a calibre Content server

       --version
              show program's version number and exit

LIST

          calibredb list [options]

       List the books available in the calibre database.

       Whenever  you  pass arguments to calibredb that have spaces in them, enclose the arguments
       in quotation marks. For example: "/some path/with spaces"

       --ascending
              Sort results in ascending order

       --fields, -f
              The fields to display when listing  books  in  the  database.  Should  be  a  comma
              separated  list of fields. Available fields: author_sort, authors, comments, cover,
              formats, identifiers, isbn, languages, last_modified, pubdate,  publisher,  rating,
              series,  series_index,  size,  tags, timestamp, title, uuid Default: title,authors.
              The special field "all" can be used to  select  all  fields.  In  addition  to  the
              builtin fields above, custom fields are also available as *field_name, for example,
              for a custom field #rating, use the name: *rating

       --for-machine
              Generate output in JSON format, which is more suitable for machine parsing.  Causes
              the line width and separator options to be ignored.

       --limit
              The maximum number of results to display. Default: all

       --line-width, -w
              The  maximum  width  of  a  single line in the output. Defaults to detecting screen
              size.

       --prefix
              The prefix for all file paths. Default is the absolute path to the library folder.

       --search, -s
              Filter the results by the search query. For the format of the search query,  please
              see  the  search  related  documentation  in  the  User Manual. Default is to do no
              filtering.

       --separator
              The string used to separate fields. Default is a space.

       --sort-by
              The field by which to sort the results.  Available  fields:  author_sort,  authors,
              comments,  cover,  formats,  identifiers,  isbn, languages, last_modified, pubdate,
              publisher,  rating,  series,  series_index,  size,  tags,  timestamp,  title,  uuid
              Default: id

ADD

          calibredb add [options] file1 file2 file3 ...

       Add  the  specified  files as books to the database. You can also specify folders, see the
       folder related options below.

       Whenever you pass arguments to calibredb that have spaces in them, enclose  the  arguments
       in quotation marks. For example: "/some path/with spaces"

       --authors, -a
              Set the authors of the added book(s)

       --automerge, -m
              If  books  with  similar  titles  and authors are found, merge the incoming formats
              (files) automatically into  existing  book  records.  A  value  of  "ignore"  means
              duplicate  formats are discarded. A value of "overwrite" means duplicate formats in
              the library are overwritten with the newly added files.  A  value  of  "new_record"
              means duplicate formats are placed into a new book record.

       --cover, -c
              Path to the cover to use for the added book

       --duplicates, -d
              Add  books to database even if they already exist. Comparison is done based on book
              titles and authors. Note that the --automerge option takes precedence.

       --empty, -e
              Add an empty book (a book with no formats)

       --identifier, -I
              Set the identifiers for this book, e.g. -I asin:XXX -I isbn:YYY

       --isbn, -i
              Set the ISBN of the added book(s)

       --languages, -l
              A comma separated list of languages (best to use ISO639 language codes, though some
              language names may also be recognized)

       --series, -s
              Set the series of the added book(s)

       --series-index, -S
              Set the series number of the added book(s)

       --tags, -T
              Set the tags of the added book(s)

       --title, -t
              Set the title of the added book(s)

   Adding From Folders
       Options  to  control  the  adding  of  books from folders. By default only files that have
       extensions of known e-book file types are added.

       --add  A filename (glob) pattern, files matching this pattern will be added when  scanning
              folders  for  files,  even  if  they  are  not  of a known e-book file type. Can be
              specified multiple times for multiple patterns.

       --ignore
              A filename (glob) pattern,  files  matching  this  pattern  will  be  ignored  when
              scanning  folders for files. Can be specified multiple times for multiple patterns.
              For example: *.pdf will ignore all PDF files

       --one-book-per-directory, -1
              Assume that each folder has only a single logical book and that all files in it are
              different e-book formats of that book

       --recurse, -r
              Process folders recursively

REMOVE

          calibredb remove ids

       Remove the books identified by ids from the database. ids should be a comma separated list
       of id numbers (you can  get  id  numbers  by  using  the  search  command).  For  example,
       23,34,57-85 (when specifying a range, the last number in the range is not included).

       Whenever  you  pass arguments to calibredb that have spaces in them, enclose the arguments
       in quotation marks. For example: "/some path/with spaces"

       --permanent
              Do not use the Recycle Bin

ADD_FORMAT

          calibredb add_format [options] id ebook_file

       Add the e-book in ebook_file to the available formats for the logical book  identified  by
       id.  You  can  get  id  by  using  the search command. If the format already exists, it is
       replaced, unless the do not replace option is specified.

       Whenever you pass arguments to calibredb that have spaces in them, enclose  the  arguments
       in quotation marks. For example: "/some path/with spaces"

       --dont-replace
              Do not replace the format if it already exists

REMOVE_FORMAT

          calibredb remove_format [options] id fmt

       Remove  the format fmt from the logical book identified by id. You can get id by using the
       search command. fmt should be a file extension like LRF or TXT or  EPUB.  If  the  logical
       book does not have fmt available, do nothing.

       Whenever  you  pass arguments to calibredb that have spaces in them, enclose the arguments
       in quotation marks. For example: "/some path/with spaces"

SHOW_METADATA

          calibredb show_metadata [options] id

       Show the metadata stored in the calibre database for the book identified by id.  id is  an
       id number from the search command.

       Whenever  you  pass arguments to calibredb that have spaces in them, enclose the arguments
       in quotation marks. For example: "/some path/with spaces"

       --as-opf
              Print metadata in OPF form (XML)

SET_METADATA

          calibredb set_metadata [options] id [/path/to/metadata.opf]

       Set the metadata stored in the calibre database for the book identified by id from the OPF
       file  metadata.opf.  id  is an id number from the search command. You can get a quick feel
       for the OPF format by using the --as-opf switch to the show_metadata command. You can also
       set  the  metadata  of  individual  fields with the --field option. If you use the --field
       option, there is no need to specify an OPF file.

       Whenever you pass arguments to calibredb that have spaces in them, enclose  the  arguments
       in quotation marks. For example: "/some path/with spaces"

       --field, -f
              The  field to set. Format is field_name:value, for example: --field tags:tag1,tag2.
              Use --list-fields to get a list of all field names. You  can  specify  this  option
              multiple  times to set multiple fields. Note: For languages you must use the ISO639
              language codes (e.g. en for English, fr for French and so on). For identifiers, the
              syntax  is --field identifiers:isbn:XXXX,doi:YYYYY. For boolean (yes/no) fields use
              true and false or yes and no.

       --list-fields, -l
              List the metadata field names that can be used with the --field option

EXPORT

          calibredb export [options] ids

       Export the books specified by ids (a comma separated list) to the filesystem.  The  export
       operation  saves all formats of the book, its cover and metadata (in an opf file). You can
       get id numbers from the search command.

       Whenever you pass arguments to calibredb that have spaces in them, enclose  the  arguments
       in quotation marks. For example: "/some path/with spaces"

       --all  Export all books in database, ignoring the list of ids.

       --dont-asciiize
              Have  calibre  convert  all non English characters into English equivalents for the
              file names. This is useful if saving to a legacy filesystem  without  full  support
              for Unicode filenames. Specifying this switch will turn this behavior off.

       --dont-save-cover
              Normally,  calibre  will  save  the  cover in a separate file along with the actual
              e-book files. Specifying this switch will turn this behavior off.

       --dont-update-metadata
              Normally, calibre will update the metadata in the saved files from what is  in  the
              calibre library. Makes saving to disk slower. Specifying this switch will turn this
              behavior off.

       --dont-write-opf
              Normally, calibre will write the metadata into a separate OPF file along  with  the
              actual e-book files. Specifying this switch will turn this behavior off.

       --formats
              Comma  separated  list  of  formats to save for each book. By default all available
              formats are saved.

       --progress
              Report progress

       --replace-whitespace
              Replace whitespace with underscores.

       --single-dir
              Export all books into a single folder

       --template
              The template to control the filename and  folder  structure  of  the  saved  files.
              Default is "{author_sort}/{title}/{title} - {authors}" which will save books into a
              per-author subfolder with filenames containing title and author. Available controls
              are: {author_sort, authors, id, isbn, languages, last_modified, pubdate, publisher,
              rating, series, series_index, tags, timestamp, title}

       --timefmt
              The format in which to display dates. %d - day, %b - month, %m - month number, %Y -
              year. Default is: %b, %Y

       --to-dir
              Export books to the specified folder. Default is .

       --to-lowercase
              Convert paths to lowercase.

CATALOG

          calibredb catalog /path/to/destination.(csv|epub|mobi|xml...) [options]

       Export  a  catalog  in format specified by path/to/destination extension.  Options control
       how entries are displayed in the generated catalog output.  Note  that  different  catalog
       formats  support different sets of options. To see the different options, specify the name
       of the output file and then the --help option.

       Whenever you pass arguments to calibredb that have spaces in them, enclose  the  arguments
       in quotation marks. For example: "/some path/with spaces"

       --ids, -i
              Comma-separated  list of database IDs to catalog. If declared, --search is ignored.
              Default: all

       --search, -s
              Filter the results by the search query. For the format of the search query,  please
              see the search-related documentation in the User Manual. Default: no filtering

       --verbose, -v
              Show detailed output information. Useful for debugging

   Epub Options
       --catalog-title
              Title  of  generated catalog used as title in metadata. Default: 'My Books' Applies
              to: AZW3, EPUB, MOBI output formats

       --cross-reference-authors
              Create cross-references  in  Authors  section  for  books  with  multiple  authors.
              Default: 'False' Applies to: AZW3, EPUB, MOBI output formats

       --debug-pipeline
              Save  the  output from different stages of the conversion pipeline to the specified
              folder. Useful if you are unsure at which stage of the conversion process a bug  is
              occurring. Default: 'None' Applies to: AZW3, EPUB, MOBI output formats

       --exclude-genre
              Regex  describing tags to exclude as genres. Default: '[.+]|^+$' excludes bracketed
              tags, e.g. '[Project Gutenberg]', and '+', the default tag for read books.  Applies
              to: AZW3, EPUB, MOBI output formats

       --exclusion-rules
              Specifies the rules used to exclude books from the generated catalog. The model for
              an exclusion rule is either ('<rule name>','Tags','<comma-separated list of tags>')
              or   ('<rule   name>','<custom   column>','<pattern>').  For  example:  (('Archived
              books','#status','Archived'),) will exclude a book with a value  of  'Archived'  in
              the  custom  column  'status'.  When  multiple rules are defined, all rules will be
              applied. Default:  "(('Catalogs','Tags','Catalog'),)" Applies to: AZW3, EPUB,  MOBI
              output formats

       --generate-authors
              Include 'Authors' section in catalog. Default: 'False' Applies to: AZW3, EPUB, MOBI
              output formats

       --generate-descriptions
              Include 'Descriptions' section in catalog. Default: 'False' Applies to: AZW3, EPUB,
              MOBI output formats

       --generate-genres
              Include  'Genres' section in catalog. Default: 'False' Applies to: AZW3, EPUB, MOBI
              output formats

       --generate-recently-added
              Include 'Recently Added' section in catalog. Default:  'False'  Applies  to:  AZW3,
              EPUB, MOBI output formats

       --generate-series
              Include  'Series' section in catalog. Default: 'False' Applies to: AZW3, EPUB, MOBI
              output formats

       --generate-titles
              Include 'Titles' section in catalog. Default: 'False' Applies to: AZW3, EPUB,  MOBI
              output formats

       --genre-source-field
              Source  field  for  'Genres'  section. Default: 'Tags' Applies to: AZW3, EPUB, MOBI
              output formats

       --header-note-source-field
              Custom field containing note text to insert  in  Description  header.  Default:  ''
              Applies to: AZW3, EPUB, MOBI output formats

       --merge-comments-rule
              #<custom  field>:[before|after]:[True|False]  specifying:   <custom  field>  Custom
              field containing notes to merge with comments  [before|after]  Placement  of  notes
              with  respect  to  comments   [True|False]  - A horizontal rule is inserted between
              notes and comments Default: '::' Applies to: AZW3, EPUB, MOBI output formats

       --output-profile
              Specifies the output profile. In some cases,  an  output  profile  is  required  to
              optimize the catalog for the device. For example, 'kindle' or 'kindle_dx' creates a
              structured Table of Contents with Sections and Articles.  Default:  'None'  Applies
              to: AZW3, EPUB, MOBI output formats

       --prefix-rules
              Specifies  the rules used to include prefixes indicating read books, wishlist items
              and other  user-specified  prefixes.  The  model  for  a  prefix  rule  is  ('<rule
              name>','<source  field>','<pattern>','<prefix>').  When multiple rules are defined,
              the    first    matching    rule    will     be     used.     Default:     "(('Read
              books','tags','+',''),('Wishlist  item','tags','Wishlist','×'))" Applies to: AZW3,
              EPUB, MOBI output formats

       --preset
              Use a named preset created with the GUI catalog builder.  A  preset  specifies  all
              settings  for  building  a  catalog.  Default:  'None' Applies to: AZW3, EPUB, MOBI
              output formats

       --thumb-width
              Size hint (in inches) for book covers in catalog. Range: 1.0 - 2.0  Default:  '1.0'
              Applies to: AZW3, EPUB, MOBI output formats

       --use-existing-cover
              Replace  existing  cover  when generating the catalog. Default: 'False' Applies to:
              AZW3, EPUB, MOBI output formats

SAVED_SEARCHES

          calibredb saved_searches [options] (list|add|remove)

       Manage the saved searches stored in this database.  If you try to add a query with a  name
       that already exists, it will be replaced.

       Syntax for adding:

       calibredb saved_searches add search_name search_expression

       Syntax for removing:

       calibredb saved_searches remove search_name

       Whenever  you  pass arguments to calibredb that have spaces in them, enclose the arguments
       in quotation marks. For example: "/some path/with spaces"

ADD_CUSTOM_COLUMN

          calibredb add_custom_column [options] label name datatype

       Create a custom column. label is the machine friendly  name  of  the  column.  Should  not
       contain  spaces or colons. name is the human friendly name of the column.  datatype is one
       of: bool, comments, composite, datetime, enumeration, float, int, rating, series, text

       Whenever you pass arguments to calibredb that have spaces in them, enclose  the  arguments
       in quotation marks. For example: "/some path/with spaces"

       --display
              A  dictionary  of  options  to  customize  how  the  data  in  this  column will be
              interpreted. This is a JSON  string.  For  enumeration  columns,  use  --display"{\
              "enum_values\  ":[\ "val1\ ", \ "val2\ "]}" There are many options that can go into
              the display variable.The options by column type are: composite: composite_template,
              composite_sort,  make_category,contains_html, use_decorations datetime: date_format
              enumeration: enum_values, enum_colors, use_decorations  int,  float:  number_format
              text:  is_names,  use_decorations   The  best  way to find legal combinations is to
              create a custom column of the appropriate type in the GUI then look at  the  backup
              OPF for a book (ensure that a new OPF has been created since the column was added).
              You will see the JSON for the "display" for the new column in the OPF.

       --is-multiple
              This column stores tag like data  (i.e.  multiple  comma  separated  values).  Only
              applies if datatype is text.

CUSTOM_COLUMNS

          calibredb custom_columns [options]

       List available custom columns. Shows column labels and ids.

       Whenever  you  pass arguments to calibredb that have spaces in them, enclose the arguments
       in quotation marks. For example: "/some path/with spaces"

       --details, -d
              Show details for each column.

REMOVE_CUSTOM_COLUMN

          calibredb remove_custom_column [options] label

       Remove the custom column identified by label. You  can  see  available  columns  with  the
       custom_columns command.

       Whenever  you  pass arguments to calibredb that have spaces in them, enclose the arguments
       in quotation marks. For example: "/some path/with spaces"

       --force, -f
              Do not ask for confirmation

SET_CUSTOM

          calibredb set_custom [options] column id value

       Set the value of a custom column for the book identified by id.  You can get a list of ids
       using  the  search  command.   You  can  get  a  list  of  custom  column  names using the
       custom_columns command.

       Whenever you pass arguments to calibredb that have spaces in them, enclose  the  arguments
       in quotation marks. For example: "/some path/with spaces"

       --append, -a
              If  the  column stores multiple values, append the specified values to the existing
              ones, instead of replacing them.

RESTORE_DATABASE

          calibredb restore_database [options]

       Restore this database from the metadata stored in OPF files in each folder of the  calibre
       library. This is useful if your metadata.db file has been corrupted.

       WARNING:  This  command  completely  regenerates  your  database.  You will lose all saved
       searches, user categories, plugboards, stored per-book  conversion  settings,  and  custom
       recipes. Restored metadata will only be as accurate as what is found in the OPF files.

       Whenever  you  pass arguments to calibredb that have spaces in them, enclose the arguments
       in quotation marks. For example: "/some path/with spaces"

       --really-do-it, -r
              Really do the recovery. The command will not run unless this option is specified.

CHECK_LIBRARY

          calibredb check_library [options]

       Perform some checks on the filesystem representing a library. Reports are  invalid_titles,
       extra_titles, invalid_authors, extra_authors, missing_formats, extra_formats, extra_files,
       missing_covers, extra_covers, failed_folders

       Whenever you pass arguments to calibredb that have spaces in them, enclose  the  arguments
       in quotation marks. For example: "/some path/with spaces"

       --csv, -c
              Output in CSV

       --ignore_extensions, -e
              Comma-separated list of extensions to ignore. Default: all

       --ignore_names, -n
              Comma-separated list of names to ignore. Default: all

       --report, -r
              Comma-separated list of reports. Default: all

LIST_CATEGORIES

          calibredb list_categories [options]

       Produce  a  report  of  the  category  information in the database. The information is the
       equivalent of what is shown in the Tag browser.

       Whenever you pass arguments to calibredb that have spaces in them, enclose  the  arguments
       in quotation marks. For example: "/some path/with spaces"

       --categories, -r
              Comma-separated list of category lookup names. Default: all

       --csv, -c
              Output in CSV

       --dialect
              The type of CSV file to produce. Choices: excel, excel-tab, unix

       --item_count, -i
              Output only the number of items in a category instead of the counts per item within
              the category

       --width, -w
              The maximum width of a single line in the  output.  Defaults  to  detecting  screen
              size.

BACKUP_METADATA

          calibredb backup_metadata [options]

       Backup the metadata stored in the database into individual OPF files in each books folder.
       This normally happens automatically, but you can run this command to  force  re-generation
       of the OPF files, with the --all option.

       Note  that  there  is  normally  no  need  to  do  this,  as  the  OPF files are backed up
       automatically, every time metadata is changed.

       Whenever you pass arguments to calibredb that have spaces in them, enclose  the  arguments
       in quotation marks. For example: "/some path/with spaces"

       --all  Normally, this command only operates on books that have out of date OPF files. This
              option makes it operate on all books.

CLONE

          calibredb clone path/to/new/library

       Create a clone of the current library. This creates a new, empty library that has all  the
       same custom columns, Virtual libraries and other settings as the current library.

       The  cloned  library  will  contain  no  books.  If  you  want to create a full duplicate,
       including all books, then simply use your filesystem tools to copy the library folder.

       Whenever you pass arguments to calibredb that have spaces in them, enclose  the  arguments
       in quotation marks. For example: "/some path/with spaces"

EMBED_METADATA

          calibredb embed_metadata [options] book_id

       Update  the  metadata  in  the  actual  book  files stored in the calibre library from the
       metadata in the calibre database.  Normally, metadata is updated only when exporting files
       from  calibre,  this  command is useful if you want the files to be updated in place. Note
       that different file formats support different amounts of metadata. You can use the special
       value  'all'  for  book_id to update metadata in all books. You can also specify many book
       ids separated by spaces and  id  ranges  separated  by  hyphens.  For  example:  calibredb
       embed_metadata 1 2 10-15 23

       Whenever  you  pass arguments to calibredb that have spaces in them, enclose the arguments
       in quotation marks. For example: "/some path/with spaces"

       --only-formats, -f
              Only update metadata in files of the specified format. Specify  it  multiple  times
              for multiple formats. By default, all formats are updated.

SEARCH

          calibredb search [options] search expression

       Search the library for the specified search term, returning a comma separated list of book
       ids matching the search expression. The  output  format  is  useful  to  feed  into  other
       commands that accept a list of ids as input.

       The  search  expression can be anything from calibre's powerful search query language, for
       example: calibredb search author:asimov 'title:"i robot"'

       Whenever you pass arguments to calibredb that have spaces in them, enclose  the  arguments
       in quotation marks. For example: "/some path/with spaces"

       --limit, -l
              The maximum number of results to return. Default is all results.

AUTHOR

       Kovid Goyal

COPYRIGHT

       Kovid Goyal