Calibre (software)

Last updated
Calibre
Original author(s) Kovid Goyal
Initial release31 October 2006;17 years ago (2006-10-31)
Stable release
7.5.1 [1]   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg / 9 February 2024
Repository
Written in Python, JavaScript, C++, C
Operating system Windows, macOS, Linux
Platform IA-32, x64
Size
  • Windows, IA-32: 60.4 MB
  • Windows, x64: 66.0 MB
  • macOS: 297.5 MB
  • Linux, IA-32: 58.9 MB
  • Linux, x64: 59.4 MB [2]
Type E-book reader, word processor
License GPL-3.0-only
Website calibre-ebook.com

Calibre is a cross-platform free and open-source suite of e-book software. Calibre supports organizing existing e-books into virtual libraries, displaying, editing, creating and converting e-books, as well as syncing e-books with a variety of e-readers. Editing books is supported for EPUB and AZW3 formats. Books in other formats like MOBI must first be converted to those formats, if they are to be edited. Calibre also has a large collection of community contributed plugins. [3]

Contents

History

On 31 October 2006, when Sony introduced its PRS-500 e-reader, Kovid Goyal started developing libprs500, aiming mainly to enable use of the PRS-500 formats on Linux. [4] With support from the MobileRead forums, Goyal reverse-engineered the proprietary Broad Band eBook (BBeB) file format. In 2008, the program, for which a graphical user interface was developed, was renamed "calibre", displayed in all lowercase. [5]

Features

Calibre supports many file formats and reading devices. Most e-book formats can be edited, for example, by changing the font, font size, margins, and metadata, and by adding an auto-generated table of contents. Conversion and editing are easily applied to appropriately licensed digital books, but commercially purchased e-books may need to have digital rights management (DRM) restrictions removed. Calibre does not natively support DRM removal, but may enable DRM removal after installing plug-ins with such a function. [6] [7]

Calibre enables users to sort and group e-books by metadata fields. Metadata can be pulled from many different sources, e.g., ISBNdb.com; online booksellers; and providers of free e-books and periodicals in the US and elsewhere, such as the Internet Archive, Munsey's Magazine , and Project Gutenberg; and social networking sites for readers, such as Goodreads and LibraryThing. It is possible to search the Calibre library by various fields, such as author, title, or keyword. Full text search is available from Calibre 6.0 onwards. [8]

E-books can be imported into the Calibre library, either by sideloading files manually or by wirelessly syncing an e-book reading device with the cloud storage service in which the Calibre library is backed up, or with the computer on which Calibre resides. Also, online content can be harvested and converted to e-books. This conversion is facilitated by so-called recipes, short programs written in a Python-based domain-specific language. E-books can then be exported to all supported reading devices via USB, Calibre's integrated mail server, or wirelessly. Mailing e-books enables, for example, sending personal documents to the Amazon Kindle family of e-readers and tablet computers. [9] [10] [11] [12]

This can be accomplished via a web browser, if the host computer is running and the device and host computer share the same network; in this case, pushing harvested content from content sources is supported on a regular interval (called 'subscription').[ citation needed ] Also, if the Calibre library on the host computer is stored in a cloud service, such as Box.net, Google Drive, or Dropbox, then either the cloud service or a third-party app, such as Calibre Cloud or CalibreBox, can remotely access the library. [13] [14] [15] [16] [17]

Since version 1.15, released in December 2013, Calibre also contains an application to create and edit e-books directly, similar to the more full-featured editor tools of the Sigil application, but without the latter's WYSIWYG editing mode. [18]

Associated apps

See also

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barnes & Noble Nook 1st Edition</span> First generation Nook e-reader developed by Barnes & Noble

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References

  1. "version 7.5.1". 9 February 2024. Retrieved 15 February 2024.
  2. Goyal, Kovid. "calibre release (3.10.0)". calibre-ebook.com. Retrieved 24 October 2017.
  3. "Index of calibre plugins". plugins.calibre-ebook.com. Retrieved 2023-12-12.
  4. "Interview: Kovid Goyal, creator of calibre". 9 October 2013.
  5. "calibre – About". Calibre-ebook.com. November 2009. Retrieved 2013-07-29.
  6. Sorrel, Charlie. "How To Strip DRM from Kindle E-Books and Others". Wired.com . Retrieved 4 August 2012.
  7. Zukerman, Erez (December 28, 2012). "How To Break The DRM On Kindle eBooks So You Can Enjoy Them Anywhere". MakeUseOf.
  8. "calibre - New in calibre 6.0". calibre-ebook.com. Retrieved 2023-05-06.
  9. "Transferring Kindle Books to Calibre". Amazon.com. Archived from the original on 18 October 2016. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
  10. "About Calibre". Calibre-ebook.com.
  11. Hoffmann, Eric. "EBook Software: Calibre". MobileRead Forums.
  12. "Featured Tips n Tricks: How to Use Dropbox to store all your ebooks in the cloud". TouchMyApps. December 5, 2011.
  13. Wallen, Jack (February 28, 2011). "How to Use Calibre to Access Your eBook Collection Online". TechRepublic.
  14. Biba, Paul (February 18, 2010). "How to Create Your Own Cloud of eBooks with Calibre, Dropbox, and Calibre OPDS". TeleRead.
  15. "Calibre2OPDS". MobileRead.
  16. Slangen, Simon (August 5, 2013). "How To Manage Your Ebook Collection For The Amazon Kindle With Calibre". MakeUseOf.
  17. Litte, Jane (July 24, 2011). "Create Your Own Cloud of Ebooks with Calibre + Calibre OPDS..." Dear Author. Retrieved July 24, 2011.
  18. "Calibre 1.15 eBook Manager Now Features a Native and Complete Book Editor". news.softpedia.com. 13 December 2013. Retrieved 2023-09-22.
  19. "Calibre Cloud". Google Play. Google, Inc. Archived from the original on 5 April 2016. Retrieved October 23, 2017.
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  22. "Calibre Companion". MultiPie. MultiPie, Ltd. Retrieved October 23, 2017.
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  24. Seng, Jea Lee. "Calibre Sync". Google Play. Archived from the original on April 11, 2016. Retrieved October 23, 2017.
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Further reading