Hosting Audiobookshelf on Your Own Server with Docker

Audiobookshelf is an open-source, self-hosted solution for organizing and streaming your audiobook collection. This guide shows how to install it on your server using Docker, configure your library, and securely access it from anywhere.

🔧 Why Audiobookshelf?

• Stream audiobooks in your browser or mobile app
• Tracks progress per user
• Supports .mp3, .m4b, .flac and more
• Beautiful, modern UI
• Ideal alternative to Plex or paid audiobook apps

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📦 Step 1: Prepare the Server

You need a system with Docker and Docker Compose. For example, on Ubuntu:

bashКопироватьРедактироватьsudo apt update && sudo apt install docker.io docker-compose -y

Create a directory for Audiobookshelf:

bashКопироватьРедактироватьmkdir -p ~/audiobookshelf/config ~/audiobookshelf/metadata ~/audiobookshelf/audiobooks
cd ~/audiobookshelf

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🐳 Step 2: Docker Compose File

Create a docker-compose.yml file:

yamlКопироватьРедактироватьversion: '3.8'
services:
  audiobookshelf:
    image: ghcr.io/advplyr/audiobookshelf
    container_name: audiobookshelf
    ports:
      - 13378:80
    volumes:
      - ./audiobooks:/audiobooks
      - ./metadata:/metadata
      - ./config:/config
    restart: unless-stopped

Then start it:

bashКопироватьРедактироватьdocker-compose up -d

Audiobookshelf will be available at http://your-ip:13378

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📁 Step 3: Add Audiobooks

Move your .mp3 or .m4b audiobooks to ~/audiobookshelf/audiobooks. Then go to the web interface → «Libraries» → «Add Library» and select the folder.

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🔐 Step 4: Secure Access

Use a reverse proxy (e.g., Nginx or Traefik) to enable HTTPS. Example Nginx block:

nginxКопироватьРедактироватьserver {
  listen 443 ssl;
  server_name audiobooks.yourdomain.com;

  location / {
    proxy_pass http://localhost:13378;
    proxy_set_header Host $host;
    proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
  }

  ssl_certificate /etc/letsencrypt/live/yourdomain.com/fullchain.pem;
  ssl_certificate_key /etc/letsencrypt/live/yourdomain.com/privkey.pem;
}

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📱 Bonus: Mobile Access

• Use the Audiobookshelf app on Android or iOS
• Point it to your domain (e.g., https://audiobooks.yourdomain.com)
• Enjoy bookmarks, sync, progress tracking

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✅ Conclusion

Audiobookshelf is a lightweight and elegant solution for anyone who wants full control over their audiobook collection. With just a few Docker commands, you’ll have a personal audiobook streaming service that’s fast, private, and 100% yours.