Your audiobooks. Your server.
else-wer is a self-hosted audiobook player — scan your library, stream or download for offline listening, and keep everything on hardware you control.
Everything you'd expect from a library, none of the cloud
Full library scanning
Point else-wer at your audiobook folder and it builds your library automatically, cover art included.
Metadata matching
Match books against known metadata and auto-group series, with a manual override when it gets something wrong.
Installable PWA player
A fast player you can add to your home screen on any device — resume playback, streaming, and offline downloads.
Multi-user with permissions
Share your server with family without sharing admin access — per-user permissions for who can reorganize the library.
Library organizer
Rename, move, and merge books right from the browser, with metadata matched and cover art kept in sync.
Runs anywhere
A single lightweight Rust binary — comfortable on a Raspberry Pi, an old laptop, or a small VPS.
Listen anywhere
Web app, free
Served by your else-wer server, nothing extra to install. Add it to your home screen on any device. One catch on iPhone: pause from the lock screen and you'll need to unlock to resume.
Android app
A native player with lock-screen controls and offline downloads, for a small one-time fee. Coming soon to Google Play.
iPhone app, in the works
Under construction and released based on demand. It will also be a one-time purchase of about $5.
Running in one command
git clone https://github.com/syedyaseen/else-wer-server.git
cd else-wer-server
cp .env.docker.example .env.docker # set JWT_SECRET
mkdir audiobooks # put your library here
docker compose up -d --buildWhy self-host an audiobook player?
Audiobook apps tied to a subscription can lose you access to books you've already bought, and cloud libraries mean someone else decides what "your" collection looks like. else-wer runs on hardware you own — a Raspberry Pi is enough — so your library, your listening history, and your data stay exactly where you put them.
Support this project
The else-wer server is free for personal use: no subscription, no account with us, and no telemetry from the server. If it's useful to you, consider supporting its development.