[haertig]

I am not sure which subforum this question best belongs in. Calibre? Apple Devices? Right here in General Discussions? Hopefully a moderator will move this post to where it will hopefully get a response.

The task I want to accomplish:

Move an ebook from Calibre 5.44 to an iPhone 13. Sounds simple, huh? To be read in either the Kindle app on the iPhone or by the built-in iBooks app. Would consider installing a 3rd party reader app on the iPhone if it makes transfers simpler.

I would prefer not to use Send To Kindle unless that's the only possibility. I just don't like the idea of putting Amazon in the middle of things to collect data for marketing and advertising.

There are no other Apple products available to aid in the transfer (no MAC desktops or laptops, etc.) Windows computers are available to assist, but none of them have iTunes installed that I am aware of (is iTunes still even available?)

I have a Lightning to USB-A cable available, and physical access to the computer running Calibre (Linux), and it's network (both WiFi and ethernet). There are no USB-C connectors on the computer running Calibre, so even if I had a Lightning to USB-C cable, that wouldn't do me any good.

I know nothing about iPhones, their operating system, or their connecting cables - but I am a Linux guru.

I run "Calibre Web", a 3rd party server that works with Calibre's database. I access this with a web browser to download books. But I could enable Calibre's built-in Content Server if necessary.

For Android devices, I simply download the ebook from my Calibre Web server and then use an Android File Manager app to move the downloaded file to a place where Moon+ Reader Pro can find it. Apple doesn't appear to provide this same flexibility. Not that I can find.

I could make the ebook I want to transfer available via a WebDAV server if there are reader apps for Apple that support that. But I do not want to stream the book to read only while online - I want to download it for offline use. It would be great if Apple had a File Manager app where you could move stuff around on your iPhone, to be discovered by other apps. But I doubt that they do (I hope I am wrong). Apple seems to go out of their way to hide any concept of a directory or a file from users.

So what is the process to get an ebook (not bought from Amazon or Apple) onto an iPhone to be read? It can't really be as difficult as I am finding it. I am happy to use any solution - wired USB, or using Calibre server, or not using Calibre at all, etc. Everything short of buying a MAC computer to assist. Send To Kindle is an obvious option, but I want to explore other possibilities first. If there are any.

Thanks in advance for any help! I am a Linux/Android guy. But Windows/Apple is a knowledge black hole for me. Google searches on my questions have mostly turned up ways to download directly from the Kindle app (which doesn't work if you didn't buy the ebook from Amazon), or how to use a MAC computer as an intermediary in the file transfer (doesn't help if you don't own a MAC).