Getting around
calibre with a new look. How to install it on Windows, macOS or Linux, what moved in the window, and where the rest of calibre went.
Install
Section titled “Install”Pick the file for your computer. It is calibre’s own build with calibre-zen on top, so books, devices and plugins work the same.
Run the installer, or the portable version if you want everything in one folder. SmartScreen will warn once because the files are not signed yet.
Open the disk image and drag the app to Applications.
Use the install command below. You do not need to unpack the archive by hand.
Linux install
Section titled “Linux install”Run this in a terminal from the folder where you want the app. The script downloads the right archive, checks its checksum, and unpacks it.
curl -fL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/purplecandy/calibre-zen/zen/packaging/linux/install-zen.sh -o install-zen.sh && sh install-zen.sh --latest && ./calibre-zen/calibre-zen --versionThe command prints the installed version. The installer keeps a failed extraction out of your app folder.
If a calibre-zen folder is already here, move it aside before running the
command. Keep the old folder until the new one opens.
Manual Linux install
Section titled “Manual Linux install”Download the .txz archive for your computer and its matching .sha256 file
from the release page. Put both files in an empty
folder, then run these commands with your archive’s name in place of
FILE.txz.
sha256sum -c FILE.txz.sha256 &&
tar -xJf FILE.txz &&
test -x calibre-zen/calibre &&
test -x calibre-zen/bin/calibre &&
test -x calibre-zen/zen-bin/calibre-zen &&
./calibre-zen/calibre-zen --versionLinux graphics libraries
Section titled “Linux graphics libraries”Most desktop systems already have these libraries. If the app reports a missing OpenGL or XCB library, install the packages for your distro.
| Distro | Command |
|---|---|
| Ubuntu or Debian | sudo apt install libopengl0 libgl1 libxcb-cursor0 |
| Fedora | sudo dnf install libglvnd-opengl libglvnd-glx xcb-util-cursor |
| openSUSE | sudo zypper install libglvnd Mesa-libGL1 libxcb-cursor0 |
| Arch | sudo pacman -S libglvnd xcb-util-cursor |
First launch
Section titled “First launch”Pick a library folder. An existing calibre library opens as it is, and an empty folder starts a new one. Then three short pages show what changed, the same three below.
Updated menus
Section titled “Updated menus”A minimalist top menu that takes less space and behaves the same everywhere. Your actions are all still there, grouped under fewer buttons.
Updated filters
Section titled “Updated filters”The tag browser is now a list of filters on the left. Each row shows what is applied, and one click toggles anything else.
Themes and Zen settings
Section titled “Themes and Zen settings”Switch between light, dim and dark from the button at the right of the toolbar. The menu under the app’s icon turns off any revamped part you do not like, on the next start.
The rest of the window
Section titled “The rest of the window”- Preview. The selected book sits above the list with its cover, details and the buttons you use most. The Preview button on the strip below hides it.
- Grid or table. The switch next to the search bar flips between a cover grid and a table. Hover a cover in the grid for its details.
- Status bar. The library, sort order and counts on the left. The Layout menu, Report a bug, the content server and running jobs on the right.
Updates
Section titled “Updates”A new version is checked for once a day. Update available appears in the status bar, and clicking it shows what changed and gets you the file.
Everything else is calibre
Section titled “Everything else is calibre”Adding books, metadata, conversion, devices, the viewer, the editor and plugins are all calibre’s. Nothing there changed.
Need help?
Section titled “Need help?”The Troubleshoot page has the common fixes and the places to ask, on GitHub or Reddit. Known limitations lists the rough edges we already know about.