BookStrap is created to provide an easy and useful way of organizing and collecting ebooks. It is very easy to use and low on resources. It also has a contact form powered by sendgrid configured, but it is optional.
The current stack used behind the framework is Node.js, Express.js, MongoDB and React. The React part was bootstrapped with Create React App. Please refer to the link for the further guide on the development of the frontend. /
I am a book lover and a Kindle owner. I had troubles keeping my books organized, and I wanted them to store on the cloud. I firstly tried Calibre-Server however it required some hack to make it work on the server environment using tools such as xvfb and imagemagick. Also it was quite heavy on the server (constant 40-50% CPU usage all the time). I also tried other frameworks but they all relied on calibredb to add and retrieve content from the database which still made me deal with hacky tools. So I developed my own.
It is still in an alpha stage and I provided some TODOs at the end of this Readme. If you are interested in the main advantages of the framework, they are:
- Easy to install and portable
- Lightweight and without too many lines of code
- A search is provided with the support of tags
- If you have Amazon Kindle, you can directly send the books to it
Also this is actually my first project in Web Development so expect a lot of bad code :)
To install the framework just follow the steps below:
- Clone the repo:
git clone https://github.com/aeroith/BookStrap.git - Rename the configuration file in the server directory by removing the .example
extension:
mv server/config.json.example server/config.json - Fill the
config.jsonfile according to your settings. - Install the dependencies for both backend and frontend using
npm installinside the root project folder and server folder - Build:
npm run build - Test:
npm test - Serve:
node server - Go to
localhost:3001to see your app
The app will by default serve on 3001 port for the production build and 3000 for the development build. You can change it according to your needs. I personally use it with Nginx reverse proxy as you can see in the demo. But it is up to you to decide how to serve it.
This feature is currently experimental and can have some problems with certain books. Converting books to .mobi format requires high CPU usage so sometimes the server cannot handle it. My server is the cheapest one from DigitalOcean and it works fine now.
I have only tried it with gmail and it works. I will test it with custom mails and other providers when I have time. For GMail, just make sure that you enable less secure apps for it. And also make sure to add your email address to Amazon manage your content and devices page.
config.json file is self explanatory. Just put your gmail username/password and your
kindle mail address (must end with @kindle.com) there. Sorry for kobo/nook users:(
For any issue or any request please use the form on the demo website to send me a mail or open a new issue. Also please note that if you have problems with adding books to the server, please refer to my epub parser here.
Currently big files can be problematic sometimes. I am trying to find the reason as it works perfectly on localhost.
I am planning to add a login page to the homepage.