Why self-host your audio library?
Audiobook platforms impose their catalogues, their DRM and their monthly fees. With Audiobookshelf you import your own M4B, MP3 or FLAC files — whether purchased, borrowed or produced yourself — and access them from any device via open-source mobile apps. Your library grows at your pace, not theirs.
What Audiobookshelf brings to a ServOrbit VPS
- Streaming and sync — resume an audiobook exactly where you left off, on the web or on mobile, without a third-party cloud account.
- Open-source iOS and Android apps — the official clients are GPL-3.0, auditable and community-maintained.
- Subsonic API support — use Substreamer, DSub or any Subsonic client alongside the built-in web player.
- Integrated podcasts — subscribe to RSS feeds; episodes are downloaded automatically and playable in the same interface.
- Multi-user accounts — each family member has their own account, history and playlists.
- Automatic metadata — covers, chapters and descriptions pulled from Audnexus and OpenLibrary with no effort.
Supported audio formats
Audiobookshelf plays MP3, M4A, M4B (with chapters), AAC, OGG, FLAC, WAV, OPUS, AIFF and WMA. M4B chapter markers are displayed in the player with their titles and durations. Audible AAX files (DRM-protected) must be converted first with a third-party tool.
Setup without a domain name
Audiobookshelf does not require a domain name for local use. Open an SSH tunnel: ssh -L 13378:127.0.0.1:<port> root@<vps-ip> and go to http://localhost:13378. For permanent access from the mobile app, attach a domain from your ServOrbit dashboard — nginx proxies the container over HTTPS — or use the free {app}.{dns_slug}.servorbit-dns.com subdomain included with every VPS.
Backup and migration
Audiobookshelf cleanly separates your data: audio files live in /audiobooks and /podcasts volumes (never modified by the server), while the SQLite database and metadata live in /config and /metadata. To back up or migrate, copy these volumes via SFTP or rsync. The built-in JSON export lets you carry listening progress and bookmarks between instances.