Shelfr
E-book manager for macOSNative SwiftUI100% on device
Shelfr: Your library, on any reader.
Plug in a Kindle, Kobo, or Nook and Shelfr recognizes it by name, then sends each book in exactly the format that device wants. No conversion dialogs, ever. Your books are read, converted and sent entirely on your Mac.
Version 1.2.1 · macOS 15+, including 27 Golden Gate · Apple Silicon & Intel · Signed & notarized by Apple · No account
A Windows build is on the way
Your shelf on the left, your reader on the right. Right-click any book to convert between formats. Shelfr picks the format each device needs.
01 How it works
Plug in a reader. Send your books.
Add your books
Drag EPUBs, PDFs, or a whole folder onto the window, or press ⌘O. Shelfr reads each cover and author on your Mac. Nothing is uploaded.
Plug in a reader
Connect a Kindle, Kobo, or Nook over USB. Shelfr finds it automatically and shows it by name with its real free space.
Pick and send
Select books and press ⌘S, or drag them onto the reader. Shelfr converts to the format that device reads and copies them over. A progress panel shows book N of M.
Safe to unplug
Right-click the reader and choose Eject. Shelfr unmounts it cleanly, so you can pull the cable without a warning.
02 Features
Your shelf already knows what your readers want.
Every e-book manager makes you do the device's homework. Shelfr deletes the question: the format decision and the transfer are the app's problem, not yours.
Format is the app's problem
Shelfr picks the right format per book, per device: a straight copy where the reader is native, and EPUB → KEPUB for Kobo. You never see a conversion dialog, because there isn't one.
Zero-menu sending
Convert between formats
MOBI → EPUB, TXT → EPUB, and EPUB → KEPUB run natively, with no dependencies. Writing Amazon's MOBI or AZW3 uses a copy of the free, open-source Calibre if you have it, and points you to it if you don't.
Native + Calibre
It knows your reader
Plug in a Kindle, Kobo, Nook, or PocketBook and Shelfr detects it over USB, shows its free space, and delivers each book in the format it reads. Any other e-reader that mounts as a drive works too.
Auto-detect
Batch everything
Select hundreds and send or convert them in one go. A dismissible progress panel shows exactly which book is on the bar (title and author, book 12 of 50), and you can hide it and keep browsing while it runs.
Dismissible panel
Sends are safe
Atomic writes mean an unplug mid-copy never leaves a truncated book. Files are de-duplicated, checked against the device's free space before writing, and given tidy
Atomic
Title - Author names sanitized for the reader.A real bookshelf
Shelfr reads the cover and author out of each EPUB, and draws a typeset cover for books that ship without art, so the grid always looks like books. Search by title or author, and smart shelves group by format and recency.
Covers & search
The library survives anything
Books on an external drive don't vanish when it remounts at a different path. Shelfr tracks each file by a bookmark and finds it again, and never drops a book because a drive is unplugged. A book that's away is dimmed, not deleted.
Resilient
100% on your Mac
Your books are read, converted, and sent entirely on your machine: no account, no tracking, nothing uploaded. The only network call Shelfr makes on its own is its weekly check for a new version, which you can switch off. Enter a business license key and it re-checks that key too. With no key stored, that never happens.
Private
Sort by date, title, or author
Three sort fields with a reverse toggle on each, so you can work through the shelf in whatever order makes sense: newest-first for a fresh import, author A-Z for a specific series, or oldest-first to clean up a legacy library.
Quick Look a book without opening it
Press Space on any selected cover and macOS Quick Look previews the file, exactly the way Finder does. Close it with Space or Escape.
Book Info (⌘I)
A detail sheet for every book: title, authors, format, file size, publisher, language, the file's location on disk, DRM status, and whether the book is already on your connected reader.
Right-click for everything
A context menu on any book with Send to, Convert to, Quick Look, Book Info, Copy Path, Reveal in Finder, and Remove. Multi-select works: shift-click a range or ⌘-click individual covers, then act on all of them at once.
Drop files onto the shelf
Drag books or entire folders from Finder onto Shelfr's window and they're imported. Double-click a cover to send it straight to the connected reader.
Conversion queue
Queue multiple conversion batches and they run one after another instead of being refused while the first is still going. The progress panel shows which batch and which book.
Thirteen languages
Choose from thirteen languages inside the app, independent of your Mac's system language. Numbers, sizes, and dates follow the choice. English, German, Spanish, French, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Dutch, Polish, Brazilian Portuguese, Russian, Turkish, and Simplified Chinese.
Keyboard Shortcuts panel
Press ⌘/ to see every shortcut in the app. VoiceOver reads each chord aloud rather than spelling Unicode symbols.
Device diagnostic report
If Shelfr doesn't detect your reader, generate a privacy-safe device report in one click and share it. The report includes what was found on the USB bus without touching your books or your file system.
Missing Books shelf
When a drive is disconnected, its books collect in a dedicated Missing shelf so you can see exactly what is away and what is here. A Remove Missing option cleans them up when you are sure the drive is not coming back.
Respects your accessibility settings
Shelfr follows macOS Increase Contrast and Reduce Motion preferences. Stronger borders and quieter transitions for people who need them, without a switch inside the app.
Signed & notarized
Opens with a normal double-click: no "unidentified developer" warning, no Terminal. Signed with an Apple Developer ID and notarized by Apple. One universal build for Apple Silicon and Intel.
No warnings
Built for everyone
Fully keyboard-operable (arrow keys move across the shelf, ⌘S sends), with VoiceOver labels and announcements throughout and WCAG 2.1 AA contrast in both light and dark, checked by the test suite.
WCAG 2.1 AA
03 The honest part
The books you're free to move.
Shelfr handles the books you own the right to move: your own EPUBs, Standard Ebooks, DRM-free store purchases, Humble Bundle, and the like. It will not strip Amazon or Adobe DRM. A DRM-protected book is refused up front rather than copied as a file your reader can't open. And honestly, that line is the reason everything else can stay this clean.
One more straight answer: a loose EPUB copied to a Kindle over USB never appears. Amazon's EPUB support is Send to Kindle, which converts on their servers. So Shelfr says so and points you there, or you send a MOBI, AZW3, or PDF, which Kindles do read over USB. Kobo and Nook read EPUB directly, and for Kobo, Shelfr converts to KEPUB for you.
04 Pricing
Free. For everyone.
Personal use is free forever: the full app, no key, no account, no nag screens. Free for commercial use at work too, no license required.
Personal
Free forever
For individuals and personal use
- The full app, every feature
- Unlimited books and readers
- Native conversion, batch sends
- 100% on-device, nothing uploaded
- No account, no nag screens
- Free updates forever
Business
$5 / device
Free at work too
- Everything in Personal
- Use commercially at work
- Free for commercial use
- Free updates forever
- Supports solo indie development
Free for everyone: personal use, commercial use, no license required.
05 Download & install
Get set up in seconds.
Download the app and drag it into Applications. That's it. No Terminal, no Homebrew, no sign-up.
Version 1.2.1 · Free updates forever
macOS 15 Sequoia or later, including macOS 27 Golden Gate · Apple Silicon or Intel
Everything Shelfr needs to read, convert, and send your books is built into the app. Writing MOBI/AZW3 for a Kindle is the one thing that uses a separate copy of the free Calibre if you have it installed.
Opens with a double-click
Shelfr is signed with an Apple Developer ID and notarized by Apple, so it opens cleanly the first time: no
Open Anyway trip through System Settings, no Terminal. Open the DMG, drag Shelfr into Applications, and launch it.Your books stay yours
Everything happens on your Mac: reading covers, converting formats, copying to readers. Nothing about your books is ever uploaded, and there's no account. Shelfr won't strip DRM.
Check the file you downloaded
Shelfr is signed with an Apple Developer ID and notarized by Apple, and macOS checks that every time you open it. That is the check that catches a file altered on its way to you. To confirm it yourself, compare the SHA-256 of your copy with the one published for the
Shelfr.dmg this page serves.SHA-256 checksum
Published checksum
Run this on your download and compare
shasum -a 256 ~/Downloads/Shelfr.dmg
Or have your Mac compare them for you: save Shelfr.dmg.sha256 beside the download and run shasum -a 256 -c Shelfr.dmg.sha256.
06 FAQ
Common questions.
Is Shelfr really free?
Personal use is free forever: the full app, no account, no trial timer, no nag screens. If you use Shelfr at work, free for commercial use at work too, with no license to buy.
Which readers does Shelfr support?
Kindle, Kobo, Nook, and PocketBook are recognized by name over USB, and any other e-reader that mounts as a USB drive works as a generic reader. Shelfr shows each connected reader with its free space and delivers each book in the format that device reads.
Does Shelfr remove DRM?
No. Shelfr moves the books you're free to move: your own EPUBs, Standard Ebooks, and DRM-free store purchases. It will not strip Amazon or Adobe DRM, and a DRM-protected book is refused up front rather than copied as a file your reader can't open.
Can Shelfr put EPUBs on my Kindle?
A loose EPUB copied to a Kindle over USB never appears: Amazon's EPUB support is Send to Kindle, which converts server-side. Shelfr says so up front and points you there, or you can send a MOBI, AZW3, or PDF, which Kindles do read over USB. Kobo and Nook read EPUB directly, and for Kobo, Shelfr converts to KEPUB automatically.
Do I need Calibre?
Not for most conversions. MOBI → EPUB, EPUB → KEPUB, and TXT → EPUB are built in and need nothing. Writing Amazon's MOBI or AZW3 is the one hard direction. For that, install the free, open-source Calibre and Shelfr uses its converter at arm's length. If Calibre isn't installed, Shelfr shows a link to get it instead of offering a conversion it can't do.
Does Shelfr upload anything?
No. Your books are read, converted, and sent entirely on your Mac. Nothing about them ever leaves your computer, and there is no account and no tracking. Shelfr's only routine network call is a check with twoplus11.com about once a week for a new version, which sends the app version and nothing else and can be switched off from the Shelfr menu. If you enter a business license key, the app re-checks that key with us about once a day; with no key stored, that request never happens.
What happens to books on a drive I unplug?
They move to a Missing Books shelf so you can see exactly what is away and what is here. Plug the drive back in and they reappear on the main shelf. If the drive is not coming back, Remove Missing cleans them up.
Will macOS warn me about an unidentified developer?
No. Shelfr is signed with an Apple Developer ID and notarized by Apple, so it opens with a normal double-click the first time: no Open Anyway trip through System Settings, no Terminal.
How do I update Shelfr?
Shelfr updates itself. It checks about once a week and installs a new version in the background, so the next time you open Shelfr you are already on the latest build. You can also check on demand from the Shelfr menu, turn the automatic check off there, or download the Shelfr.dmg from this page and drag it into Applications yourself.
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