Adding 50,000 Books to Calibre—Should I Break Them Up?

Cwluc · Today, 12:43 AM

I recently found an archive of about 50,000 books. Individually, nothing is so large that it gives me immediate pause, and I know Calibre can technically handle the files one by one. But before I add all 50,000 to my already large library of about 48,000 books, has anyone ever added that many at once?

I’m about to double the entire size of my Calibre library. Can I just set it and forget it, or should I break them up into smaller chunks of, say, 5,000? Ideally, I’m hoping to do this in one go, but I figured I’d ask before jumping in and then regretting it if something goes wrong.

I’d rather be proactive than come back here later asking how to fix or repair my library after the fact. Any advice?

kovidgoyal · Today, 01:50 AM

If you are on Linux make sure /tmp has enough space. Otherwise, you should be fine, though for safety I would recommend breaking them up into 10 batches of 5K each.

Cwluc · Today, 07:47 AM

Yeah, my apologies—I read the other post from the person on *nix and realized I should have given my specs, but I was heading to bed, and my sleep-deprived brain failed me. I’m on Windows 11, with decent specs, so I don’t foresee running out of space or memory. But since you’re the creator, I’ll heed your advice and break them up. Thanks for the reply!

Today, 12:43 AM	#1
Cwluc Member Posts: 13 Karma: 10 Join Date: Dec 2009 Device: Various	Adding 50,000 Books to Calibre—Should I Break Them Up? I recently found an archive of about 50,000 books. Individually, nothing is so large that it gives me immediate pause, and I know Calibre can technically handle the files one by one. But before I add all 50,000 to my already large library of about 48,000 books, has anyone ever added that many at once? I’m about to double the entire size of my Calibre library. Can I just set it and forget it, or should I break them up into smaller chunks of, say, 5,000? Ideally, I’m hoping to do this in one go, but I figured I’d ask before jumping in and then regretting it if something goes wrong. I’d rather be proactive than come back here later asking how to fix or repair my library after the fact. Any advice?

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Adding books to Calibre	Keanufan	Calibre	3	12-31-2022 12:42 PM
How to avoid importing duplicate copies of Kindle books when adding books to calibre	kgwdc	Calibre	1	08-11-2018 07:19 PM
adding books to calibre	lexuitmokum	Library Management	2	07-09-2018 03:32 PM
Calibre & Covers: Adding books through Calibre vs dragging and dropping?	VirgoGirl	Calibre	12	06-08-2014 05:34 AM
2,000,000 free e-books from the 4th Annual World eBook Fair	Sonist	Deals and Resources (No Self-Promotion or Affiliate Links)	4	07-15-2009 11:31 PM

Today, 01:50 AM	#2
kovidgoyal creator of calibre Posts: 44,204 Karma: 23446406 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Mumbai, India Device: Various	If you are on Linux make sure /tmp has enough space. Otherwise, you should be fine, though for safety I would recommend breaking them up into 10 batches of 5K each.

Today, 07:47 AM	#3
Cwluc Member Posts: 13 Karma: 10 Join Date: Dec 2009 Device: Various	Yeah, my apologies—I read the other post from the person on *nix and realized I should have given my specs, but I was heading to bed, and my sleep-deprived brain failed me. I’m on Windows 11, with decent specs, so I don’t foresee running out of space or memory. But since you’re the creator, I’ll heed your advice and break them up. Thanks for the reply!