AutoBook

A desktop e-book discovery, download, and device-transfer workspace built with Python and customtkinter.

Features

• Multi-source search — Finds books across Project Gutenberg, Open Library, Internet Archive, and an optional custom source (configurable via env var), all queried in parallel
• Popularity-based ranking — Results are sorted by a combined relevance × popularity score using Open Library ratings (fuzzy title matching enriches results from every source)
• Star ratings — Each result shows its community rating (★) and review count
• One-click download — Download EPUB or PDF with automatic mirror fallback
• Local library — All downloaded books are stored and managed locally with cover art and metadata
• Device transfer — Detects connected USB e-readers (Kobo, etc.), MTP devices, and iPads; send books directly to a device
• USB troubleshooter — Built-in diagnostic dialog for macOS USB/MTP connection issues
• Trackpad-friendly scrolling — Custom Text-widget-based scrollable frame for smooth trackpad scrolling on macOS (Tk 9.x)
• Professional workspace UI — A cleaner dark enterprise-style layout with dashboard summaries and structured content cards
• Local web companion — A small browser-based workspace with library, analytics, and history views served from a local HTTP server

Requirements

• Python ≥ 3.10
• uv — Python package manager (install)
• macOS — Tested on macOS Sequoia (Apple Silicon). Other platforms may work but are untested.

Setup & Run

cd AutoBook
uv run main.py

uv creates the virtual environment and installs all dependencies automatically on first run.

Local Web App

Run the local browser companion:

uv run python -m app.web_companion

Then open the printed URL in your browser, usually http://127.0.0.1:8765.

Environment Variables

Variable	Description
BOOK_SOURCE	Base URL for an optional custom catalog source. When set, mirror auto-discovery is skipped and this URL is used directly.

Example:

export BOOK_SOURCE="https://example.com"
uv run main.py

Project Structure

AutoBook/
├── main.py              # Desktop GUI (customtkinter)
├── pyproject.toml       # Project metadata & dependencies
├── app/
│   ├── __init__.py
│   ├── search.py        # Multi-source search engine with rating enrichment
│   ├── library.py       # Library metadata & file management
│   └── devices.py       # USB / MTP / iPad detection & file transfer
└── library/             # Downloaded books stored here (auto-created)

Dependencies

Managed via uv / pyproject.toml:

• customtkinter — Modern Tkinter widgets with dark mode
• Pillow — Cover image loading and resizing
• requests — HTTP client for search APIs and downloads
• beautifulsoup4 + lxml — HTML parsing for search results