Guideline for Syncing Calibre library to other devices

[MarcDS]

With a lot of (sometimes conflicting) information on the subject on how to sync the Calibre library to other devices I set out to find a solution. Many thanks to the many contributors. Here is what I did in February 2018 (so you can decide how current this is).

Starting situation: I use a Windows 10 laptop on which I use Calibre with its locally stored Calibre Library. I also have a Windows 10 tablet and an Android phone.

Requirements: When I travel I want to have my whole Calibre Library available on my tablet and phone, also when I am offline (in a plane, in a place without internet or with internet I cannot access).

Restrictions: I want to continue using my laptop to do all the maintenance on Calibre. I live in Indonesia and have a slow, expensive and unreliable internet connection.

Solution:

This works for me. Don’t kill me if it doesn’t for you  I use Microsoft Onedrive on the laptop and tablet, and Foldersync and Calibre companion on my phone.

Caution: never change something in Calibre while Onedrive can sync. First pause syncing on Onedrive or exit it completely

Steps

1. Make at least one copy of your Calibre Library, preferably on an external disk
2. Pause or exit Onedrive
3. Start Calibre, click the Calibre button on the ribbon and choose Switch/create library. Choose Move library to a new location and select your local Onedrive folder. Depending on the number of books this may take a while but you can monitor progress.
4. When moving is finished exit Calibre and Resume syncing (if you paused it) or restart Onedrive.
5. Onedrive will sync the whole Calibre library to the cloud. This may take a big while (two days for my 5000+ books: see Restrictions above to understand why).
6. On other Windows devices you open the Ondrive app. In Settings you clear the box Files on Demand and in Account you use Choose folders to choose the folders you want synced to Windows device. Make sure you choose the Calibre Library.
7. Onedrive then downloads the library. Check regularly if Onedrive has finished syncing (took another 2 days). Tip: you might speed this up by copying your Calibre Library on a USB memory stick and then copy it in the local Onedrive folder.
8. Pause Onedrive and start Calibre. Use the Calibre button on the ribbon and choose Switch/create library. Browse for the local Onedrive folder and select the button Use the previously existing library at the new location.
9. On Android devices I do NOT use Onedrive. I use Foldersync. In Foldersync set up a Folderpair to sync Onedrive to your local storage. Ensure the sync is one way: from Onedrive cloud to local storage on the Android device. The advantage of Foldersync is that you can set it up oneway, so, there is no fear that your Calibre Library will be corrupted. Disadvantages: Foldersync does not know when and what has changed on Onedrive. So, you will to start the sync manually when something has changed in your Calibre library. The sync may take quite a long time (dependent on the number of books) because Foldersync has to check EVERY file to find out which ones have changed.
10. Finally I use Calibre Companion (CC) on the phone as library manager for the books stored on my phone. In CC goto Settings, Connecting to Calibre, Cloud Connection, Cloud provider and choose Library on device or SD card. You can, if you wish, use Settings, Connecting to Calibre, Cloud Connection to disable Wireless device connection and Content server connection if you don’t use these.
11. In CC when you connect the first time CC will ask where in which folder your books are located. Advantage of CC is that it can search on almost everything you can search on in the original Calibre app itself. Disadvantage: the demo version which if for free only handles a maximum of 20 books. For more books you need the full version which is around 4USD.

[anoukaimee]

Just wanted to post that I was hesitant to try this for a one time move for my ginormous 4 libraries to a new laptop, but it worked beautifully. Posting because it is 2021, and I was personally hesitant to try this--but it works great still.

Thanks for the walkthru.