Sharing a Calibre library between users on Ubuntu

PiggyReader · 11-04-2019, 09:46 AM

Hello all
I’m using Ubuntu 19.10 and have a Calibre library in my user directory.
Is it possible for for my to run calibre under her login and have access to this library? It is just one computer, so we will not be accessing the files at the same time. She will only need read only access. We do this with music and video files.
I’ve read a lot of posts on the forum but it is not clear to me that this can be done on Calibre. A long-winded work around is to export the library to her account, but then I need to manually update her library whenever I add new books to my library and the duplication seems excessive.
Any ideas would be great…
Thanks

theducks · 11-04-2019, 10:12 AM

Why not move the Library (folder) to a folder with Group level access?
This way, each user gets their own USER preferences>

switch/create: USE EXISTING is how you point to the library you want to use.

As you note: Be absolutely sure the other user isn't running on that Library
The other option is run the content server for the primary user and the other user can access the library at ANY time.

PiggyReader · 11-04-2019, 12:05 PM

Thank you....that sounds so obvious when you explain it!

haertig · 11-04-2019, 01:11 PM

Is your goal for her to "actually run Calibre", or "to have access to the books"? If it's "to have access to the books" then the solution is a web-based server. There are several of those available. Calibre has one built in. There is another one, that I personally use, named "Calibre Web". There is another common one, that has a very basic interface, but my mind is forgetting the name of it right now.

If you actually want her to "run Calibre", then I would propose that you regularly rsync you Calibre library to a different directory (only sync in one direction) and let her run off that copy. Yes, you will consume twice the amount of disk space this way.

Or, as @theducks said, you would use Linux group permissions to give her read access to your Calibre files, and read/execute access to their containing directories. Then she would run Calibre as her userid. She would not be able to corrupt your Calibre installation since she would not have write permission. However, no telling how her Calibre would respond when it unexpectedly ran into blocked writes. Calibre may be graceful in that regard, or it may poop all over itself. I've never tried it to see. At minimum, I would expect her to see a few error messages.

But no matter what, you should already have implemented a solid backup procedure so that you can recover from any problems that may unexpectedly occur if you accidentally misconfigure something.

PiggyReader · 11-04-2019, 01:16 PM

Thank you haertig for the very clear instructions on the permissions. Will try Calibre Web as Plan B.

11-04-2019, 09:46 AM	#1
PiggyReader Junior Member Posts: 4 Karma: 10 Join Date: Nov 2019 Device: none	Sharing a Calibre library between users on Ubuntu Hello all I’m using Ubuntu 19.10 and have a Calibre library in my user directory. Is it possible for for my to run calibre under her login and have access to this library? It is just one computer, so we will not be accessing the files at the same time. She will only need read only access. We do this with music and video files. I’ve read a lot of posts on the forum but it is not clear to me that this can be done on Calibre. A long-winded work around is to export the library to her account, but then I need to manually update her library whenever I add new books to my library and the duplication seems excessive. Any ideas would be great… Thanks

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11-04-2019, 10:12 AM	#2
theducks Well trained by Cats Posts: 31,048 Karma: 60358908 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: The Central Coast of California Device: Kobo Libra2,Kobo Aura2v1, K4NT(Fixed: New Bat.), Galaxy Tab A	Why not move the Library (folder) to a folder with Group level access? This way, each user gets their own USER preferences> switch/create: USE EXISTING is how you point to the library you want to use. As you note: Be absolutely sure the other user isn't running on that Library The other option is run the content server for the primary user and the other user can access the library at ANY time.

11-04-2019, 12:05 PM	#3
PiggyReader Junior Member Posts: 4 Karma: 10 Join Date: Nov 2019 Device: none	Thank you....that sounds so obvious when you explain it!

11-04-2019, 01:11 PM	#4
haertig Wizard Posts: 1,897 Karma: 31522252 Join Date: Sep 2017 Device: PW3, Fire HD8 Gen7, Moto G7, Sansa Clip v2, Ruizu X26	Is your goal for her to "actually run Calibre", or "to have access to the books"? If it's "to have access to the books" then the solution is a web-based server. There are several of those available. Calibre has one built in. There is another one, that I personally use, named "Calibre Web". There is another common one, that has a very basic interface, but my mind is forgetting the name of it right now. If you actually want her to "run Calibre", then I would propose that you regularly rsync you Calibre library to a different directory (only sync in one direction) and let her run off that copy. Yes, you will consume twice the amount of disk space this way. Or, as @theducks said, you would use Linux group permissions to give her read access to your Calibre files, and read/execute access to their containing directories. Then she would run Calibre as her userid. She would not be able to corrupt your Calibre installation since she would not have write permission. However, no telling how her Calibre would respond when it unexpectedly ran into blocked writes. Calibre may be graceful in that regard, or it may poop all over itself. I've never tried it to see. At minimum, I would expect her to see a few error messages. But no matter what, you should already have implemented a solid backup procedure so that you can recover from any problems that may unexpectedly occur if you accidentally misconfigure something.

11-04-2019, 01:16 PM	#5
PiggyReader Junior Member Posts: 4 Karma: 10 Join Date: Nov 2019 Device: none	Thank you haertig for the very clear instructions on the permissions. Will try Calibre Web as Plan B.

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