Self-host Audiobookshelf
updated Jul 2026deployed by usprices checked · Jul 2026Install verified on Ubuntu 26.04 · Sep 2026 · how we test
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A self-hosted audiobook and podcast server with progress sync across apps — host your own Audible-style library and listen anywhere.
Key facts
CategoryMedia server
LicenseGPL-3.0
StackJavaScript, Node.js
Min RAM512 MB
Official imageyes
Measured idle RAM37 MB
Difficulty
Our recommendation
Pick Audiobookshelf when the library is audiobooks and podcasts rather than video: it is a GPL-3.0 Node.js server with SQLite in `/config`, first-party Android and iOS apps (the README calls both open source and both beta — the iOS beta is currently full), and progress sync between them. One container is the whole install — there is no external database and no Redis — and upstream publishes no RAM requirement, so our 512 MB floor is an estimate. If you want music streaming to Subsonic clients, Navidrome is the better fit; for a video library, Jellyfin or Plex.
Follow the Audiobookshelf deploy guide →What you need
- Any VPS with at least 512 MB of RAM
- A domain you control — most self-hosted setups need HTTPS in front of them
- Under an hour if you've used Docker before
Where to host itaffiliate disclosure
Hetzner Cloudrun it on
From $23.59/mo · 2 vCPU / 4 GB / 80 GB · EU + USKamaterafree trial
From $4/mo · 1 vCPU / 1 GB / 20 GB · US + EU + AsiaDigitalOceanalso works on
From $6/mo · 1 vCPU / 1 GB / 25 GB · US + EU + AsiaPaid link — we earn a commission if you shop through it.
Install
Run these commands on your server:
# Audiobookshelf
docker run -d --name audiobookshelf \
-p 13378:80 \
-v ./audiobooks:/audiobooks -v ./config:/config -v ./metadata:/metadata \
ghcr.io/advplyr/audiobookshelf:latest
# open http://SERVER_IP:13378deploy guideHow to Deploy Audiobookshelf on a VPSvps picksBest VPS for self-hostingbenchmarked quarterly · re-priced monthly
What you take on
Audiobookshelf is a one-container install, but its own install docs carry a handful of rules that bite when ignored:
non-negotiableThe /config mount holds the SQLite database and the docs say it "must be accessible directly on the same machine", not over the network — keep it on local disk. Each of /config, /metadata, /audiobooks and /podcasts "should be a separate directory that is not contained within another mount point".
non-negotiableIt "requires a websocket connection", so a reverse proxy needs proxy_http_version 1.1 plus the Upgrade/Connection: "upgrade" headers (the nginx example also sets client_max_body_size 10240M for uploads). The GitHub README says a subfolder works only if the path is exactly /audiobookshelf ("this is not changeable"); the Docker Hub page still says subfolders are "not supported yet", so treat the README as the current word.
non-negotiableThere is no default login — you set the root username and password on the first visit. A new authentication system landed in v2.26.0 (release notes point every upgrade at discussion #4460), and as of September 2026 the current release is v2.36.1, which also tightened several API endpoints.
non-negotiableBuilt-in backups (default /metadata/backups) cover the database and the covers stored under metadata/ only — "no media files or covers stored with library items are backed up" — and backups from before 2.3.0 do not restore on 2.3.x. The image ignores PUID/PGID; use Docker's user directive if you need a non-root UID.
non-negotiableThe 512 MB floor is our estimate; upstream publishes no RAM requirement for the server.
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