Running audible-rs on Windows with WSL2

[mkb79]

Running audible-rs on Windows with WSL2

audible-rs doesn't have a native Windows build yet — that's in progress. But you don't have to wait: it runs today on Windows through WSL2 (Windows Subsystem for Linux), with no compromises. WSL2 is a real Linux kernel, so the Linux build runs there exactly as it would on a Linux PC — including the download, decrypt, agent and plugin features.

This guide gets you from a plain Windows machine to a working audible command. It's written for testers, so feedback is the point: if a step doesn't work, that's exactly what we want to hear about (see Feedback at the end).

You'll need: Windows 11, or Windows 10 version 2004 or newer (Build 19041+). About 15 minutes.

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Step 1 — Install WSL2

Open PowerShell as Administrator (right-click the Start button → Terminal (Admin) or Windows PowerShell (Admin)), then run:

wsl --install

This enables everything needed and installs Ubuntu. New installs are WSL2 by default — nothing extra to configure.

Then restart your PC.

If wsl --install just prints help text, WSL is already partly installed. Run wsl --install -d Ubuntu instead.

Step 2 — Create your Linux user

After the restart, an Ubuntu window opens by itself and asks you to "Enter new UNIX username" and a password. This is a Linux account, separate from your Windows login — pick anything you like and remember the password (you'll need it for sudo).

If no window appears, open Ubuntu from the Start menu.

Step 3 — Confirm it's WSL2

Back in PowerShell (normal, no admin needed):

wsl -l -v

The VERSION column must say 2. If it says 1:

wsl --set-version Ubuntu 2

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Step 4 — Install audible

Everything from here on happens inside the Ubuntu window (not PowerShell) — it's a normal Linux terminal.

Install with the one-liner:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mkb79/audible-rs/main/install.sh | sh

If it warns that ~/.local/bin isn't on your PATH, run this once and reopen the terminal:

echo 'export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"' >> ~/.bashrc

Check it works:

audible --version

For download --decrypt you also need a decryption tool. Install one now, before the setup below asks about it — audible-rs uses whichever it finds:

• ffmpeg — the simple choice, one command:

  sudo apt update && sudo apt install -y ffmpeg

• aaxclean-cli — purpose-built and noticeably faster. audible-rs prefers it automatically when it's on your PATH. Optional; get it from its releases page if you want the speed.

Step 5 — Run the guided setup

audible setup walks you through the important defaults interactively — download folder, filename style, cover size, chapters, and whether to decrypt:

audible setup

When it asks for the download directory, this is the moment for the one WSL-specific choice: point it at your Windows drive so Explorer and your media player can reach your audiobooks. Enter (replace <YOU> with your Windows username, the folder under C:\Users\):

/mnt/c/Users/<YOU>/Audiobooks

Everything else — config, login, the library database — stays inside Linux automatically, which is exactly where it should be. Don't put those on /mnt/c; the Windows drive doesn't handle database file-locking reliably. Downloads are just files, so they're happy there.

Changed your mind later? audible config set settings.default.download_dir "/mnt/c/Users/<YOU>/Audiobooks" sets the same thing without rerunning setup.

Step 6 — Add your account

A. New here — log in interactively:

audible account login

B. Coming from audible-cli, or you already have an auth file — it's on your Windows drive, which WSL sees as /mnt/c. Import it (replace with your real path):

audible account import /mnt/c/Users/<YOU>/.audible/<yourfile>.json

Step 7 — Sync and download

audible library sync
audible library list
audible download --asin <ASIN> --decrypt

Your finished audiobooks appear in Windows under C:\Users\<YOU>\Audiobooks, ready to open in any player.

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Where your data lives

What	Where	Reachable from Windows?
Audiobooks (downloads)	C:\Users\<YOU>\Audiobooks	Yes — normal Windows folder
Config, login, .wvd, database	Inside the Linux home (~/.config, ~/.local/share)	Via \\wsl$\Ubuntu\home\<user> if needed

Keeping downloads on C: has a nice side effect: they sit outside the Linux VM, so they survive even if you rebuild WSL from scratch.

Troubleshooting

• audible: command not found — the PATH line from Step 4 wasn't applied. Run it and reopen the terminal.
• A sync or database error mentioning "lock" / "database is locked" — the config or database directory was moved onto /mnt/.... Keep those in the Linux home; only downloads belong on /mnt/c.
• --decrypt fails with "no decrypt tool found" — install ffmpeg (or aaxclean-cli) from Step 4.
• Reaching a Windows file from Linux — your C: drive is /mnt/c. Reaching a Linux file from Windows — type \\wsl$ in Explorer's address bar.

Feedback

This is the WSL2 path; a native Windows build is coming. If anything here doesn't work, is unclear, or behaves oddly — please reply below with your Windows version (winver), what you ran, and what happened. That's what makes you a tester, and it's genuinely helpful. Thanks for trying it out!