# shelff – PDF Book Reader — Own your books, no lock-in

> iCloud-based PDF reader with advanced library management and metadata editing. (iPhone/iPad app by Satoshi Kojima.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/shelff-pdf-book-reader/id6760986626 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Satoshi Kojima](https://appshunter.io/developer/1887157382)
- Category: Books, Productivity
- Price: $6.99
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 17.0 · 8 MB
- Languages: Japanese, American English
- Released: 2026-04-03
- Data updated: 2026-10-25
- Monetization: paid
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/shelff-pdf-book-reader/id6760986626/reviews.md

## What is shelff?

shelff is a bookshelf for the books you own as PDFs — technical books, scanned books, DRM-free ebooks. One-time purchase, no subscription, no account. And no ads.

Everything lives in your iCloud Documents. You are never locked into a proprietary database. Metadata is saved as JSON files alongside your PDFs, so even if you stop using the app, your data remains yours.

■ Library
- Organize with folders or browse in a flat list
- Filter by categories and tags
- Group multi-volume works and magazine back issues into collections, with custom ordering
- Sort by title, author, date added, or last read
- Filter by reading status (unread, reading, finished)
- Full-text search across your PDFs
- Switch between grid and list views

■ PDF Reader
- Immersive full-screen reader
- Single page, two-up, and two-up with cover layouts
- Left-to-right (LTR) and right-to-left (RTL) support
- Highlights with optional comments
- Jump from table of contents or annotation list
- In-document text search
- Crop margins per book, with mirrored or separate settings for facing pages and optional cover exclusion
- Brightness adjustment
- Encrypted PDFs supported

■ Metadata Management
- Edit title, author, publisher, publication date, and more
- Auto-extract initial values from PDF metadata
- Automatic reading status transitions (starts reading, finishes at last page)

■ Siri, Shortcuts, and Spotlight
- Open a book, continue reading, or change reading status from Siri and Shortcuts
- Find and open books in your library from Spotlight

■ Data Transparency
- All data stored as files in iCloud Documents
- Metadata and display settings (layout, crop, etc.) in JSON; annotations in the PDF itself
- Annotations are saved as incremental updates, so existing content such as OCR text layers in scanned books stays intact
- Accessible anytime from the Files app
- On your Mac, an AI agent with shelff-mcp can search and organize the metadata JSON in your iCloud

## Key features

- iCloud PDF management
- Organize with folders and tags
- Full-text search
- Highlighting with comments
- Metadata editing
- Customizable reading layouts

## Chart rankings

- #72 in Top Paid · Book (US App Store)

## Is shelff safe?

Not enough ratings yet to assess shelff.

## Is shelff legit?

shelff – PDF Book Reader has limited verification signals. The AppsHunter Legitimacy Score for shelff is 58 out of 100 points across 7 verification signals from App Store and developer data.

## Recent user reviews (1 of 1)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/shelff-pdf-book-reader/id6760986626/reviews.md

### 5/5 — 画面の読み上げに対応して欲しい

*2026-04-20*

iPhone です。Kindleのように、画面の読み上げ時にページ送りされるように対応していただけると、オーディブルのように使えるので助かります。

## Frequently asked questions about shelff

### What is the price of shelff?

shelff is a paid application with a one-time purchase price of $6.99. This grants you full access to all its features without recurring charges.

### Does shelff have ads?

No, shelff is ad-free. You can enjoy an uninterrupted reading experience without any advertisements disrupting your workflow.

### What devices is shelff compatible with?

shelff is designed for both iPhone and iPad devices, offering a seamless experience across Apple's mobile platforms.

### How often is shelff updated?

The app was last updated on June 13, 2026, indicating active development and support. The current version is 1.4.0.

### Can I use shelff offline?

shelff relies on iCloud for storing and accessing your PDFs. While the reader itself functions offline once PDFs are downloaded, management and syncing require an internet connection.

### How does shelff handle my data privacy?

All your data is stored directly in iCloud Documents as files, with metadata in JSON format. This ensures you are never locked into a proprietary database and your data remains accessible even if you stop using the app.

### What age rating does shelff have?

shelff has an age rating of 4+, making it suitable for a wide range of users.

### Can I organize my PDFs into collections in shelff?

Yes, shelff allows you to group multi-volume works and magazine back issues into collections. You can also set custom ordering within these collections.

## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 1.8.2 — 2026-10-24

- In two-page view, the cover and the last page now sit on one side of the spread, as in Apple Books (iPad in landscape, iPhone Duo opened flat or in book pose).
- Tap zones in two-page view are now per page, so tapping the center of either page shows the menu.

### 1.8.1 — 2026-10-15

- On iPhone Duo in book pose, the cover now sits on one side of the fold instead of across it.

### 1.8.0 — 2026-10-13

Added support for iPhone Duo, with controls placed clear of the fold and grid columns tuned for narrow screens.

### 1.7.4 — 2026-10-09

Optimized internal UI implementation to improve system stability.

### 1.7.3 — 2026-10-03

- Fixed the sort & filter menu not showing the selected item correctly (missing checkmark on macOS, misalignment on iOS 27).
- Fixed Japanese localization.

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*Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-10-25.*