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.
- Download, install and launch OpenAudible
- Go to M4B encoding is recommended. , and select M4B or MP3 encoding.
- Select: and log onto your audible account.
- Your book list should be loaded, and the option to download and covert them all displayed.
- Click yes, or you can click no to manually download or convert your books.
- Downloading and conversion can take a while. You'll need to be patient!
- Click on the "Downloading" or "Converting" Library Status lines to see which books are downloading or converting. Click on one to see detailed progress.
- To find the converted book files, select one and right-click "Show MP3" or "Show M4B"
- Periodically run to update your latest purchases!
- 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.
-
Mac Users:Choose either the Standard x86_64 (Intel) or aarch64 (M1/Apple Silicon) download.
The version for Apple Silicon is wicked fast.
Open the DMG and drag OpenAudible to the Applications directory. -
Windows Users: Double click installer and click through panels.
Or install from command line (helpful for the vision impaired):
OpenAudible_win.exe -q -overwrite -
Linux Users: We now support AppImage, an easy way to run and
install without root.
Also, some Ubuntu 21.10 users have reported a missing dependency that may The fix is: sudo apt install gstreamer1.0-plugins-bad .
xdg-open is used to reveal file locations and web pages. It should be configured properly. Manually editing the settings directory to specify the command to open a web page, play an audiobook, or reveal a file can be set. - Docker Users: Docker provides an experimental way to try OpenAudible from a web browser. It is not recommended for normal use, but it can be a way to try the software in a sandbox.
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
.- Select .
- 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.
- 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
which will add any newly added books.You can select
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
.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
or convert them all by .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.

Use
view and change the application preferences.-
Directories
Some directories used by the application can be changed. The "Show" button will reveal the directory in the desktop file system.
Choose a location for your book library and output web pages.
- Library Directory- Where your audiobook files (MP3, M4B, AAX, JPG) will be saved
- Web Directory- Where the optional web page is saved
- Preferences- Where application preferences, logs, and temp files are saved.
Advanced: To change the location of the OpenAudible preferences directory, quit the application, move the directory somewhere else, and set an environment variable named "OPENAUDIBLE_HOME" to point to the new location. When you re-launch, OpenAudible should display the new Preferences directory.
-
Audio Output Format
Your Audible books can be exported as either M4B (audiobook format) or MP3 (universal compressed audio format). M4A is also supported, but not recommended.
For fastest conversion and best audio quality, we recommend using M4B, as it keeps the original encoding from Audible, and is supported by all major audiobook players. Use MP3 if your audio player doesn't support M4B.
You can change the MP3 quality, which trades quality for file size. It is generally best to leave this alone unless you have a player with limited storage capacity. Again, for best quality, use M4B format.
-
Automation
Automation features should usually be enabled after becoming familiar with how the program works. It can save a little time when updating your library after purchasing new books.
- Refresh library on application startup - Do a Quick Library Sync on application startup
- Automatically download books
- Automatically convert
- Automatically Update Web Page
- Disable version checks. - Manually checking is always available under the menu.
-
Browser and Helper Application
OpenAudible includes a built-in web browser for accessing help, book info pages, diagnostics, and purchase links.
License upgrades purchased using the internal browser save you the step of having to copy and paste your license. But some users may prefer using their preferred web browser.
Advanced users can set up a custom command to browse files, specify a web browser, or launch an audiobook player. Click More... to see advanced options.
-
Language and Theme
The language can be selected. We currently include: ar,de,es,fr,hi,ru
Users can choose between dark mode and light mode. The three available modes are:- System - Colors are chosen by the operating system preferences
- Light - Standard light color theme
- Dark - A simple dark color theme
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.
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.
- Connected: Shows true or false if "connected" to your audible account.
- Region: The audible region you are using (US, AU, UK, FR, DE, IN, DE).
- Books: Total books managed by the application.
- Hours: Total duration of all books, in hours.
- MP3 Files: Number of MP3 files.
- M4A Files: Number of M4A files.
- M4B Files: Number of M4B files.
- Ignored: Books ignored by the user. See section on Ignoring books.
- Missing Links: Books that can't be downloaded because a download link from Audible isn't available. See Unsupported Books.
- To Download: Number of books that can be downloaded and that aren't already queued for download.
- To Convert: Number of books that can be converted and that aren't already queued for conversion.
- Downloading: Number of downloads in progress and how many remain in queue.
- Converting: Number of MP3 conversions in progress and how many remain in queue.
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:
![]() |
Audiobook is available as an MP3 or M4B audiobook file |
![]() |
Audiobook is ready to download |
![]() |
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. |
![]() |
Audiobook is ready to convert from AAX to MP3 or M4B |
![]() |
Audiobook is being converted to MP3 or M4B. Click on the book to see the progress in the Book Info Panel. |
![]() |
Audiobook is in the conversion queue and is scheduled to be converted. |
![]() |
Audiobook is being downloaded. Click on the book to see the progress in the Book Info Panel. |
![]() |
Audiobook is in the download queue and is scheduled to be downloaded. |
Menus
-
- - View error messages and technical logs
- - Existing AAX and/or MP3 files can be imported--copying them into the media directories.
- - Paste an http URL to download and add a book.
- - Creates a web page listing your books that you can host on a private server
- - Select either "CSV" or "JSON" to choose the output format.
- - Combines 2 or more audio files into a single audio file.
- - Utility to split an audio file into multiple files, one audio file per chapter.
- - Exits the application
-
- - Set application directories, encoding format, and language preferences.
-
- - Log into your Audible account
- - Looks for new books and adds them to your library.
- - Does a complete scan of your library and updates ratings and book meta data.
- - Downloads all audible books that haven't already been downloaded
- - Converts downloaded files to your selected audio format
- - Scans your library for new audio files
- - Logs you out of Audible and deletes your credentials
-
- - Opens a Browser to the book's Audible web page, if available.
- - Opens Explorer/Finder to display the MP3 in the desktop.
- - Opens Explorer/Finder to display the M4A audio file in the desktop.
- - Opens Explorer/Finder to display the M4B audio file in the desktop.
- - Opens MP3 using your system's default MP3 player.
- - Downloads selected books from audible
- - Converts selected books to the selected audio format
- - Removes selected books from download and/or convert queues
- - Allows bulk splitting of selected books by chapter
- - Removes book from getting displayed or exported
- - Allows you to rename the files associated with a book
- - Deletes the book and all files from your library
(acts on selected books)
-
- - Opens a web browser to this page.
- https://openaudible.org - Goes to
- - Checks with openaudible.org to see if a new version is available.
- - After experiencing a problem, you may send a bug report to developers. Recent .html, book lists, and tmp files will be collected to assist
- - The About Box and copyright info.
Importing/Exporting
Exporting JSON and CSV
To export a list of your books (not the audiobooks files), select
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
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.
- Select one or more books and select a destination directory.
- To Select a file not in your OpenAudible library, select and select any MP3 file you wish to split.
- Select a destination directory location for the split book parts
- 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
to add it to the list of books to be ignored.Restore Ignored Books
- Click on the "Ignored:" Library Status in the upper-left of the main window
- Your ignored books will be shown. Select one or more books and right-click or (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
, then re-encode the files.
File Names
Currently file naming is handled by OpenAudible. You can rename the filename under the
.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 . 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 openaudible.org/license.
menu. More details about the license and order lookup are available atIf 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.