Audiobookify

Convert EPUB and MOBI/AZW files to high-quality M4B audiobooks using Microsoft Edge's cloud-based text-to-speech.

Forked from epub2tts-edge with enhanced chapter detection, batch processing, and a terminal UI.

Requires an internet connection. Edge TTS is a cloud service: the text of every book you convert is sent to Microsoft's speech endpoint. There is no offline mode yet — see ROADMAP.md.

Features

• Multi-Format Support - EPUB, MOBI, AZW, and AZW3 files
• Enhanced Chapter Detection - Parses Table of Contents (EPUB2/EPUB3) and HTML headings
• Batch Processing - Convert entire folders of ebooks at once
• Terminal UI - Interactive interface for easy conversion
• Smart Resume - Picks up where it left off if interrupted
• Chapter Markers - Proper M4B chapter navigation
• Cover Art - Automatically embeds cover images
• Fast - Parallel sentence processing for quick conversion

New in v2.3.0

• MOBI/AZW Support - Parse Kindle format ebooks (MOBI, AZW, AZW3)
• Docker Support - Containerized deployment with docker-compose
• Calibre Plugin - Convert books directly from Calibre library

New in v2.2.0

• Audio Normalization - Consistent volume across chapters (--normalize)
• Silence Trimming - Remove excessive pauses (--trim-silence)
• Custom Pronunciation - Dictionary for proper nouns (--pronunciation)
• Multiple Voices - Different voices for characters (--voice-mapping)

New in v2.1.0

• Voice Preview - Listen to voices before converting (--preview-voice)
• Speed/Volume Control - Adjust speech rate and volume (--rate, --volume)
• Chapter Selection - Convert only specific chapters (--chapters "1-5")
• Pause/Resume - Continue interrupted conversions (--resume)

Note: EPUB and MOBI/AZW files must be DRM-free

Quick Start

# Install (use pipx for isolated environment)
pipx install audiobookifier
# Or: pip install audiobookifier

# Convert a single EPUB
audiobookify mybook.epub              # Export to text
audiobookify mybook.txt               # Convert to audiobook

# Convert a MOBI/AZW file
audiobookify mybook.mobi              # Export to text
audiobookify mybook.azw3              # Export to text

# Or use the short alias
abfy mybook.epub

# Batch convert a folder
audiobookify /path/to/books --batch

# Launch interactive TUI
audiobookify --tui

Docker

The image runs as a non-root user (uid 1000). A bind-mounted directory keeps its host ownership, so pass --user "$(id -u):$(id -g)" unless your host uid already happens to be 1000 — otherwise the container cannot write the finished audiobook back into the mount, and you get a "Could not move audiobook" warning with the output stranded inside the container.

# Build the image
docker build -t audiobookify .

# Export EPUB to text
docker run --rm --user "$(id -u):$(id -g)" -e HOME=/tmp \
    -v $(pwd)/books:/books audiobookify /books/mybook.epub

# Convert to audiobook
docker run --rm --user "$(id -u):$(id -g)" -e HOME=/tmp \
    -v $(pwd)/books:/books audiobookify /books/mybook.txt

# Batch processing
docker run --rm --user "$(id -u):$(id -g)" -e HOME=/tmp \
    -v $(pwd)/books:/books audiobookify /books --batch

# Using docker-compose
docker-compose build
docker-compose run audiobookify /books/mybook.epub

-e HOME=/tmp is needed alongside --user because the overridden uid has no home directory in the image, and the job scratch directory lives under $HOME. Output is written next to the source file, so it lands in your mounted folder.

Calibre Plugin

Convert books directly from your Calibre library:

# Build the plugin
cd calibre_plugin
./build_plugin.sh

# Install in Calibre:
# 1. Preferences → Plugins → Load plugin from file
# 2. Select audiobookify-calibre.zip
# 3. Restart Calibre

See calibre_plugin/README.md for detailed instructions.

Usage

Single File Conversion

# Step 1: Export EPUB to text (review/edit chapters)
audiobookify mybook.epub

# Step 2: Convert text to audiobook
audiobookify mybook.txt --cover mybook.png

Batch Processing

# Process all EPUBs in a folder
audiobookify /path/to/books --batch

# Recursive (include subfolders)
audiobookify /path/to/library --batch --recursive

# Export only (no audio conversion)
audiobookify /path/to/books --batch --export-only

# Custom output directory
audiobookify /path/to/books --batch -o /path/to/audiobooks

Terminal UI

# Launch TUI
audiobookify /path/to/books --tui

# Or use dedicated command
audiobookify-tui /path/to/books

# Short alias
abfy-tui

Keyboard Shortcuts:

Voice Preview & Adjustment (v2.1.0)

# List available voices
audiobookify --list-voices

# Preview a voice before converting
audiobookify --preview-voice                           # Preview default voice
audiobookify --preview-voice --speaker en-US-JennyNeural  # Preview specific voice

# Adjust speech rate
audiobookify mybook.txt --rate "+20%"   # 20% faster
audiobookify mybook.txt --rate "-10%"   # 10% slower

# Adjust volume
audiobookify mybook.txt --volume "+50%"  # Louder
audiobookify mybook.txt --volume "-25%"  # Quieter

# Combine adjustments
audiobookify mybook.txt --rate "+20%" --volume "-10%"

Chapter Selection (v2.1.0)

# Convert specific chapters only
audiobookify mybook.txt --chapters "1-5"       # Chapters 1 through 5
audiobookify mybook.txt --chapters "1,3,7"     # Chapters 1, 3, and 7
audiobookify mybook.txt --chapters "5-"        # Chapter 5 to end
audiobookify mybook.txt --chapters "1,3,5-7"   # Mix of single and ranges

Pause/Resume (v2.1.0)

# Resume an interrupted conversion
audiobookify mybook.txt --resume

# Start fresh (ignore saved progress)
audiobookify mybook.txt --no-resume

Conversions automatically save progress and can be resumed after Ctrl+C interruption.

Audio Normalization (v2.2.0)

# Normalize volume across chapters
audiobookify mybook.txt --normalize

# Custom target loudness (default: -16 dBFS)
audiobookify mybook.txt --normalize --normalize-target -14.0

# Use RMS method instead of peak
audiobookify mybook.txt --normalize --normalize-method rms

Silence Trimming (v2.2.0)

# Trim excessive silence
audiobookify mybook.txt --trim-silence

# Custom silence threshold (default: -40 dBFS)
audiobookify mybook.txt --trim-silence --silence-thresh -50

# Maximum silence duration (default: 2000ms)
audiobookify mybook.txt --trim-silence --max-silence 1500

Custom Pronunciation (v2.2.0)

Create a pronunciation dictionary file:

JSON format (pronunciation.json):

{
  "Hermione": "Her-my-oh-nee",
  "Voldemort": "Vol-de-mor",
  "Nguyen": "Win"
}

Text format (pronunciation.txt):

# Comments start with #
Hermione = Her-my-oh-nee
Voldemort = Vol-de-mor

# Use pronunciation dictionary
audiobookify mybook.txt --pronunciation pronunciation.json

# Case-sensitive matching
audiobookify mybook.txt --pronunciation pronunciation.txt --pronunciation-case-sensitive

Multiple Voices (v2.2.0)

Create a voice mapping file (voices.json):

{
  "default_voice": "en-US-AndrewNeural",
  "narrator_voice": "en-US-GuyNeural",
  "character_voices": {
    "Harry": "en-GB-RyanNeural",
    "Hermione": "en-GB-SoniaNeural",
    "Dumbledore": "en-GB-ThomasNeural"
  }
}

# Use voice mapping for multi-voice narration
audiobookify mybook.txt --voice-mapping voices.json

# Just set a different narrator voice (non-dialogue)
audiobookify mybook.txt --narrator-voice en-US-GuyNeural

The multi-voice processor automatically detects dialogue (quoted text) and attributes speakers.

Tip: See the examples/ folder for sample pronunciation and voice mapping files you can use as templates.

Chapter Detection Options

# Detection method
audiobookify mybook.epub --detect toc        # Table of Contents only
audiobookify mybook.epub --detect headings   # HTML headings only
audiobookify mybook.epub --detect combined   # Both (default)
audiobookify mybook.epub --detect auto       # Auto-select best

# Hierarchy display style
audiobookify mybook.epub --hierarchy flat       # Chapter 1
audiobookify mybook.epub --hierarchy numbered   # 1.1 Chapter 1
audiobookify mybook.epub --hierarchy arrow      # Part 1 > Chapter 1
audiobookify mybook.epub --hierarchy breadcrumb # Part 1 / Chapter 1

# Preview chapters without converting
audiobookify mybook.epub --preview

# Limit chapter depth
audiobookify mybook.epub --max-depth 2

All Options

List available voices: audiobookify --list-voices or edge-tts --list-voices

Installation

Requirements: Python 3.11+, FFmpeg, espeak-ng

Quick Install (PyPI)

# Recommended: use pipx for isolated CLI installation
pipx install audiobookifier

# Or with pip in a virtual environment
pip install audiobookifier

Platform-Specific Setup

# Install system dependencies
sudo apt install espeak-ng ffmpeg python3-venv pipx

# Option 1: pipx (recommended for CLI tools)
pipx install audiobookifier

# Option 2: Virtual environment
git clone https://github.com/loganrooks/audiobookify
cd audiobookify
python3 -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate
pip install -e .

# Install system dependencies
brew install espeak ffmpeg pipx

# Option 1: pipx (recommended for CLI tools)
pipx install audiobookifier

# Option 2: Virtual environment
git clone https://github.com/loganrooks/audiobookify
cd audiobookify
python3 -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate
pip install -e .

# Option 1: pipx (recommended)
pip install pipx
pipx install audiobookifier

# Option 2: Virtual environment
git clone https://github.com/loganrooks/audiobookify
cd audiobookify
py -m venv .venv
.venv\Scripts\activate
pip install -e .

docker build . -t audiobookify

# Export EPUB
docker run --rm --user "$(id -u):$(id -g)" -e HOME=/tmp \
    -v ~/Books:/files audiobookify "/files/mybook.epub"

# Convert to audiobook
docker run --rm --user "$(id -u):$(id -g)" -e HOME=/tmp \
    -v ~/Books:/files audiobookify "/files/mybook.txt"

Development Install

git clone https://github.com/loganrooks/audiobookify
cd audiobookify
./scripts/setup-dev.sh   # system deps, venv, dev extras, NLTK data, pre-commit
./scripts/doctor.sh      # report what your environment can verify

Running Tests

# Run all tests (no network calls; TTS is mocked)
python -m pytest tests/

# Run with coverage
python -m pytest tests/ --cov=epub2tts_edge --cov-report=html

Tests requiring ffmpeg skip automatically if it isn't installed. The live Edge TTS connectivity tests in tests/test_tts_connectivity.py do make real network calls — set SKIP_TTS_TESTS=1 to skip them (CI does this, and runs them separately on a schedule).

Documentation

For users

• CHANGELOG.md - What changed in each release
• ROADMAP.md - Planned features and known limitations
• SECURITY.md - Reporting vulnerabilities, privacy notes

For contributors

• CONTRIBUTING.md - Development setup and contribution guidelines
• Project Review - Current state of the codebase and infrastructure
• Uplift Plan - Sequenced engineering priorities
• docs/ - Architecture notes, testing strategy, and design records

Credits

Original Author: Christopher Aedo (epub2tts-edge)

Fork Maintainer: loganrooks

Contributing

Contributions welcome! See CONTRIBUTING.md.

License

GPL 3.0