HKUDS cli-anything-calibre
A stateful CLI harness for Calibre e-book management. Wraps the real Calibre tools (calibredb, ebook-convert, ebook-meta) to give AI agents and scripts a clean, structured interface for library operations, metadata editing, and format conversion.
Installation
This CLI is installed as part of the cli-anything-calibre package:
pip install git+https://github.com/HKUDS/CLI-Anything.git#subdirectory=calibre/agent-harness
Prerequisites:
- Python 3.10+
- Calibre must be installed on your system (hard dependency)
# Debian/Ubuntu
sudo apt-get install calibre
# macOS
brew install --cask calibre
# Verify tools are in PATH
which calibredb
which ebook-convert
which ebook-meta
Usage
Basic Commands
# Show help
cli-anything-calibre --help
# Start interactive REPL mode
cli-anything-calibre
# Connect to a Calibre library
cli-anything-calibre library connect ~/Calibre\ Library
# Run with JSON output (for agent consumption)
cli-anything-calibre --json books list
REPL Mode
When invoked without a subcommand, the CLI enters an interactive REPL session:
cli-anything-calibre
# Enter commands interactively with tab-completion and history
# Use 'help' to see available commands
# Use 'quit' or 'exit' to leave
Command Groups
Library
Library management commands.
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
connect <path> |
Set active library path |
info |
Show library statistics (book count, formats, db size) |
check |
Verify library integrity using calibredb check_library |
Books
Book operations (wrap calibredb).
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
list |
List books with filtering and sorting |
search <query> |
Search using Calibre query language |
add <files> |
Add book files to library |
remove <ids> |
Remove books (move to trash or permanent delete) |
show <id> |
Show full metadata for a book |
export <ids> |
Export books to directory |
export-chapters <id> |
Export each chapter as separate PDF (requires EPUB format) |
Meta
Metadata editing (wrap calibredb set_metadata).
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
get <id> [field] |
Get metadata (all or specific field) |
set <id> <field> <value> |
Set a metadata field |
embed <ids> |
Embed metadata into book files |
Formats
Format management (wrap calibredb + ebook-convert).
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
list <id> |
List available formats for a book |
add <id> <file> |
Add a format to a book |
remove <id> <fmt> |
Remove a format from a book |
convert <id> <input_fmt> <output_fmt> |
Convert book format |
Custom
Custom columns (wrap calibredb).
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
list |
List all custom columns |
add <label> <name> <type> |
Create custom column |
remove <label> |
Delete custom column |
set <id> <label> <value> |
Set custom field value |
Catalog
Catalog generation.
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
catalog <output> |
Generate a catalog of the library (EPUB, CSV, or OPDS) |
Examples
Connect and List Books
Connect to your Calibre library and list books.
cli-anything-calibre library connect ~/Calibre\ Library
cli-anything-calibre books list
# Or with JSON output
cli-anything-calibre --json books list --search "author:asimov"
Search and Filter
Search books using Calibre query language.
cli-anything-calibre books search "title:Foundation"
cli-anything-calibre books search "author:asimov and tags:scifi"
cli-anything-calibre books search "rating:>3"
Metadata Editing
Set metadata fields on books.
cli-anything-calibre meta set 42 title "New Title"
cli-anything-calibre meta set 42 series "Foundation"
cli-anything-calibre meta set 42 series_index 1
cli-anything-calibre meta set 42 tags "scifi,classic"
cli-anything-calibre meta set 42 rating 5
Format Conversion
Convert between e-book formats.
cli-anything-calibre formats convert 42 EPUB MOBI
cli-anything-calibre formats convert 42 EPUB PDF --output /tmp/book.pdf
Export Chapters as PDFs
Export each chapter of an EPUB as a separate PDF file.
cli-anything-calibre books export-chapters 42 --to-dir ./pdfs
cli-anything-calibre books export-chapters 42 --to-dir ./pdfs --chapters 1-5
Calibre Query Language
Used with books search and books list --search:
author:asimov # Author contains "asimov"
title:"Foundation" # Title phrase
tags:fiction # Tag match
rating:>3 # Rating greater than 3
series:"Foundation" # Series match
pubdate:[2020-01-01,2021-12-31] # Date range
identifiers:isbn:1234567890 # Specific identifier
has:cover # Has cover image
not:tags:fiction # Negation
author:asimov and tags:scifi # Boolean AND
Key Metadata Fields
| Field | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
title |
text | Book title |
authors |
text | Author names (&-separated) |
tags |
text | Comma-separated tags |
series |
text | Series name |
series_index |
float | Position in series |
rating |
float | Rating 1-5 |
publisher |
text | Publisher name |
pubdate |
datetime | Publication date |
comments |
text | Description/comments |
languages |
text | Language codes |
identifiers |
text | ISBN, ASIN, etc. (type:value) |
Supported Formats
Input: EPUB, MOBI, AZW, AZW3, PDF, HTML, DOCX, ODT, FB2, TXT, RTF, LIT, and more
Output (conversion): EPUB, MOBI, AZW3, PDF, HTML, DOCX, TXT, and more
State Management
The CLI maintains session state with:
- Session file:
~/.cli-anything-calibre/session.json - Library path persistence: Active library is saved across sessions
- Environment override:
CALIBRE_LIBRARYenvironment variable
Output Formats
All commands support dual output modes:
- Human-readable (default): Tables, colors, formatted text
- Machine-readable (
--jsonflag): Structured JSON for agent consumption
# Human output
cli-anything-calibre books list
# JSON output for agents
cli-anything-calibre --json books list
For AI Agents
When using this CLI programmatically:
- Always use
--jsonflag for parseable output - Check return codes - 0 for success, non-zero for errors
- Parse stderr for error messages on failure
- Verify outputs exist after export/conversion operations
- Use
--libraryflag orCALIBRE_LIBRARYenv to specify library path - Chapter export requires EPUB format - convert first if needed
More Information
- Full documentation: See README.md in the package
- Architecture SOP: See CALIBRE.md in the agent-harness directory
- Test coverage: See test_core.py and test_full_e2e.py in the tests directory
- Methodology: See HARNESS.md in the cli-anything-plugin
Version
1.0.0