Install calibre with Homebrew Cask

Project links

• Homepage
• Package manager page

Commands and aliases

• calibre-complete
• calibre-customize
• calibre-debug
• calibre-parallel
• calibre-server
• calibre-smtp
• calibredb
• ebook-convert
• ebook-device
• ebook-meta
• ebook-polish
• ebook-viewer
• fetch-ebook-metadata
• lrf2lrs
• lrfviewer
• lrs2lrf
• markdown-calibre
• web2disk
• ebook-edit
• calibre

Project history

Kovid Goyal began calibre in 2006 under the name libprs500, initially to support the Sony PRS-500 e-book reader on Linux. The project broadened beyond one device, acquired library management and conversion capabilities, and was renamed calibre in 2008.

The project developed into a complete open-source e-book suite encompassing library management, format conversion, news fetching, editing, viewing, device transfer, and network serving. It is primarily written in Python with C and C++ components for performance and system integration.

Adoption history

calibre grew into a cross-platform e-book suite with a large user community, extensive translations, plugins, device integrations, and both graphical and command-line tools. The project credits community code, artwork, translations, and bug reports as central to its development.

It is distributed directly for Windows, macOS, and Linux and is also widely represented in operating-system package managers. Upstream recommends its own binary installer on Linux because distribution builds may differ from supported upstream releases.

How it is used

Most users manage books through the desktop application, adding files to a calibre library and using its metadata, conversion, reader, editor, device-transfer, and content-server features. Power users automate the same ecosystem with commands such as ebook-convert, calibredb, calibre-server, and ebook-meta.

CALIBRE_CONFIG_DIRECTORY can override the platform configuration directory. Library metadata is separate from application configuration and normally lives in metadata.db inside each calibre library. calibre does not require a general credentials file, although individual plugins or network features may maintain their own settings.

Why package nerds care

calibre is a package-manager staple because it combines a desktop library manager with a broad command-line toolkit, conversion engine, metadata system, content server, device support, and plugin API. Its unusually broad format and device coverage makes it infrastructure for many personal e-book workflows.

The repository has a long Git history, and the project follows a frequent release cadence. For packagers, that breadth and cadence make calibre both valuable and comparatively complex, with Python, native components, Qt, bundled resources, and platform integrations.

Timeline

• 2006: Development began as libprs500 for the Sony PRS-500 e-book reader.
• 2008: The project was renamed calibre as its scope expanded beyond a single device.
• Subsequent years: calibre developed a large plugin, device, format, translation, and command-line ecosystem around frequent upstream releases.

Related projects

• libprs500 was calibre's original project name.
• Sony PRS-500 support motivated the original implementation.
• calibre-web is a separate related web application and is not the official calibre interface.
• E-book reader devices and formats from many vendors are supported through calibre's conversion and device-driver ecosystem.

Sources

• Official about page: https://calibre-ebook.com/about
• Official download history: https://calibre-ebook.com/downloads
• Official get-involved page: https://calibre-ebook.com/get-involved
• Official user manual: https://manual.calibre-ebook.com/