Import books from folder structure and extract metadata automatically

Pquemis · 09-25-2025, 05:28 PM

I have a folder with books organized like this:

Library/
├─ A/
│ ├─ Author 1/
│ │ ├─ Series 1/
│ │ │ ├─ Book 1/
│ │ │ │ ├─ Book 1.epub
│ │ │ │ └─ Book 1.mobi
│ │ │ └─ Book 2/
│ │ │ ├─ Book 2.epub
│ │ │ └─ Book 2.pdf

I would like to import all these books into Calibre and automatically extract the following metadata from the folder names:

Author → from the “Author” folder

Series → from the “Series” folder

Title → from the “Book” folder

Is there a way to set up Calibre so that it reads the folder structure and fills in the metadata automatically during import?

Thanks in advance for your help!

theducks · 09-25-2025, 05:47 PM

AFAIK this is not a supported method even though it has been requested over the years (lots of years)
Calibre can ADD from Folders and Sub Folders. But it can't derive metadata from the file path.

2 plugins come to mind that may help
INSTALL and configure the next BEFORE importing
GetFileName
https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=278559
Then use the Metadata editor Bulk Mode to parse SELECTED ROWS, and fill in columns.
(

Backup between BULK use. Bulk mode has no undo if you get it wrong )

Another is use the OS DIR (recursive to get full path) to pipe the directory into a text file, then use Import List plugin
Again, these are advanced techniques and need CARE or you get a mess

09-25-2025, 05:28 PM	#1
Pquemis Junior Member Posts: 1 Karma: 10 Join Date: Sep 2025 Device: none	Import books from folder structure and extract metadata automatically I have a folder with books organized like this: Library/ ├─ A/ │ ├─ Author 1/ │ │ ├─ Series 1/ │ │ │ ├─ Book 1/ │ │ │ │ ├─ Book 1.epub │ │ │ │ └─ Book 1.mobi │ │ │ └─ Book 2/ │ │ │ ├─ Book 2.epub │ │ │ └─ Book 2.pdf I would like to import all these books into Calibre and automatically extract the following metadata from the folder names: Author → from the “Author” folder Series → from the “Series” folder Title → from the “Book” folder Is there a way to set up Calibre so that it reads the folder structure and fills in the metadata automatically during import? Thanks in advance for your help!

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Extract/Save Ebook ONLY, not folder structure or metadata	ratsima	Calibre	3	03-08-2021 06:39 AM
Update folder structure after updating metadata	firewater	Calibre	5	10-28-2018 04:27 PM
Mixed folder structure - How best to import?	yogi62	Library Management	4	04-30-2017 06:14 PM
Metadata Change->Library Folder Structure?	CC-GoE	Library Management	9	03-30-2014 04:05 PM
Reimport books from another folder to Calibre folder structure?	mendhak	Calibre	2	10-11-2013 01:18 AM

09-25-2025, 05:47 PM	#2
theducks Well trained by Cats Posts: 31,197 Karma: 60406678 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: The Central Coast of California Device: Kobo Libra2,Kobo Aura2v1, K4NT(Fixed: New Bat.), Galaxy Tab A	AFAIK this is not a supported method even though it has been requested over the years (lots of years) Calibre can ADD from Folders and Sub Folders. But it can't derive metadata from the file path. 2 plugins come to mind that may help INSTALL and configure the next BEFORE importing GetFileName https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=278559 Then use the Metadata editor Bulk Mode to parse SELECTED ROWS, and fill in columns. ( Backup between BULK use. Bulk mode has no undo if you get it wrong ) Another is use the OS DIR (recursive to get full path) to pipe the directory into a text file, then use Import List plugin Again, these are advanced techniques and need CARE or you get a mess