Read your calibre comics on iPhone, iPad and Android
calibre itself doesn't run on an iPhone, iPad or Android phone, but its Content server can share your library over the internet. Connect that Content server to LiveComics with a calibre user name and password, and pick the comics you want. We download them on our side, and they open in any browser, page by page, one panel at a time, or read aloud with sound. Your Content server has to be reachable from the internet at an https address.
How do I connect calibre?
- In calibre, open Preferences, then Sharing over the net. On the Main tab, tick Require username and password to access the Content server, and add a user on the User accounts tab.
- On the Advanced tab, set Choose the type of authentication used to basic. Then stop and start the Content server from the Connect/share button.
- In LiveComics, open your library, tap From a link next to Add, then choose Your library server.
- Choose calibre, enter your Content server's https address with your calibre user name and password, and press Connect.
- Browse your libraries or search, tick the issues you want and press Add. When they have downloaded, choose how to import them and press Add.
You don't need the OPDS URL: the address the Content server opens at is enough, and if it runs under a URL prefix like /calibre, keep that in the address. You need a free account with a confirmed email.
Can I read my calibre library outside my home network?
Yes, once the Content server has a public https address. We fetch your comics from our servers, not from your phone, so the address calibre shows on its Connect/share menu, like http://192.168.1.5:8080, only works at home and can't be reached from our side. Neither can a bare IP address or a Tailscale address that only your own devices can see. The address needs a name and a valid certificate.
How do I make a home server reachable?
There are three common ways. Run a reverse proxy with your own domain name and a free Let's Encrypt certificate. Use a Cloudflare Tunnel, which gives the server a public https name without opening a port on your router. Or turn on Tailscale Funnel, which shares one service from your tailnet at a public https address. Then open that address on your phone with Wi-Fi off: if it loads there, it is reachable from the internet.
Why does calibre need basic sign-in?
calibre's Content server picks its sign-in for itself: basic when calibre has its own https certificate, and Digest otherwise. Behind a tunnel or a reverse proxy, calibre doesn't see the https, so it asks for Digest, which we can't use. calibre's own guide says to use basic behind an https proxy. If it is still on Digest, LiveComics tells you that your server asks for Digest sign-in.
Which calibre books can I import?
Comics stored as CBZ, CBR or PDF, up to 2.6 GB each. When a book has several formats in calibre, we take its CBZ, CBR or PDF, so an EPUB copy beside it doesn't get in the way. Books that are only EPUB show greyed out, marked not yet.
Does it work with calibre-web?
Yes. Choose calibre-web instead of calibre and sign in with a calibre-web user that has permission to download. calibre-web serves its catalog at /opds, and the address you open calibre-web at is enough.
Can my calibre comics be read aloud?
Yes, once you import them here. Choose Voiced when you import an issue and every speech balloon is read in order by two synthetic narrators matched to each speaker, with sound effects and a score, and subtitles show each line as it is spoken. Full cast, which gives every character their own voice, is a paid upgrade. Panel descriptions for blind and low-vision readers can be added too.
What happens when I pick comics?
Our servers download each issue from yours, two at a time, so it won't use your data plan. Issues you already have are marked In your library, so you can see what is new before you pick. When the downloads finish, the usual import choices open, and if you use the same choices for every issue, any that are already in your library are skipped rather than added twice.
What does it cost?
Connecting your server and browsing it are free. Pages only and Panel view, which shows one panel at a time framed to fill the screen, are free on every issue. Voiced adds two synthetic narrators matched to each speaker, sound effects and a score, priced per issue in credits, and you see the price before you press Add. A free account imports 30 comics a month and holds 1 GB, about 20 issues, with no card. Collector lifts the import limit.
What do you keep from my server?
Only the comics you import, and your Content server's address so you can open it again. Your calibre password is only used while you browse and import. It is never saved and never stored on our servers, so you type it again the next time you connect. We only talk to the exact address you connected, so a link in your feed can't send us anywhere else.
Straight answers
Is there a calibre app for iPhone or Android?
Not from calibre itself: calibre runs on your computer, and its Content server opens in a phone's browser. For comics, LiveComics works in Safari or Chrome with nothing to install: connect your Content server, import the issues you want, and read them panel by panel or read aloud.
What is the calibre OPDS URL?
It is your Content server's address with /opds on the end, like https://books.example.com/opds. You don't need to type it: enter the address and LiveComics finds the catalog.
What port does the calibre Content server use?
8080, unless you changed it. An address like http://192.168.1.5:8080 only works at home, so give the server a public https address before you connect it.
Can I connect calibre on my home network?
Not directly. The Content server needs a public https address that we can reach from the internet. A reverse proxy, a Cloudflare Tunnel or Tailscale Funnel gives it one.
Komga and Kavita remote access
Why does it say my server asks for Digest sign-in?
Because calibre's Content server is using Digest sign-in, which we can't use. In calibre, open Preferences, Sharing over the net, then Advanced, set Choose the type of authentication used to basic, and restart the server.
Which files can I import?
CBZ, CBR and PDF comics, up to 2.6 GB each. EPUB books show on your server's shelves but can't be imported from it yet.
Is it free?
Yes, to connect, browse and read. A free account imports 30 comics a month with 1 GB of storage, and voices are paid per issue in credits.
LiveComics is not affiliated with calibre or its developers. calibre is named here only as the software you connect to.