BookShelves
First, thank you for creating BookShelves.
One feature I’d love to see is access to the library files through iCloud Drive. While BookShelves syncs via iCloud, the actual files aren’t exposed in a BookShelves folder, so there’s no way to browse or work with them directly from Finder or the Files app.
Having an optional BookShelves folder in iCloud Drive would enable several useful workflows, for example:
- Dragging new books into the folder to import them.
- Browsing the library files directly for comparison, occasional cleanup, or optionally metadata edits.
- Integrating with other tools, scripts, or automation while still using BookShelves as the primary library manager (my main use case).
I understand there may be technical reasons for keeping the files internal, so I’d see this as an optional feature for users who prefer a more file-based workflow.
Thanks again for building such a great app, and thanks for considering the idea!
1 comment
Thank you for the thoughtful write-up, and glad you're enjoying the app!
The main challenge with exposing files in iCloud Drive is metadata consistency. BookShelves stores metadata (reading position, shelves, ratings, annotations) separately from the book files. If files are renamed, moved, or modified directly in Finder, the metadata linkage breaks and the library can lose track of which data belongs to which book.
It's something we'd need to solve carefully before opening up direct file access. I've noted it as a feature request and appreciate the detailed use cases -- they help when evaluating the design tradeoffs.