Move your audiobooks from Plex to Audiobookshelf

You can move from Plex to Audiobookshelf without moving a single file. Point Audiobookshelf at the same audiobook folders Plex reads, and run both until you’re happy.

Your files stay where they are, but nothing from Plex itself is imported: not your listening progress, and not the edits or collections you made in Plex. You mark finished books again yourself, and you can select many books and mark them finished together.

Can Plex and Audiobookshelf use the same folders?

Yes. Both can use the same audiobook files, so you don’t need a second copy. Audiobookshelf keeps its database, covers and the details you edit in its own config and metadata folders by default, not next to your books.

If you run Audiobookshelf in Docker, you can mount the audiobook folder read only while you try it out, so it can’t change anything Plex depends on:

volumes:
  # :ro means read only. Plex keeps working on the same files.
  - /path/to/audiobooks:/audiobooks:ro
  - ./config:/config
  - ./metadata:/metadata

Take :ro off later if you want to use the Audiobookshelf tools that write into your files, like Embed Metadata or Make M4B Audiobook File. The server settings that save covers and metadata inside each book’s folder need it off too. The Docker setup guide has the full compose file.

What folder layout works for both?

Plex’s music guide asks for one folder per artist with one folder per album inside it. Audiobookshelf wants one folder per author with one folder per book inside it. That’s the same shape, so a library that already works in Plex usually scans fine:

audiobooks/
  Andy Weir/
    Project Hail Mary/
      Project Hail Mary.m4b
  Terry Pratchett/
    Discworld/
      01 - The Colour of Magic/
        01.mp3
        02.mp3

Audiobookshelf also accepts a series folder between the author and the book, as in the Pratchett example. A book split into many MP3 files stays one book, as long as those files share one folder.

Audiobookshelf also reads the details saved inside your audio files (tags), such as the title and author. By default those win over the folder names, but each book still needs its own folder. The folder structure guide covers the naming rules and why two books sometimes merge into one.

How do I add my Plex audiobook folder to Audiobookshelf?

1. Install Audiobookshelf. The Docker quickstart gets you to the first login.
2. In the Audiobookshelf web page, go to Settings > Libraries and add a library.
3. Choose the folder Plex uses for audiobooks. In Docker, pick the path inside the container, such as /audiobooks.
4. Wait for the first scan to finish, then open a few books and check the titles, authors and chapters.
5. Leave Plex running. Turn it off once you’ve listened through Audiobookshelf for a while.

Does my listening progress move over?

No. Audiobookshelf starts with every book unplayed. There’s no import from Plex.

For books you’ve finished, you can mark them all at once in the Audiobookshelf web page:

1. Open the library and hover over a book cover. Click the small circle in its top-left corner to select it.
2. Select every other book you’ve finished. A bar with the number of selected books appears along the top.
3. Click the Mark as Finished button in that bar.

To mark a whole series, open the series, click the three-dot menu at the top and choose Mark as Finished.

For the book you’re in the middle of, note the time in Plex, start the book in Audiobookshelf and skip to that point. Audiobookshelf saves your place from then on, on the server, so apps signed in to the same account can pick it up.

Why use Audiobookshelf for audiobooks?

• Books, not albums - Audiobookshelf knows about authors, narrators, series and series order, and matches books against Audible, Google Books and Open Library for covers and descriptions.
• Progress on the server - your position is saved on the server for each user, so you can switch between the web page, phone apps and devices and pick up where you stopped.
• Podcasts and ebooks - podcast libraries that download new episodes, and EPUB, PDF and comic files next to your audiobooks. See ebooks and audiobooks in one library.
• Accounts for each listener - each person gets their own login, progress and library access.

Which app do I use on my iPhone?

If you like Prologue, you can keep it. Its App Store listing says it works with Plex, Audiobookshelf or both at the same time.

SoundLeaf is another option, built only for Audiobookshelf. The app comparison lines up SoundLeaf, Prologue and the other Audiobookshelf apps for iPhone.