audiobookctl
| Crates.io | audiobookctl |
| lib.rs | audiobookctl |
| version | 0.13.2 |
| created_at | 2025-12-28 16:47:12.347256+00 |
| updated_at | 2026-01-05 14:55:12.353298+00 |
| description | CLI tool for reading, editing, and organizing m4b audiobook metadata |
| homepage | |
| repository | https://github.com/jsvana/audiobookctl |
| max_upload_size | |
| id | 2009131 |
| size | 667,891 |
Jay Vana (jsvana)
documentation
README
audiobookctl
A command-line tool for reading, editing, and organizing m4b audiobook metadata.
Features
- Show metadata - Display audiobook metadata in pretty, JSON, or single-field format
- Edit metadata - Edit tags in your
$EDITORwith TOML format and side-by-side diff preview - Safety-first - Dry-run by default, backups before modifications, pending edits cache
Installation
cargo install --path .
Or build from source:
cargo build --release
Usage
Show metadata
# Pretty print all metadata
audiobookctl show book.m4b
# Output as JSON
audiobookctl show book.m4b --json
# Get a specific field
audiobookctl show book.m4b --field title
Edit metadata
# Open in $EDITOR, preview changes (dry-run)
audiobookctl edit book.m4b
# Apply pending changes
audiobookctl edit book.m4b --no-dry-run
# Skip confirmation prompt
audiobookctl edit book.m4b --no-dry-run --yes
# Clear pending edits
audiobookctl edit --clear
audiobookctl edit book.m4b --clear
# Delete backup after verifying changes
audiobookctl edit book.m4b --commit
# Delete all backups in current directory
audiobookctl edit --commit-all
Safety Model
Data safety is paramount. Audiobook files are irreplaceable user data.
- All modifying operations are dry-run by default
- Use
--no-dry-runto actually apply changes - Backups (
.bakfiles) are created before any modification - Pending edits are saved to
~/.cache/audiobookctl/pending/so you can review before applying - Use
--no-backup-i-void-my-warrantyto skip backups (not recommended)
Supported Metadata Fields
| Field | Editable | Description |
|---|---|---|
| title | Yes | Book title |
| author | Yes | Author name |
| narrator | Yes | Narrator name |
| series | Yes | Series name |
| series_position | Yes | Position in series |
| year | Yes | Publication year |
| description | Yes | Book description |
| publisher | Yes | Publisher name |
| genre | Yes | Genre |
| isbn | Yes | ISBN |
| asin | Yes | Amazon ASIN |
| duration | No | Total duration (read-only) |
| chapters | No | Chapter count (read-only) |
| cover | No | Cover image info (read-only) |
TOML Edit Format
When editing, metadata is presented as TOML:
# Audiobook Metadata - Edit and save to apply changes
# Commented fields are empty - uncomment and fill to add values
title = "Project Hail Mary"
author = "Andy Weir"
# narrator = ""
series = "Standalone"
# series_position = 0
year = 2021
description = "Ryland Grace is the sole survivor..."
# publisher = ""
genre = "Science Fiction"
# isbn = ""
# asin = ""
# Read-only (cannot be edited)
# duration = "16:10:35"
# chapters = 32
# cover = "embedded (1400x1400 JPEG)"
License
MIT License - see LICENSE for details.