---
name: "ebook-meta"
section: "1"
platform: "linux"
package: "calibre"
version: "9.14.0-5"
release: "Arch Linux 2026-11-01"
platforms: ["linux"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/ebook-meta"
---

# ebook-meta(1)

ebook-meta Read/Write metadata from/to e-book files. Supported formats for reading metadata: azw, azw1, azw3, azw4, cb7, cbc, cbr, cbz, chm, docx, epub, fb2, fbz, html, htmlz, imp, kepub, lit, lrf, lrx, mobi, odt, oebzip, opf, pdb, pdf, pml, pmlz, pobi, prc, rar, rb, rtf, snb, tpz, txt, txtz, updb, zip Supported formats for writing metadata: azw, azw1, azw3, azw4, docx, epub, fb2, fbz, htmlz, kepub, lrf, mobi, odt, pdb, pdf, prc, rtf, tpz, txtz Different file types support different kinds of metadata. If you try to set some metadata on a file type that does not support it, the metadata will be silently ignored. Whenever you pass arguments to ebook-meta that have spaces in them, enclose the arguments in quotation marks. For example: "/some path/with spaces"

## NAME

ebook-meta - ebook-meta

```
ebook-meta ebook_file [options]
```

Read/Write metadata from/to e-book files.

Supported formats for reading metadata: azw, azw1, azw3, azw4, cb7, cbc, cbr, cbz, chm, docx, epub, fb2, fbz, html, htmlz, imp, kepub, lit, lrf, lrx, mobi, odt, oebzip, opf, pdb, pdf, pml, pmlz, pobi, prc, rar, rb, rtf, snb, tpz, txt, txtz, updb, zip

Supported formats for writing metadata: azw, azw1, azw3, azw4, docx, epub, fb2, fbz, htmlz, kepub, lrf, mobi, odt, pdb, pdf, prc, rtf, tpz, txtz

Different file types support different kinds of metadata. If you try to set some metadata on a file type that does not support it, the metadata will be silently ignored.

Whenever you pass arguments to **ebook-meta** that have spaces in them, enclose the arguments in quotation marks. For example: "/some path/with spaces"

## \[OPTIONS\]

- **--author-sort**

  String to be used when sorting by author. If unspecified, and the author(s) are specified, it will be auto-generated from the author(s).

- **--authors, -a**

  Set the authors. Multiple authors should be separated by the & character. Author names should be in the order Firstname Lastname.

- **--book-producer, -k**

  Set the book producer.

- **--category**

  Set the book category.

- **--comments, -c**

  Set the e-book description.

- **--cover**

  Set the cover to the specified file.

- **--date, -d**

  Set the published date.

- **--disallow-rendered-cover**

  For formats like EPUB that use a **"**default cover**"** of the first page rendered, disallow such default covers

- **--from-opf**

  Read metadata from the specified OPF file and use it to set metadata in the e-book. Metadata specified on the command line will override metadata read from the OPF file

- **--get-cover**

  Get the cover from the e-book and save it at as the specified file.

- **--help, -h**

  show this help message and exit

- **--identifier**

  Set the identifiers for the book, can be specified multiple times. For example: **--identifier** uri:https://acme.com **--identifier** isbn:12345 To remove an identifier, specify no value, **--identifier** isbn: Note that for EPUB files, an identifier marked as the package identifier cannot be removed.

- **--index, -i**

  Set the index of the book in this series.

- **--isbn**

  Set the ISBN of the book.

- **--language, -l**

  Set the language.

- **--lrf-bookid**

  Set the BookID in LRF files

- **--publisher, -p**

  Set the e-book publisher.

- **--rating, -r**

  Set the rating. Should be a number between 1 and 5.

- **--series, -s**

  Set the series this e-book belongs to.

- **--tags**

  Set the tags for the book. Should be a comma separated list.

- **--title, -t**

  Set the title.

- **--title-sort**

  The version of the title to be used for sorting. If unspecified, and the title is specified, it will be auto-generated from the title.

- **--to-opf**

  Specify the name of an OPF file. The metadata will be written to the OPF file.

- **--version**

  show program**'**s version number and exit

## Author

Kovid Goyal

## Copyright

Kovid Goyal