How to set up Audiobookshelf
· Updated 31 July 2026 · SparkBox team
Listen to your audiobooks and podcasts anywhere. This guide covers how to access it, log in for the first time, configure the basics, and where its data lives so you can back it up.
1. What is Audiobookshelf?
A self-hosted audiobook and podcast server. Stream your audiobook and podcast collections from any device with progress tracking, bookmarks, and chapter support.
2. How to access it
Once it's enabled, Audiobookshelf runs on your SparkBox at:
http://<your-NAS-IP>:13378Create a library and add your audiobook or podcast folders to get started
3. First login
No default account. Audiobookshelf shows a setup screen on first launch where you create your admin user.
If it instead asks for a password you didn't set, check Settings → Passwords in your SparkBox dashboard — every auto-generated credential is listed there.
4. Tips
- Upload audiobooks or point to your existing audiobook folder to start listening
- Install the Audiobookshelf app on your phone for mobile listening with sync
5. Where your data lives
Audiobookshelf's config and persistent data are stored on the SparkBox host under:
/opt/sparkbox/modules/audiobookshelf/config/Backups via the SparkBox dashboard's Backup tile include this directory by default, so a single restore brings Audiobookshelf back to its current state on a fresh install.
Next steps
That's Audiobookshelf live on SparkBox.
If something doesn't match what you see, post in d/sparkbox or hit us up on YouTube. Every SparkBox bug gets patched; every UX-stumble in this guide gets rewritten.
Questions, or did this not match your box?
Every guide here came from a real problem someone hit. If yours behaves differently, say so — that is how these get corrected, and how the fix gets prioritised.
We answer there rather than in a comment box, because that is where the people who have already solved it are.