Bibliocapsa Support

There are three ways to add a book: scan its ISBN barcode, capture the cover (the app reads the text on it using on-device recognition), or enter the details by hand. Barcode and title lookups use Open Library and Google Books to fill in the title, author, publisher, and cover. Everything works fully offline.

Browse your books in a grid or list, search by title or author, and sort by title, author, or date added. Add star ratings, organize books onto shelves, and mark each one read or unread. You can also record whether you own a physical copy, a digital copy, or both.

Bibliocapsa uses exactly one backend at a time, chosen in Settings. Local only keeps everything on this device; iCloud backs up and syncs your catalog across your own Apple devices through your private iCloud account; Bibliocapsa server pairs the app with your own self-hosted library. Switching backends is a deliberate choice so two sync engines never run over the same data.

If you run your own Bibliocapsa server, sign in from Settings to turn the app into a full companion: your digital (Calibre) library and shelves sync down, reading progress flows through KOReader, and physical books you scan flow up to the shared library. The app talks only to the server address you provide, using credentials you control.

Reading a cover's text happens entirely on your device. If you want full image-based cover recognition, you can add your own Google API key in Settings — cover photos are then sent through your own Google Cloud project. Without a key, this never happens.

Yes. Your library stays on your device and, if you choose, in your own iCloud or on your own server — we never receive it. There's no tracking, advertising, or analytics. See our Privacy Policy for full details.

You can remove individual books at any time, and signing out of a server clears its stored credentials from this device. Deleting the app removes all of its on-device data; anything you synced to your own iCloud or server is managed there by you.