Backing up Calibre libraries - help please.

[kovidgoyal]

Yeah the manual searching is really bad -- a while back I switched it from the builtin search to using Google, but since the manual is now translated, google is pretty bad at searching it. Perhaps I should switch it back to the builtin search.

[lburg801]

Originally Posted by BetterRed

Yeah, searching the online calibre manual isn't the best thing since sliced bread. For me it always returns more hits in German than English. I think it's part of the Python ecosystem, hence outside of Kovid's control. But at least there is a manual, that gets updated in line with the releases.

tip 1: - for the online version use one word searches e.g. 'backup'
tip 2: - download a PDF, AZW3 or EPUB version and use the search in the appropriate reader. The links for those are on the first page of the manual.

BR

"Backup" is the search term I used before trying other terms when I did not find a link.

Thanks for the tip about the downloadable Help versions. I had missed those entirely.

Calibre is a great program with a wonderful community of supporters. I'm grateful.

[lburg801]

Originally Posted by kovidgoyal

Yeah the manual searching is really bad -- a while back I switched it from the builtin search to using Google, but since the manual is now translated, google is pretty bad at searching it. Perhaps I should switch it back to the builtin search.

Perhaps you could add options to the Help icon in the program (download manual, view tutorials, etc.) to head off confusion for newbies like me.

[ChipAHoy]

Originally Posted by kovidgoyal

calibre libraries are just files and folders. Back them up however you backup all your other files.

SO what is happening when the queue all books for backup is processing? How am I supposed to know where and what is being backed up?

[theducks]

Originally Posted by ChipAHoy

SO what is happening when the queue all books for backup is processing? How am I supposed to know where and what is being backed up?

Export Shows all Libraries (that are on the switch list) for you to choose from.
Then it asks where.
What it doesn't do is Create the destination folder if it does not exist.
Right click in the folder dialog in the location where the folder belongs: New Folder: <Name it>: now select it and let er'rip

[lburg801]

When I select Backup status: it says "Book metadata files remaining to be written: 0" and the options are to "Queue all books for backup" or "Close".

I have not bothered to queue books since I first tried it thinking it was a step in the backup process. What is it for?

[ilovejedd]

Originally Posted by lburg801

When I select Backup status: it says "Book metadata files remaining to be written: 0" and the options are to "Queue all books for backup" or "Close".

I have not bothered to queue books since I first tried it thinking it was a step in the backup process. What is it for?

It just backs up the book metadata (title, author, series info, tags, comments, custom columns, etc) into individual OPF files inside the book folders/directories. This is done so there's a backup of metadata in case of Calibre database corruption. Note, this does not backup your actual ebook files.

[theducks]

Originally Posted by lburg801

When I select Backup status: it says "Book metadata files remaining to be written: 0" and the options are to "Queue all books for backup" or "Close".

I have not bothered to queue books since I first tried it thinking it was a step in the backup process. What is it for?

That is ONLY a backup of the CALIBRE shown METADATA. It exists to restore the DB ENTRIES only

If you want a FULL backup (best done to a different hard drive), use Export / Import on the Library icon

[lburg801]

Originally Posted by ilovejedd

It just backs up the book metadata (title, author, series info, tags, comments, custom columns, etc) into individual OPF files inside the book folders/directories. This is done so there's a backup of metadata in case of Calibre database corruption. Note, this does not backup your actual ebook files.

With help from this group I learned many months ago how to backup and also export my Calibre library but had never again gone through the queue step. I have found it helpful to use Library Maintenance to check the files. It found a few errors that I was able to correct.

Learning the reason for the Library Maintenance options or whether to use them is a bit clearer now. Thanks.

[lburg801]

Originally Posted by theducks

That is ONLY a backup of the CALIBRE shown METADATA. It exists to restore the DB ENTRIES only

If you want a FULL backup (best done to a different hard drive), use Export / Import on the Library icon

I use FreeFileSync to keep my Calibre library backed up to an external hard drive and also backup the config folder. I had not considered using export as a means of backup. I think I will start doing that in addition to the regular backup.

https://mobileread.cdn.speedyrails.n...t/thankyou.gif

[CaptainKen]

Originally Posted by ilovejedd

It just backs up the book metadata (title, author, series info, tags, comments, custom columns, etc) into individual OPF files inside the book folders/directories. This is done so there's a backup of metadata in case of Calibre database corruption. Note, this does not backup your actual ebook files.

Gasp...why is this not in the manual?
Calibre Library->Library Maintenance->Library metadata backup status->Queue all books for backup
It just backs up the book metadata (title, author, series info, tags, comments, custom columns, etc) into individual OPF files inside the book folders/directories. This is done so there's a backup of metadata in case of Calibre database corruption. Note, this does not backup your actual ebook files.
That is ONLY a backup of the CALIBRE shown METADATA. It exists to restore the DB ENTRIES only. If you want a FULL backup (best done to a different hard drive), use Export / Import on the Library icon.

[BetterRed]

Calibre User Manual/FAQ/Miscellaneous: How do I backup calibre?

BR

[Capricorn]

Also very useful in Windows 10: File History as a backup tool. It is built-in, hence free, and works really well. You can set it to making backups hourly or daily or weekly.....

I also use robocopy (very fast), Cobian Backup, and Syncback free (the last at www.2brightsparks.com). All of them work well.

[Cactus Chef]

I'm more in search of a sync tool than a backup tool. I'm aware that I can just copy the whole Calibre folder onto a flash drive, but if I only acquire 5-10 new books between backups, I'm essentially re-copying the same 95% of files over and over. Ideally, I'd have something that just does the deltas.

The other rub is that my house is multi-platform, so my main library lives on a Linux laptop, but I've also got a Windows HTPC that serves as a media center (and hence backup #1 for all my stuff), in addition to other external hard-drives for secondary and tertiary backups.

So from Linux -> thumb-drive or Linux -> backup HDD, I can do something like an rsync,
and perhaps from thumb-drive -> Windows HTPC could be SyncToy,

But ideally it would be nice if I could just have my primary Calibre library exported to a thumb-drive, and from there use a built-in option to "sync" the Calibre libraries between source and destination until they're all in sync.

[ilovejedd]

Originally Posted by Cactus Chef

I'm more in search of a sync tool than a backup tool. I'm aware that I can just copy the whole Calibre folder onto a flash drive, but if I only acquire 5-10 new books between backups, I'm essentially re-copying the same 95% of files over and over. Ideally, I'd have something that just does the deltas.

The other rub is that my house is multi-platform, so my main library lives on a Linux laptop, but I've also got a Windows HTPC that serves as a media center (and hence backup #1 for all my stuff), in addition to other external hard-drives for secondary and tertiary backups.

So from Linux -> thumb-drive or Linux -> backup HDD, I can do something like an rsync,
and perhaps from thumb-drive -> Windows HTPC could be SyncToy,

But ideally it would be nice if I could just have my primary Calibre library exported to a thumb-drive, and from there use a built-in option to "sync" the Calibre libraries between source and destination until they're all in sync.

FreeFileSync works on Windows, Mac and Linux afaik.

Mind, 2-way syncs don't work because then your database probably won't match your library folder.

That said, why not setup SMB shares or something so you can do direct mirrors from Linux to Windows without going through intermediaries?