How to use the command 'calibredb' (with examples)

Calibredb is a command line tool that allows you to manipulate your e-book database. It is part of the Calibre e-book library, and it provides a range of functionalities for managing your e-books. In this article, we will explore different use cases of the ‘calibredb’ command and provide examples for each case.

Use case 1: List e-books in the library with additional information

Code:

calibredb list

Motivation: The ‘calibredb list’ command is useful for getting an overview of the e-books in your library along with additional information. This can be helpful when you need to quickly check the titles, authors, and other details of the books in your collection.

Explanation: The ‘calibredb list’ command lists all the e-books in your library. It displays information such as title, authors, formats, and tags for each e-book.

Example output:

+------+-------------------------------------+----------------------+----------------------------------+
|  id  |                Title                |        Authors       |                Tags              |
+------+-------------------------------------+----------------------+----------------------------------+
| 1123 |     Pride and Prejudice              |     Jane Austen      |     Classic, Romance, Fiction    |
| 1124 |     To Kill a Mockingbird            |      Harper Lee       |     Fiction, Drama, Coming-of-age|
| 1125 |     1984                             |    George Orwell     |     Dystopian, Fiction, Politics |
+------+-------------------------------------+----------------------+----------------------------------+

Use case 2: Search for e-books displaying additional information

Code:

calibredb list --search search_term

Motivation: When you have a large e-book library, using the search feature can help you quickly find specific e-books based on criteria such as title, author, or tags. By displaying additional information, you can easily identify the relevant e-books.

Explanation: The ‘calibredb list –search’ command allows you to search for e-books in your library based on a specified search term. It displays information such as title, authors, formats, and tags for each matching e-book.

Example output:

+------+-------------------------------------+----------------------+----------------------------------+
|  id  |                Title                |        Authors       |                Tags              |
+------+-------------------------------------+----------------------+----------------------------------+
| 1123 |     Pride and Prejudice              |     Jane Austen      |     Classic, Romance, Fiction    |
| 1125 |     1984                             |    George Orwell     |     Dystopian, Fiction, Politics |
+------+-------------------------------------+----------------------+----------------------------------+

Use case 3: Search for just ids of e-books

Code:

calibredb search search_term

Motivation: In some cases, you may only need the IDs of the e-books that match a certain search term. This can be useful when you want to perform further actions on those e-books, such as removing them from the library.

Explanation: The ‘calibredb search’ command allows you to search for e-books in your library based on a specified search term. It returns the IDs of the matching e-books.

Example output:

1123
1125

Use case 4: Add one or more e-books to the library

Code:

calibredb add file1 file2 …

Motivation: Adding new e-books to your library is a common task when expanding your collection. The ‘calibredb add’ command allows you to add one or more e-books to your library at once.

Explanation: The ‘calibredb add’ command adds the specified e-books to your library. You can provide multiple files as arguments, and each file will be added as a separate e-book entry in your library.

Example output: None (Confirmation message will be displayed if the e-books are added successfully).

Use case 5: Recursively add all e-books under a directory to the library

Code:

calibredb add -r path/to/directory

Motivation: If you have a directory containing multiple subdirectories with e-books, manually adding each file can be time-consuming. The ‘calibredb add -r’ command allows you to recursively add all the e-books under a directory and its subdirectories to your library.

Explanation: The ‘calibredb add -r’ command adds all the e-books found under the specified directory and its subdirectories to your library. It scans the directory recursively and adds each e-book as a separate entry in your library.

Example output: None (Confirmation message will be displayed if the e-books are added successfully).

Use case 6: Remove one or more e-books from the library

Code:

calibredb remove id1 id2 …

Motivation: Removing unwanted e-books from your library can help keep it organized and decluttered. The ‘calibredb remove’ command allows you to remove one or more e-books from your library by providing their IDs.

Explanation: The ‘calibredb remove’ command removes the specified e-books from your library based on their IDs. You need to provide the IDs of the e-books as arguments to the command.

Example output: None (Confirmation message will be displayed if the e-books are successfully removed).

Conclusion:

The ‘calibredb’ command provides a range of functionalities for managing your e-book library. Whether you want to list e-books, search for specific ones, add new e-books, or remove unwanted ones, ‘calibredb’ enables you to efficiently perform these tasks. By understanding the various use cases and examples provided in this article, you can effectively utilize the power of ‘calibredb’ for your e-book management needs.