BookLite

BookLite is a simple, self-hosted digital book library. It is inspired by BookLore but strips away the complexity — no OPDS feeds, no KOReader sync, no comic/audiobook support, no complex permissions or BookDrop imports. Just the essentials: upload books, organize them, fetch metadata, and sync to your Kobo.

If you need the full feature set, check out BookLore.

Features

• Upload EPUB, KEPUB, and PDF files from the web UI
• Collections with drag-and-drop organization
• Metadata from 7 providers (Open Library, Google Books, Amazon, bol.com, Hardcover, Goodreads, Douban)
• Kobo sync — books and reading progress over the built-in Kobo API
• Multi-user with simple Owner/Member roles
• Built-in EPUB and KEPUB reader
• Full-text search powered by SQLite FTS5

Stack

• Backend: Fastify + TypeScript + Drizzle + SQLite (WAL)
• Frontend: React + Vite + TanStack Query + dnd-kit
• Runtime: Single Docker container

Quick Start (Docker)

cp .env.example .env
docker compose -f deploy/compose.yml up -d --build

Open http://localhost:6060

On first run either:

1. Use /setup in the UI, or
2. Set bootstrap env vars in deploy/compose.yml:

• BOOTSTRAP_OWNER_EMAIL
• BOOTSTRAP_OWNER_USERNAME
• BOOTSTRAP_OWNER_PASSWORD

Environment

See .env.example:

• PORT (default 6060)
• APP_DATA_DIR (default /app/data)
• BOOKS_DIR (default /books)
• JWT_SECRET
• BASE_URL
• ACCESS_TOKEN_TTL_SECONDS (default 900, 15 minutes)
• REFRESH_TOKEN_TTL_SECONDS (default 2592000, 30 days)
• BOOKLITE_FRONTEND_MODE (auto/vite/static/off, default auto)
  • auto resolves to vite when NODE_ENV is not production
  • auto resolves to static when NODE_ENV=production
• AMAZON_BOOKS_DOMAIN (optional, default com)
• AMAZON_BOOKS_COOKIE (optional)
• GOOGLE_BOOKS_LANGUAGE (optional, example en)
• GOOGLE_BOOKS_API_KEY (optional)
• HARDCOVER_API_KEY (optional)

Development

npm install
npm run dev
npm run docker:dev

• App (API + UI): http://localhost:6060

Optional split dev mode (legacy API + Vite proxy):

npm run dev:split

Build and Test

npm run build
npm run typecheck
npm test

Repository Layout

• apps/api - Fastify API
• apps/web - React app
• packages/shared - shared TS contracts
• deploy - Docker compose files for local/prod-like runs

Kobo Notes

• Sync endpoint remains at /api/kobo/{token}/...
• Only EPUB and KEPUB books are synced to Kobo
• PDF remains library-only
• Progress sync uses latest timestamp wins