OpenAudible Documentation

This Audiobook Manager lets you catalog and organize your audiobook collection. It is optimized for Audible users, but can import MP3/M4A/M4B audiobooks as well.

Please respect copyright owners by not distributing files created with OpenAudible.

Quick Start

Here is a quick start guide to get you going.

  1. Download, install and launch OpenAudible
  2. Go to Edit: Preferences, and select M4B or MP3 encoding. M4B encoding is recommended.
  3. Select: Controls: Connect to Audible and log onto your audible account.
  4. Your book list should be loaded, and the option to download and covert them all displayed.
  5. Click yes, or you can click no to manually download or convert your books.
  6. Downloading and conversion can take a while. You'll need to be patient!
  7. Click on the "Downloading" or "Converting" Library Status lines to see which books are downloading or converting. Click on one to see detailed progress.
  8. To find the converted book files, select one and right-click "Show MP3" or "Show M4B"
  9. Periodically run Controls: Quick Audible Library Sync to update your latest purchases!
  10. Full help is available under the About Menu (or by pressing F1) which shows this document!

Installation

Install the version for your platform. OpenAudible is an unsigned application. Only download from openaudible.org. You may need to 'approve' the running of OpenAudible from your operating system, and if you use anti-malware or anti-virus apps, you may need to learn how to run unsigned applications.

Choose one of the installers from the official download page. Only 64-bit architectures are supported on x86_64/AMD64, which is most modern computers.

Note: Mac users should open the OpenAudible.dmg file by selecting it in Finder and Control-Clicking the application, then select Open (right-click "Open"). This is due to our not being available in the Apple Store and/or not having a signing certificate. You may also need to update your GateKeeper settings to allow unsigned apps to run.

Connecting to Audible

Note: Before jumping in, its a good idea to set up your main Preferences where you can change the location of saved files, set the audio output format.

Getting your books from Audible is pretty simple. Books can be automatically downloaded and converted to a format that works with any audio player.

Initial Connect to Audible

OpenAudible can read and import your library automatically. OpenAudible uses the Amazon/Audible web browser to connect and never saves your username or password. However, a credentials token is saved so you can stay connected until you decide to Controls: Log Out of Audible.

  1. Select Controls: Connect to Audible.
  2. Choose your audible region that you normally log into. If you're using an old Audible username account that isn't an email address, check the box. Then click OK.
  3. Log in using the web browser, answering any CAPTCHAs and verifying account with 2-factor email or text messages to prove your humanity.

Once logged in to your audible account in the browser, your books will be loaded and shown in the OpenAudible window. The OpenAudible Library status should change to Connected: Yes.

After a library scan, you'll be asked if you want to download and convert your books. If you click No, you can manually select books to download and or convert.

Syncing your Library

When you purchase new audiobooks, you can select Controls: Quick Audible Library Sync which will add any newly added books.

You can select Controls: Full Audible Library Sync to get all of your books and update metadata that may have changed, such as ratings or book descriptions.

Downloading Audible Books

Books that were not automatically downloaded can be downloaded by selecting them selecting Action: Download.

Downloading a book can take several minutes. To see the progress click on the "Library Status:Downloads" panel item to see books currently downloading or waiting to be downloaded. Select a book and look at the "State" under the Book Info panel to see its download or conversion state.

Once a book is downloaded, it can be manually or automatically converted to the audio format of your choice.

Some books include a PDF companion file. If available, those will be downloaded when the audio is downloaded.

Converting Audible Files

Convert your Audible AAX files to M4B or MP3 easily by selecting a book and selecting Action: Convert to ... or convert them all by Controls: Convert All to ... .

We recommend using M4B for most use cases. But if you have an MP3 player that doesn't support M4B files, you can choose to convert your audiobook files to MP3.

Audible files are kept in the AAX directory. Once converted, you may decide to delete the AAX files to save space.

Preferences

You can set a location for saved audiobooks, set the conversion output format, choose a language, or enable dark mode.

preferences dialog

Use Edit: Preferences view and change the application preferences.

Main Window

From left to right, top to bottom, the OpenAudible main window has a search bar, version/news indicator, Library Status Panel, Audiobook Info, Summary Panel, and Audiobook table that lists your books.

main window

Searching

The search bar at the top right of the app allows you to filter books by keywords. Use CTRL-F to activate the search. Use Escape to clear the search results and display all books.

To the right, a line of text displays the current version, and if there are any upgrades or news available.

Library Status

This shows your library stats.

These stats are updated periodically and reflect our best attempt at determining these values. For instance, Hours depends on being able to determine a book's duration.

Note: Click on any blue label to see books that match that filter. For instance, click 'Downloading' to see all books that are being downloaded or queued for downloading.

Audiobook Info

Information about a selected book is displayed here. This info is collected from web or meta tags and cannot (at this time) be edited.

The blue labels on the left side can be clicked on to filter books by title, author, narrator, genre, or publisher.

Clicking the blue text on the right side will open the browser to display the audible page for the title, author, narrator, genre, or publisher.

The info for each data element is self-explanatory. The State field shows any errors or tasks that can be performed. The ID contains the Product_ID/ASIN.

Audiobook Table

The list of your books. Click on a book and the book's information will populate into the "Audiobook Info" panel.

An icon on the left side shows the book's status. The status icons available are:

Status Green Audiobook is available as an MP3 or M4B audiobook file
Status White Audiobook is ready to download
Status Red Audiobook is missing and has no download link. May need to be deleted. This can happen if you import a book and delete the audio file.
Status AAX Audiobook is ready to convert from AAX to MP3 or M4B
Status Converting Audiobook is being converted to MP3 or M4B. Click on the book to see the progress in the Book Info Panel.
Status Convert Queue Audiobook is in the conversion queue and is scheduled to be converted.
Status downloading Audiobook is being downloaded. Click on the book to see the progress in the Book Info Panel.
Status downloading_queue Audiobook is in the download queue and is scheduled to be downloaded.

Menus

Importing/Exporting

Exporting JSON and CSV

To export a list of your books (not the audiobooks files), select File: Export Book List and set the "Save as Type:" to either JSON or CSV.

Your audible library can be exported as a web page, json file, or .csv (Excel) file from the File menu, so you'll have a list of all your books.

Exporting Web Page

This optional feature lets you export your books as a web page. if you want to access your books on your own personal web server. Please ensure that you password-protect this file to prevent the unauthorized distribution of copyrighted works.

This feature is likely to change in the future. It creates a rather large copy of all the converted books, doubling the amount of space needed to save your books.

Importing

Importing is recommended when you can't download and import books directly from Audible using the Library Sync features.

Use the File: Import Books menu, or drag and drop "whole book audio files" of type MP3, M4B, M4A, directories, ZIP, AA or AAX files onto the Library Status Panel of the OpenAudible application.

Zip files are a special case, and somewhat experimental. The idea is you can download zip files from Librivox and drag them onto OpenAudible. If the zip file contains at least one audio file and an optional image file, the book will be automatically "joined". The audio files need to be alphabetically sorted to join correctly. If you experience problems, you may need to unzip the files and manually add them. This is an experimental feature.

Directories are similarly handled-- we assume a directory needs to be "joined".

Note: Only import full books and not books split into multiple parts. To import a book that contains multiple audio files, please see Joining Files in the next section, or import from a zip file.

Import from URL is a feature that lets you download a book from a web URL directly into your library. If you send a link to an HTML page, we will look for a zip file or audio file and import that. Please use with care as this is an experimental feature. You don't want to accidentally add a bunch of audio files that aren't books to your library.

Splitting and Joining Audio Files

OpenAudible prefers 1 audio file per audiobook. Its how our software was designed. However, many people prefer an audiobook split by chapter.

Its also possible to download a book in a zip file that may contain multiple parts, that can be combined to create a whole book in a single audio file. See Importing zip files above.

Join Audio Files

Some audiobooks contain multiple audio files. To import these into your library, or to simply have a single audio file for each book, you can use the Join Audio Files command, under the File Menu. To join audio files into a single mp3 file, choose "Join Audio Files" from the File menu. Select a directory that contains all the audio files. If an image file is present, it will be used as the cover art. Audio files in the directory will be sorted alphabetically and joined. Next, select a destination directory for the output file. It can be the OpenAudible's "temp" directory, or anywhere. After joining, you will be asked if you want to import (move) the file to your OpenAudible library.

Pro tip:You can drag and drop one or more book directories onto OpenAudible to import books into your library as a single mp3 or m4b file.
Each directory should contain one audiobook, with one or more audio files and 1 optional JPG or PNG cover image file. All parts of the book must be in the correct order alphabetically, so be careful if you have a book that is chapter 1, chapter 2... chapter 11, as those may sort chapter 11 after chapter 1.

Split By Chapter

You can now export a single book as a folder of mp3/m4a files. Do put split audio files into the OpenAudible working (mp3/m4a) directories or attempt to import them into OpenAudible, or you could end up with a mess.

We still do not recommend splitting books. We prefer one book, one file. Use good audiobook software that can handle chapter metadata and keep track of where you were listening across all your devices.

  1. Select one or more books and select a destination directory. Action: Split by Chapter
  2. To Select a file not in your OpenAudible library, select File: Split by Chapter and select any MP3 file you wish to split.
  3. Select a destination directory location for the split book parts
  4. If chapter data is present, the audiobook will be split into multiple chapters, leaving the original file untouched.

Do not import these files into OpenAudible-- OpenAudible is designed for 1 audio file per book.

Ignored Books

Some books in your library might be lame. Maybe you'd rather not download them. For those books, just select them and Action: Ignore Book to add it to the list of books to be ignored.

Restore Ignored Books

  1. Click on the "Ignored:" Library Status in the upper-left of the main window
  2. Your ignored books will be shown. Select one or more books and right-click or Action: Unignore Book(s) to remove the books from the ignored list.

Chapter Names

Chapter names are available for some books. When they are available, they will be added to the output file and available in audiobook players that recognize standard chapter metadata.

If you have converted files created before version 3.1, your output books may be missing chapter names. To add chapter names to these books, you'll need to perform a full rescan, then manually delete the mp3/m4b files, select Control: Rescan Files, then re-encode the files.

File Names

Currently file naming is handled by OpenAudible. You can rename the filename under the Controls: Rename Book.

A future version should allow you to customize the filename format by author, series, or genre, etc., but this commonly requested feature is still "in progress."

Unsupported Books

OpenAudible works with the books you buy that Audible lets you download as "AAX" files. Podcasts, Romance Series, Amazon Prime, Audible Plus, free books, and books that have been returned cannot be downloaded.

AAX and AAXC files that have been downloaded from Android or Kindle devices cannot be converted. Instead, use OpenAudible to connect to your library and download what it can.

To check if your book is downloadable, open a regular web browser, click on your library, and search for the name of the book. If there is a "Download" button, it should be available to download. Without a download button, there is usually an explanation of why it can't be downloaded.

If you have an AAX file that won't convert, delete or move the file and re-download it using OpenAudible. You can verify if the book is downloadable by viewing your Audible library in a web browser and see if there is a "download" button next to it. Clicking on the Download link will start your download. If no download link is available, it usually means it is free and no longer considered a "purchase" and cannot be backed up.

License and Demo Mode

OpenAudible is shareware and can be tried before buying. To use all the features, a low-cost license is required.

A license can be purchased from openaudible.org/purchase or from within the application About: Purchase.... One license can be used on up to 5 personal audible accounts. Not for commercial use. Use only for archiving and backing up your audiobook purchases you bought.

Activating the license is done through the About: License... menu. More details about the license and order lookup are available at openaudible.org/license.

If you exceed the limit of 5 audible accounts on one license, your license will not allow you to work with books from additional Audible accounts.

A license entitles you to 1 year of free updates. After 1 year, an upgrade can be purchased through the application that will give you another year of software updates. But you can always use a version of the software that was created before the annual expiration date.

Use of this software for piracy or on file sharing sites is strictly prohibited. Violating these terms will result in us canceling your account and banning you.

Uninstalling

Uninstalling uses common practices. If you used an installer, there will be an uninstaller.

Mac and AppImage users can toss the application into the trash.

Your settings files can be deleted, and are saved in the "Preferences Directory" displayed in the preferences. The default location on Windows is C:\Users\NAME\OpenAudible. On Mac it is /Users/NAME/Library/OpenAudible. On Linux ~/OpenAudible.

Additional Help

OpenAudible may stop working at any time, due to changes in Audible systems or API. If this happens, check for an update or open issues.

Submitting a bug report from the About menu will send diagnostic information to developers. For best results, restart OpenAudible, reproduce the problem, then fill in the bug report with as many details as possible and click send.

Please do not share your books. Any personal metadata in the audible files are copied to the output files.

Suggestions welcome by creating a GitHub issue or by sending a bug report from the menu.

This software is copyright the authors of the software.