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Import/Export

Guide to importing and exporting ebook libraries.

Importing Books

From Individual Files

# Import a single ebook
ebk import book.pdf ~/my-library

# Import multiple files with glob patterns
ebk import ~/books/*.epub ~/my-library

# Import with text extraction
ebk import book.pdf ~/my-library --extract-text

From Calibre

# Import entire Calibre library
ebk import-calibre ~/Calibre/Library --output ~/my-library

# Import with filters
ebk import-calibre ~/Calibre/Library --output ~/my-library --language en

Exporting Libraries

HTML Export

Export your library as a self-contained HTML file with pagination and interactive features:

# Basic HTML export (50 books per page)
ebk export html ~/my-library ~/library.html

# Export for web deployment (copies files and covers)
ebk export html ~/my-library ~/site/library.html \
  --base-url /library \
  --copy

# Export with filters
ebk export html ~/my-library ~/library.html \
  --language en \
  --format pdf \
  --min-rating 4

HTML Export Features:

  • Pagination: Automatically pages through books (50 per page)
  • URL State Tracking: Bookmarkable pages with filters and page numbers in URL
  • Client-side Filtering: Fast filtering by language, format, series, favorites, rating
  • Sorting: Sort by title, author, rating, or date added
  • Search Bar: Basic text search across titles, authors, and subjects
  • Responsive Design: Works on desktop and mobile
  • Offline Capable: Fully self-contained, no server required

File Copying with --copy:

The --copy flag copies both ebook files AND cover images to the output directory:

# Copies to: ~/site/library/ (based on --base-url)
ebk export html ~/my-library ~/site/library.html \
  --base-url /library \
  --copy

This creates: 

~/site/
├── library.html           # HTML catalog
└── library/               # Copied files (based on --base-url)
    ├── files/            # Ebook files
    │   ├── ab/
    │   │   └── abc123.pdf
    │   └── cd/
    │       └── cde456.epub
    └── covers/           # Cover images
        ├── ab/
        │   └── abc123.jpg
        └── thumbnails/
            └── abc123_thumb.jpg

Important: HTML export uses simple client-side filtering, not advanced search syntax. For advanced search (field-specific queries, boolean logic), use:

  • CLI: ebk search "title:Python rating:>=4"
  • Web server: ebk serve ~/my-library
  • Python API: lib.search("title:Python rating:>=4")

JSON Export

# Export metadata to JSON
ebk export json ~/my-library ~/metadata.json

# Pretty-printed JSON
ebk export json ~/my-library ~/metadata.json --indent 2

CSV Export

# Export to CSV format
ebk export csv ~/my-library ~/books.csv

# Export with specific columns
ebk export csv ~/my-library ~/books.csv --columns title,author,isbn

ZIP Archive

# Create backup archive
ebk export zip ~/my-library ~/backup.zip

# Include covers in archive
ebk export zip ~/my-library ~/backup.zip --include-covers

Import/Export Use Cases

Backup and Migration

# Full backup
ebk export zip ~/my-library ~/backup-$(date +%Y%m%d).zip

# Restore to new location
ebk init ~/new-library
ebk import ~/backup.zip ~/new-library

Web Deployment

# Export for Hugo static site
ebk export html ~/my-library ~/hugo/static/library.html \
  --base-url /library \
  --copy \
  --language en \
  --has-files

# Deploy to web server
rsync -av ~/hugo/ user@server:/var/www/site/

Library Sharing

# Export filtered subset
ebk export html ~/my-library ~/shared.html \
  --subject "Computer Science" \
  --format pdf \
  --min-rating 4

# Share the single HTML file (no server needed)

Data Analysis

# Export to JSON for analysis
ebk export json ~/my-library ~/data.json

# Use with jq, pandas, or other tools
cat ~/data.json | jq '.books[] | select(.rating >= 4) | .title'

See Also