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Your Calibre library, in the browser.
Point ReadKinetic at your Calibre folder and it reads the catalogue — every title, author and series — then lets you choose what to bring across. No server to run, no account, and nothing uploaded.
Open ReadKinetic, then Import → Import a Calibre library.
Why this is normally hard
The usual way to read your Calibre library somewhere else is calibre-server: you leave a machine at home switched on, expose it to the network, and connect back to it. It works, and it means your reading depends on a computer in another room staying awake.
The other way is to copy files across by hand, one at a time, losing the metadata you spent years curating — because the title and author live in Calibre's database rather than in the filenames.
Neither is necessary. A Calibre library already carries its own metadata in plain text, next to each book. Nothing needs to be running for that to be readable.
How it actually works
The metadata is already in the folder
Every book folder contains a metadata.opf —
ordinary OPF XML, the same format found inside every EPUB,
holding the title, authors, series, tags and ISBN. Calibre's
metadata.db is never touched, which saves
shipping a SQLite engine to your browser to read something
that was sitting there in plain text.
The best copy of each book is chosen
Calibre routinely stores the same title three or four times over. EPUB is taken first, then AZW3, MOBI, FictionBook, Word, plain text, and PDF last. A PDF is a print layout, so it arrives with hyphens inside words and page numbers spliced through the prose — a worse read than the EPUB sitting beside it.
You choose, then it imports
The full list arrives with search and a checkbox on every row. It shows how much space your selection needs against what the browser allows, and will not start if the first exceeds the second. Anything that cannot be opened is named with its reason rather than quietly dropped, and stopping part-way keeps whatever already came across.
It works in more browsers than the modern way
Folder selection here uses webkitdirectory,
supported by about 92% of browsers including Firefox, Safari
and mobile. The newer File System Access API is desktop
Chrome and Edge only — under a third as many people — and a
one-shot read needs nothing it offers.
What it will not do
It will not read DRM-protected books. Those are encrypted, so no browser-based reader can open them, and they will appear in the list of books that could not be opened along with the reason. Nothing here strips DRM. Everything you added to Calibre from a DRM-free source imports normally — and if you are unsure which is which, the file checker will tell you about any single file.
It also does not sync. This is a one-way copy of the books you choose, into a library that lives in your browser on that device. Your place in each book can move between devices with a twelve-character code, but the library itself stays where you put it.
Common questions
Does this upload my library anywhere?
No. Your browser reads the folder once, on your machine, and the books are stored in your browser's own local database. There is no server involved and no account to make. The simplest proof is to disconnect from the internet and import anyway — it works, because there is nothing for it to reach.
Do I need Calibre installed, or a Calibre server running?
Neither. This reads the library folder directly. Calibre does not need to be open, and calibre-server does not need to be running — which is the point, because the usual answer to reading your library elsewhere is to leave a machine at home switched on.
How does it read the metadata without opening Calibre's database?
Every book folder in a Calibre library contains a metadata.opf file alongside the book. That is ordinary OPF XML — the same format that sits inside every EPUB — and it carries the title, the authors, the series, the tags and the ISBN. Reading Calibre's metadata.db would mean shipping a SQLite engine to your browser for information that is already sitting there in plain text.
My books exist as EPUB and MOBI and PDF. Which one does it take?
The best one, in that order: EPUB first, then AZW3, MOBI, FictionBook, Word, then plain text, and PDF last. This matters more than it sounds. A PDF is a print layout, so it arrives with hyphens mid-word, page numbers spliced through the prose and no chapters — importing the PDF of a book whose EPUB is sitting in the same folder gives a visibly worse read.
What about DRM-protected books?
They cannot be read, and they will be listed among the ones that could not be opened, with the reason. Nothing here strips DRM. Books you added to Calibre yourself from DRM-free sources — Tor, Baen, Standard Ebooks, Project Gutenberg, Leanpub, most academic publishers — import normally.
Will a five-hundred-book library fit?
It tells you before it starts. The selection screen shows how much space the books you have chosen need and how much your browser will allow, and refuses to begin if the first number is larger than the second. Books are parsed and written one at a time rather than held in memory together, so the size of the library does not decide whether the tab survives.
Which browsers does this work in?
Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Safari on the desktop, and Chrome and Safari on mobile — about 92% of browsers in use. It deliberately uses the older folder-selection method rather than the modern File System Access API, which despite being newer only works in desktop Chrome and Edge and reaches under a third as many people.
Can I choose which books come across?
Yes, and that is most of the feature. You get the full list with titles, authors and series, a search box, and a checkbox on every row. Nothing is imported until you say so.
Open a file and see.
Free, no account, nothing uploaded. Works offline once loaded.
Open ReadKinetic →Related: Will my file open? · Every supported format · Private speed reader · Read across devices