Server guides · Setup
Is there an official Audiobookshelf iPhone app?
Not on the App Store. The official Audiobookshelf iPhone app is a TestFlight beta that is often full. Here's how seats free up, sideloading, and other apps.
Not on the App Store. The official Audiobookshelf app for iPhone is a beta you install through TestFlight, Apple’s app for testing apps before release, and its seats are often full.
If you can’t get in, you can sideload the official app, use a third-party app from the App Store, or use the Audiobookshelf web app in Safari.
Why does TestFlight say “This beta is full”?
Apple limits a TestFlight beta to 10,000 testers. The Audiobookshelf beta FAQ says the limit is Apple’s, and that “TestFlight is limited to 10k beta testers and requires testers to also install the TestFlight app.”
The Android app has no such limit, because Google Play betas aren’t capped.
As for why it’s still a beta, the FAQ says “the apps are still very much a work-in-progress” while the team works on the server, and “there is not an expected release date for the first-party apps to leave beta.”
When do TestFlight spots open up?
Seats are freed when a beta build expires. Testers who don’t update the Audiobookshelf beta are removed, but only when their build expires. The FAQ says: “We cannot remove people from the TestFlight beta until each beta build expires (90 days after release).”
So spots open about 90 days after each release. The FAQ keeps a table of clear dates, and when it’s out of date it says to add 90 days to the release dates on the app’s release list. Spots don’t last: “It usually takes a few days for the TestFlight to fill up again after spots are cleared.”
To try, open the join link from the Audiobookshelf beta FAQ on your iPhone. If it says “This beta is full”, wait for the next clear date.
My TestFlight build expired. What do I do?
Open TestFlight and install the newest Audiobookshelf build. Don’t delete the app to fix it; update it.
The FAQ says “As long as you keep the ABS app up to date in TestFlight, you will not be removed from the TestFlight”, and “a new beta build is pushed to TestFlight before each 90-day beta expires.”
Can I sideload the official app?
Yes. Sideloading means installing an app from a file instead of from the App Store or TestFlight. The latest release of the official app includes the iPhone app file (an .ipa).
The FAQ suggests a tool like AltStore or SideStore to install it. You need a computer for the setup, and the FAQ warns: “You will need to manually update sideloaded apps.”
Which Audiobookshelf apps are on the App Store?
Several third-party apps on the App Store work with your Audiobookshelf server. They’re made by independent developers, not the Audiobookshelf team. The official documentation keeps a list of third-party apps.
SoundLeaf is one of them, and this site is its home. It runs on iPhone, iPad, Mac (as the iPad app), Apple Watch and CarPlay, and needs iOS 17.6 or later. It signs in with your Audiobookshelf username and password, or your server’s single sign-on (OpenID) if it has one set up. It has no API key login.
To compare the choices, see Which Audiobookshelf iPhone app should you use? and SoundLeaf vs the official Audiobookshelf iOS app.
What if my iPhone is too old for the apps?
Each app lists its minimum iOS version on its App Store page. If yours is too old for all of them, use the Audiobookshelf web app:
- Open your server’s address in Safari and sign in.
- Tap the Share button, then Add to Home Screen.
It opens like an app from your home screen. The FAQ notes this “does not support offline use”, so it needs a connection to your server.
If your account is allowed to download, you can also download the files from the web app and open them in an audiobook app that can import them, but the FAQ points out that those apps “will not sync your progress with the ABS server.”