Audiobookshelf: open it, first login, settings, fixes
· Updated 18 September 2026 · SparkBox team
A self-hosted audiobook and podcast server. Stream your audiobook and podcast collections from any device with progress tracking, bookmarks, and chapter support. This is the short card for it — the two minutes after you press Enable, and the page to come back to when something is off.
Open it
Dashboard → Apps → Audiobookshelf → Open. The direct address on your network is:
http://<your-box-IP>:13378Create a library and add your audiobook or podcast folders to get started
First login
No default account. Audiobookshelf shows a setup screen on first launch where you create your admin user.
Any password the installer generated for you is under Settings → Passwords; the Open button offers to copy it.
Worth knowing
- Upload audiobooks or point to your existing audiobook folder to start listening
- Install the Audiobookshelf app on your phone for mobile listening with sync
When it breaks
If it will not open, check the app card first — a red dot means it is restarting or unhealthy, and this walkthrough reads the reason from its log. Tom AI on the dashboard can do the same for you.
Where your data lives
/opt/sparkbox/modules/audiobookshelf/config/Included in the dashboard's Backup by default. Restoring that backup on a fresh install brings Audiobookshelf back exactly as it was.
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.