91dd479edb
- Prowlarr: Added automatic fallback to search without category filter when indexers return no results with book category (7000), improving compatibility with indexers that don't support category filtering - Prowlarr: Hide language filter in UI since Prowlarr has unreliable language metadata - Bypass: Refactored internal bypasser with code cleanup, extracted helper functions, and added health check capability - Bypass: Added fingerprint module for screen size handling - qBittorrent: Fixed connection test to use web API version instead of app version - Frontend: Added supported_filters config to control which filters display per source - Auth: Improved CWA database path validation (now uses Path object properly)
📚 Book Downloader
calibre-web-automated-book-downloader
A unified web interface for searching and downloading books from multiple sources — all in one place. Works out of the box with popular web sources, no configuration required. Add metadata providers, additional release sources, and download clients to create a single hub for building your digital library.
Fully standalone — no external dependencies required. Works great alongside library tools like Calibre-Web-Automated or Booklore for automatic import.
✨ Features
- One-Stop Interface - A clean, modern UI to search, browse, and download from multiple sources in one place
- Real-Time Progress - Unified download queue with live status updates across all sources
- Two Search Modes:
- Direct Download - Search and download from popular web sources
- Universal Mode - Search metadata providers (Hardcover, Open Library) for richer book discovery and multi-source downloads (additional sources in development - coming soon!)
- Format Support - EPUB, MOBI, AZW3, FB2, DJVU, CBZ, CBR and more
- Cloudflare Bypass - Built-in bypasser for reliable access to protected sources
- PWA Support - Install as a mobile app for quick access
- Docker Deployment - Up and running in minutes
🖼️ Screenshots
Home screen
Search results
Multi-source downloads
Download queue
🚀 Quick Start
Prerequisites
- Docker & Docker Compose
Installation
-
Download the docker-compose file:
curl -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/calibrain/calibre-web-automated-book-downloader/main/docker-compose.yml -
Start the service:
docker compose up -d -
Open
http://localhost:8084
That's it! Configure settings through the web interface as needed.
Volume Setup
volumes:
- /your/config/path:/config # Config, database, and artwork cache directory
- /your/download/path:/cwa-book-ingest # Downloaded books
Tip
: Point the download volume to your CWA or Booklore ingest folder for automatic import.
Note
: CIFS shares require
nobrlmount option to avoid database lock errors.
⚙️ Configuration
Search Modes
Direct Download Mode (default)
- Works out of the box, no setup required
- Searches a huge library of books directly
- Returns downloadable releases immediately
Universal Mode
- Cleaner search results via metadata providers (Hardcover, Open Library)
- Aggregates releases from multiple configured sources
- Requires manual setup (API keys, additional sources)
Set the mode via Settings or SEARCH_MODE environment variable.
Environment Variables
Environment variables work for initial setup and Docker deployments. They serve as defaults that can be overridden in the web interface.
| Variable | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|
FLASK_PORT |
Web interface port | 8084 |
INGEST_DIR |
Book download directory | /cwa-book-ingest |
TZ |
Container timezone | UTC |
PUID / PGID |
Runtime user/group ID (also supports legacy UID/GID) |
1000 / 1000 |
SEARCH_MODE |
direct or universal |
direct |
Some of the additional options available in Settings:
- AA Donator Key - Use your paid account to skip Cloudflare challenges entirely and use faster, direct downloads
- Preferred source - Enable/disable and reorder available web sources for downloads
- Library Link - Add a link to your Calibre-Web or Booklore instance in the UI header
- Content Folders - Route fiction, non-fiction, comics, etc. to separate directories
- Network Resilience - Auto DNS rotation and mirror fallback when sources are unreachable. Custom proxy support (SOCK5 + HTTP/S), Tor routing.
- Format & Language - Filter downloads by preferred formats, languages and sorting order
- Metadata Providers - Configure API keys for Hardcover, Open Library, etc.
🐳 Docker Variants
Standard
docker compose up -d
Tor Variant
Routes all traffic through Tor for enhanced privacy:
curl -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/calibrain/calibre-web-automated-book-downloader/main/docker-compose.tor.yml
docker compose -f docker-compose.tor.yml up -d
Notes:
- Requires
NET_ADMINandNET_RAWcapabilities - Timezone is auto-detected from Tor exit node
- Custom DNS/proxy settings are ignored
External Cloudflare Resolver
Use FlareSolverr or ByParr instead of the built-in bypasser:
curl -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/calibrain/calibre-web-automated-book-downloader/main/docker-compose.extbp.yml
docker compose -f docker-compose.extbp.yml up -d
Configure the resolver URL in Settings under the Cloudflare tab.
When to use external vs internal bypasser:
- External is useful if you already run FlareSolverr for other services (saves resources) or if you rarely need bypassing
- Internal (default) is faster and more reliable for most users - it's optimized specifically for this application
🔐 Authentication
Authentication is optional but recommended for shared or exposed instances. Enable in Settings.
Alternative: If you're running Calibre-Web, you can reuse its user database by mounting it:
volumes:
- /path/to/calibre-web/app.db:/auth/app.db:ro
Health Monitoring
The application exposes a health endpoint at /api/status. Add a health check to your compose:
healthcheck:
test: ["CMD", "curl", "-sf", "http://localhost:8084/api/status"]
interval: 30s
timeout: 30s
retries: 3
Logging
Logs are available via:
docker logs <container-name>/var/log/cwa-book-downloader/inside the container (whenENABLE_LOGGING=true)
Log level is configurable via Settings or LOG_LEVEL environment variable.
Development
# Frontend development
make install # Install dependencies
make dev # Start Vite dev server (localhost:5173)
make build # Production build
make typecheck # TypeScript checks
# Backend (Docker)
make up # Start backend via docker-compose.dev.yml
make down # Stop services
make refresh # Rebuild and restart
make restart # Restart container
The frontend dev server proxies to the backend on port 8084.
Architecture
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Web Interface │
│ (React + TypeScript + Vite) │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Flask Backend │
│ (REST API + WebSocket) │
├───────────────────┬─────────────────────┬───────────────────┤
│ Metadata Providers│ Download Queue │ Cloudflare │
│ │ & Orchestrator │ Bypass │
├───────────────────┼─────────────────────┼───────────────────┤
│ • Hardcover │ • Task scheduling │ • Internal │
│ • Open Library │ • Progress tracking │ • External │
│ │ • Retry logic │ (FlareSolverr) │
├───────────────────┴─────────────────────┴───────────────────┤
│ Release Sources │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ • Direct Download (Anna's Archive → Libgen → Welib) │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Network Layer │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ • Auto DNS rotation • Mirror failover • Resume support │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
The backend uses a plugin architecture. Metadata providers and release sources register via decorators and are automatically discovered.
Contributing
Contributions are welcome! Please file issues or submit pull requests on GitHub.
Note
: Additional release sources and download clients are under active development. Want to add support for your favorite source? Check out the plugin architecture above and submit a PR!
License
MIT License - see LICENSE for details.
⚠️ Disclaimers
Copyright Notice
This tool can access various sources including those that might contain copyrighted material. Users are responsible for:
- Ensuring they have the right to download requested materials
- Respecting copyright laws and intellectual property rights
- Using the tool in compliance with their local regulations
Library Integration
Downloads are written atomically (via intermediate .crdownload files) to prevent partial files from being ingested. However, if your library tool (CWA, Booklore, Calibre) is actively scanning or importing, there's a small chance of race conditions. If you experience database errors or import failures, try pausing your library's auto-import during bulk downloads.
Support
For issues or questions, please file an issue on GitHub.