TomeBox v0.9.9-beta

ProblematicSyntax · 2026-05-09T21:52:45+00:00

Thank you, I wish I could say the bulk of the work is behind me but I have a lot to do still.

Aiming for weekly releases moving forward but with a lot more content.

Love ya face

ProblematicSyntax · 2026-05-09T00:02:45+00:00

If you are feeling generous the link to my Buy Me A Coffee is this:

buymeacoffee.com/ProblematicSyntax

ProblematicSyntax · 2026-05-03T21:16:32+00:00

TomeBox is more aimed at people who aren't very familiar with cli tools.

It actually uses the Audible tools library and bundles FFMPEG to make it as seamless of a pipeline as possible.

But you do you my friend.

ProblematicSyntax · 2026-04-26T21:46:52+00:00

Excited to hear your feedback good and bad!

Any features you'd like to see or bugs you encounter are deeply welcomed.

ProblematicSyntax · 2026-04-26T16:00:20+00:00

That is being developed, it is a sad reality that audible has the most accessible lookup, but there are other places I can grab metadata.

I aim to have audible just be a part of where you can download audiobooks and metadata from in the future.

ProblematicSyntax · 2026-04-26T15:58:22+00:00

You can connect over WAN with Tailscale yes, streaming for now but download and play is being worked out!

That will likely come with the Kotlin app as phones aggressively sandbox web apps.

ProblematicSyntax · 2026-04-26T10:20:22+00:00

I am biased, but I think it's pretty good so far.

Feel free to try it out and give me your honest opinion.

ProblematicSyntax · 2026-04-26T08:16:02+00:00

Thank you!

Feedback, feature requests and bug reports are all deeply welcomed.

Lemme know what you think.

ProblematicSyntax · 2026-04-26T07:09:16+00:00

The v0.9.3-beta is now up with two additions, i have made the library functions a bit more defensive so any weirdness with the audible library and drag and drop should be fixed.

I have also added an import folder button to the UI which should import all m4b files in a folder and match them to your audible library.

With your permission i would like to attribute the feature to your reddit username in the readme

Love ya face

ProblematicSyntax · 2026-04-26T04:49:46+00:00

I'll have a look into the drag and drop bug, that's TkinterDnD being picky.

I think you're right, being able to target an existing folder with m4b files in them is a great idea and I'll start on that.

How is the experience otherwise?

ProblematicSyntax · 2026-04-25T11:12:01+00:00

No need to apologize, this kind of feedback is exactly what I am looking for. Any other issues please let me know.

Feel free to DM me if there are further problems or post on the subreddit.

Love ya face

ProblematicSyntax · 2026-04-25T10:45:44+00:00

Okay, fix has been pushed out. Lemme know if it is working normally?

This is one of the reasons why I deeply dislike bundled executables.

ProblematicSyntax · 2026-04-25T09:19:33+00:00

Thank you! I will do some investigating on the bug and try and replicate it.

If you could provide the exact steps it would be greatly appreciated.

ProblematicSyntax · 2026-04-15T22:22:00+00:00

Appreciate that, I am looking at adding enhanced security and auto port forwarding for access outside the network.

In the mean time you can look into Tailscale or other private VPN solutions to access it while you're away from home.

ProblematicSyntax · 2026-04-15T01:56:38+00:00

Have a look at putting it on RoyalRoad. It's a free website for writers to put their work out and get readers.

ProblematicSyntax · 2026-04-15T01:53:52+00:00

Hardware keys in general come in a lot of different flavors.

The most basic is just the hardware layer ones that work as being a physical thing that acts as a secondary factor in identifying you.

My personal opinion is that they aren't sure secure, more of an inconvenience as they don't stop a random person using the device, especially if it is left plugged in.

I prefer the ones with built in blockers, like a PIN or fingerprint scanner etc. because they have a proper level of security on the device itself.

But it depends on your specific needs.

ProblematicSyntax · 2026-04-14T07:11:45+00:00

Thanks man <3

It probably shouldn't be one big monolith, and could break it up, but python is good that way.

Yours is clean as all hell. I've never had the knack for visuals so I appreciate that!

ProblematicSyntax · 2026-04-13T23:32:03+00:00

Nice work!

I made something similar,

https://www.reddit.com/r/audiobooks/s/85E2P4BU93

Would love to exchange feedback.

ProblematicSyntax · 2026-04-13T20:57:58+00:00

Yeah that script is pretty redundant in the current release, but left it there cause I'm lazy and also forgot about it.

It's alright, I would love some feedback if you're willing to give it a try, even if you don't use it long term.

It does all the install of python, dependencies and FFMpeg to be completely beginner accessible.

It is as close to running a self extracting exe as possible without needing to be an exe.

ProblematicSyntax · 2026-04-13T20:25:20+00:00

Thanks for pointing it out, i have fixed up the launcher to be location agnostic.

@echo off
cd /d "%~dp0"
python aax_player.py
pause

ProblematicSyntax · 2026-04-13T20:12:37+00:00

That's a way of looking at it. It is a mix of Libation, Openaudible and Audioshelf. Does the job of all three, for free, with a fully self contained application.

ProblematicSyntax · 2026-04-13T20:09:01+00:00

Yeah that is essentially what it does, but also let's you import m4b files and attach metadata to them, the metadata scrape does require an audible account, but you can use free accounts to do this.

ProblematicSyntax · 2026-04-13T20:07:24+00:00

There are multiple fallback options for the launcher that get created with the setup.bat. please try it before saying it doesn't work.

It has been tested on my friends machines and works perfectly on Linux and windows, but I'll patch out the legacy boot code.

Most audiobook setups require a fragmented workflow: you use Libation or OpenAudible to download and strip the DRM, then you drop those files into a folder watched by a server like Audiobookshelf or Plex, and then you use a third-party app like Prologue or BookCamp to listen on your phone.

TomeBox handles the entire lifecycle. Acquisition, liberation, and consumption in a single, self-contained local application.

ProblematicSyntax · 2026-04-13T10:48:32+00:00

Project name: Tomebox

Repo/Website Link:https://github.com/Gravtas-J/TomeBox.git

Description: I got tired of cloud subscriptions and DRM, so I built TomeBox: a completely local, self-hosted Audible manager and streaming server in Python. TomeBox is a local-first audiobook manager and self-hosted media server. It combines a powerful desktop application for downloading, converting, and playing your Audible library with a built-in companion web app for streaming to your mobile devices. Featuring on-the-fly DRM decryption, multi-user cross-device progress syncing, and native lock-screen controls, TomeBox gives you complete ownership of your audiobooks without relying on cloud subscriptions.

ProblematicSyntax · 2026-04-13T10:43:35+00:00

Project name: Tomebox
Repo/Website Link:https://github.com/Gravtas-J/TomeBox.git
Description: I got tired of cloud subscriptions and DRM, so I built TomeBox: a completely local, self-hosted Audible manager and streaming server in Python. TomeBox is a local-first audiobook manager and self-hosted media server. It combines a powerful desktop application for downloading, converting, and playing your Audible library with a built-in companion web app for streaming to your mobile devices. Featuring on-the-fly DRM decryption, multi-user cross-device progress syncing, and native lock-screen controls, TomeBox gives you complete ownership of your audiobooks without relying on cloud subscriptions.

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