Shelfmark
$9.00 / month with a 7-day free trial and a $1.00 sign-up fee
Unified ebook and audiobook download hub — search web archives, torrent, Usenet, and IRC from a single interface.
A managed Shelfmark instance hosted on ElfHosted. Search and download ebooks and audiobooks from multiple sources — popular web archives, torrent, Usenet, and IRC — through one clean interface. Metadata from Hardcover and Open Library. Real-time download queue. Built-in Cloudflare bypass. Integrates directly with Calibre Web (Automated), BookLore, and Audiobookshelf as a download client.
One search box. Multiple sources. Ebooks and audiobooks land directly in your Calibre Web, BookLore, or Audiobookshelf library without a manual download-and-import loop.
What is Shelfmark?
Shelfmark is a self-hosted book and audiobook download aggregator. Instead of visiting four different sites, fighting Cloudflare, and manually importing each download, Shelfmark gives you a single search UI that queries multiple sources in parallel, shows a unified results list, and sends whatever you pick directly to your configured download clients and library servers.
Sources span web archives, torrent trackers, Usenet, and IRC. Metadata is pulled from Hardcover and Open Library so you get proper covers and descriptions, not raw filenames. The real-time queue shows every active download at a glance.
Key Features
- 🔎 Multi-source search: web archives, torrent, Usenet, and IRC — all from one search box. No tab-juggling.
- 📚 Two search modes: Direct (search source listings) and Universal (search Hardcover/Open Library for metadata-first discovery, then pull the file from any matched source).
- 🎧 Ebooks and audiobooks: full support for both formats with dedicated processing pipelines.
- 🛡️ Cloudflare bypass: built-in bypass for protected sources so results stay consistent.
- 📊 Real-time download queue: unified progress view across all active downloads and sources.
- 🔗 Library integration: sends finished downloads directly to Calibre Web (Automated), BookLore, or Audiobookshelf.
- 🏷️ Rich metadata: Hardcover and Open Library integration for accurate covers, descriptions, and series data.
- ⚙️ No-config defaults: popular web sources work out of the box; add more providers, sources, and clients as needed.
- 🔄 Updates handled: ElfHosted keeps Shelfmark current.
How Shelfmark Fits Into Your Reading Stack
Shelfmark is a download aggregator — it finds and fetches books, then hands them off. It doesn't replace your reading server. Pair it with:
- Calibre Web (Automated) — ebook library management with automated ingestion. Shelfmark sends downloads directly into CWA's inbox folder for processing.
- BookLore — upload-native PDF/ePub library. Shelfmark drops downloads into BookLore's watched folder.
- Audiobookshelf — audiobook and podcast server. Shelfmark handles audiobook discovery and downloading; ABS handles playback.
Shelfmark handles the hardest part — finding and fetching content across fragmented sources — while your existing library servers handle organisation, metadata, and reading/listening.
Why Run Shelfmark on ElfHosted?
Shelfmark needs to be co-located with your library servers for the "send to download client" integration to work without network complexity. On ElfHosted all the moving parts share the same backend storage:
- Finished downloads drop directly into your ElfHosted Calibre Web Automated, BookLore, or Audiobookshelf watched folders — no NFS, no path-mapping.
- Symmetric server bandwidth — Usenet and torrent sources hit Shelfmark at full speed, not at home-line speed.
- HTTPS on your own ElfHosted subdomain.
- SSO on the web UI.
- Updates roll out without you touching anything.
Technical Specifications
- 🛠️ Software: Shelfmark (FOSS)
- 🔍 Sources: web archives, torrent, Usenet, IRC (no-config defaults for popular web sources)
- 🏷️ Metadata providers: Hardcover, Open Library
- 🔗 Download targets: Calibre Web (Automated), BookLore, Audiobookshelf
- 🔑 Subscription: none required for Shelfmark; Usenet provider account required if using Usenet sources
- 🌐 Access: hosted on your ElfHosted subdomain with TLS and SSO
- 🔄 Updates: handled by ElfHosted
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I run Shelfmark without self-hosting it?
Add it to your ElfHosted subscription — this product is a managed Shelfmark instance pre-wired to your ElfHosted library servers. No Docker, no path-mapping.
What sources work out of the box?
Popular web archives are pre-configured and work without any setup. Torrent, Usenet, and IRC sources require your own accounts and credentials — Shelfmark doesn't provide access to external sources.
Do I need a Usenet subscription?
Only if you want Usenet as a source. Shelfmark is multi-source — you can use only web archive and torrent sources without a Usenet account.
Can it send downloads to multiple library servers?
Yes — configure as many download clients as you want. A single grab can go to Calibre Web Automated for your ebook library and a separate audiobook folder for Audiobookshelf simultaneously.
How is this different from Readarr?
Readarr monitors and grabs ebooks automatically based on library rules (similar to Sonarr for TV). Shelfmark is manual-search focused — you search for what you want, pick a result, and it downloads. Complementary rather than competing: Readarr for monitored automation, Shelfmark for one-off searches across sources Readarr doesn't cover.
Does it include any books or audiobooks?
No. Shelfmark is the search and download aggregator — it finds and fetches content from sources you configure. The content itself comes from those sources.
Hosted Shelfmark is the unified download hub for self-hosted book and audiobook libraries — one search, multiple sources, finished content landing directly in Calibre Web, BookLore, or Audiobookshelf without a manual import step. Bring your sources; we run the aggregator.
Only logged in customers who have purchased this product may leave a review.
Frequently bought together
Shelfmark
Unified ebook and audiobook download hub — search web archives, torrent, Usenet, and IRC from a single interface.
A managed Shelfmark instance hosted on ElfHosted. Search and download ebooks and audiobooks from multiple sources — popular web archives, torrent, Usenet, and IRC — through one clean interface. Metadata from Hardcover and Open Library. Real-time download queue. Built-in Cloudflare bypass. Integrates directly with Calibre Web (Automated), BookLore, and Audiobookshelf as a download client.
Openbooks
Web UI for IRC ebook downloads — search irc.irchighway.net without touching an IRC client.
A managed Openbooks instance hosted on ElfHosted. Search the IRC Highway #ebooks network via a clean web interface — type a title, pick a result, download direct to your browser or straight to rclone-mounted cloud storage. No IRC client, no DCC setup, no bots to configure. The oldest ebook source on the internet, with a modern front-end.
Related products
Audiobookshelf
Self-hosted audiobook and podcast server — your library, your apps, no Audible subscription.
A managed Audiobookshelf instance hosted on ElfHosted. Stream audiobooks and podcasts from your own library to native iOS, Android, and web apps — multi-user, with progress sync across devices. Fully open-source, no subscription required to the upstream project. Bring your own audiobook files and podcast feeds.
Calibre Web (Automated)
Self-hosted Calibre library web UI with automated ingestion, format conversion, and send-to-Kindle/Kobo.
A managed Calibre Web Automated instance hosted on ElfHosted. Browse, read, and download your Calibre ebook library via a modern web UI — plus an automated ingestion pipeline that processes new books dropped into an inbox folder, converts formats (EPUB→KEPUB for Kobo, etc.), and updates metadata without manual Calibre desktop sessions. OPDS support for Kindle and Kobo. Bring your existing Calibre library or start fresh.
Storyteller
Self-hosted ebook + audiobook fusion — combine your EPUB and its audiobook into a single EPUB 3 with Media Overlays so the words highlight as the narrator reads.
A managed Storyteller instance hosted on ElfHosted. Upload an ebook and its audiobook; Storyteller transcribes the audio, aligns it sentence-by-sentence with the ebook text, and outputs a single EPUB 3 file with Media Overlays. Open the result in any compatible reader — including the dedicated iOS and Android Storyteller apps — and read along while the narrator reads, with text highlighting in time. Audible's Immersion Reading / Whispersync for Voice, on your own files.
AudioBookRequest
Audiobook request UI for households — search Audible's catalog, submit requests, Prowlarr fulfils them automatically.
A managed AudioBookRequest instance hosted on ElfHosted. Users search the Audible catalog through a clean web UI, submit audiobook requests, and Prowlarr handles the rest — finding the audiobook via your configured indexers and downloaders, dropping it into the folder Audiobookshelf watches. Per-user accounts, request approval workflow, no manual NZB/torrent hunting.
AudioBookBay Automated
AudioBook Bay search-and-grab UI — find audiobooks, send the magnet to your torrent client or Decypharr.
A managed AudioBookBay Automated instance hosted on ElfHosted. Search AudioBook Bay through a clean web UI and send magnet links straight to your preferred download client — Deluge, qBittorrent, Transmission, or Decypharr via its qBit-compatible API for Real-Debrid streaming. Drops finished audiobooks into Audiobookshelf's watched folder. Bring your own torrent client or RD subscription.
Komga
Self-hosted comics and manga library server — series metadata, reading order, and Tachiyomi/Mihon native support.
A managed Komga instance hosted on ElfHosted. Serve CBZ, CBR, PDF, and EPUB comics and manga from your own library with full series and reading-order metadata, a polished web reader, and native Tachiyomi/Mihon support via the Komga extension. Fully FOSS. Bring your own comic and manga files.
BookLore
Self-hosted digital library for PDFs and ePubs — built-in reader, multi-user, OPDS, metadata from Goodreads and Google Books.
A managed BookLore instance hosted on ElfHosted. Host and manage your PDF and ePub library with a fast built-in web reader, automatic metadata from Goodreads, Amazon, and Google Books, multi-user access with per-library permissions, and an OPDS 1.2 catalog for external reading apps. No Calibre database required — upload books directly. Fully FOSS, actively maintained.
Kapowarr
The *arr for comics — automated comic-volume tracking, downloading, and renaming for Komga or Kavita libraries.
A managed Kapowarr instance hosted on ElfHosted. Add a comic volume, Kapowarr watches for new issues, finds them via direct or third-party sources (MediaFire, Mega, etc.), downloads, extracts, renames, and drops them into the folder Komga or Kavita watches. Same intuitive *arr UI as Sonarr and Radarr — comics-arr is what it sounds like.
Reviews
Clear filtersThere are no reviews yet.