Sending Books to E-readers via Email

Biblioteca allows you to send ebooks directly to your e-reader devices (such as Kindle, Kobo, or other devices that support email delivery) via email. This feature is similar to what Calibre-Web offers and makes it easy to transfer books to your devices.

Prerequisites

Before you can use this feature, your administrator must configure the email settings. The feature requires:

• A configured MAILER_DSN in the .env.local file (see Instance Configuration for administrators)
• Email sending capabilities enabled on the server

Setting Up Your E-reader Email Addresses

1. Go to your profile by clicking on your username in the sidebar, then select “My Profile”
2. Click on the “E-reader Emails” tab
3. Click “Add E-reader Email” to add a new e-reader email address
4. Fill in the form:
   • Name: A friendly name for your device (e.g., “My Kindle”, “Kobo Clara”)
   • Email: The email address associated with your e-reader device
5. Click “Save”

You can add multiple e-reader email addresses if you have multiple devices. Each device will appear as a separate option when sending books.

Finding Your E-reader Email Address

Different e-reader manufacturers provide email addresses for sending books:

• Kindle: Check your Amazon account settings under “Content and Devices” → “Preferences” → “Personal Document Settings”. Your Kindle will have an email address like yourname@kindle.com
• Kobo: Kobo devices don’t typically support email delivery, but you can use the Kobo sync feature instead
• Other devices: Check your device’s documentation or settings for the email address used for receiving documents

Sending Books to Your E-reader

Once you have configured at least one e-reader email address, you can send books directly from the book detail page:

1. Navigate to any book in your library
2. On the book detail page, you will see buttons for each of your configured e-reader devices (e.g., “Send to My Kindle”, “Send to Kobo Clara”)
3. Click the button for the device you want to send the book to
4. The book will be sent via email to that device’s email address
5. You will see a confirmation message when the book is successfully sent

The book will arrive in your e-reader’s email inbox, and most devices will automatically process and add it to your library.

File Size Limitations

Email providers typically have file size limits for attachments (usually around 25 MB). If a book file exceeds this limit, you will see an error message and the book will not be sent. In this case, you may need to:

• Use a different delivery method (such as downloading the book and transferring it manually)
• Contact your administrator to increase the file size limit if supported

Troubleshooting

No buttons appear on the book page

• Make sure you have added at least one e-reader email address in your profile settings
• Check that you are logged in to your account

Email sending fails

• Verify that your administrator has configured the MAILER_DSN setting correctly
• Check that the email address you configured is correct for your device
• Ensure the book file exists and is accessible
• Check the file size - it may exceed the maximum allowed size

Book doesn’t appear on my device

• Check your e-reader’s email inbox or document delivery settings
• Verify that the email address you configured matches your device’s email address
• Some devices may require you to approve the sender email address in their settings
• Check your device’s documentation for any additional setup requirements

Managing Your E-reader Email Addresses

You can manage your e-reader email addresses from your profile:

• Edit: Click the “Edit” button next to any e-reader email to modify its name or email address
• Delete: Click the “Delete” button to remove an e-reader email address you no longer use

Remember that you need at least one configured e-reader email address to use the send feature.