ShelfPlayer

ShelfPlayer

Audiobookshelf client

133 ratings
171 reviews
With Ads#21 in paid Book
🎬 Entertainment
📚 Books
$5.99
With Ads

Details

  • Released
  • Updated
  • March 13, 2024
  • June 9, 2026

Features

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iphone
ipad
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About

This app provides a native iOS experience for managing and listening to audiobooks and podcasts from your self-hosted Audiobookshelf library. It offers robust playback controls, offline access, and seamless integration with the Apple ecosystem.

Unified audiobook and podcast management
Multi-server support
Flexible authentication options
Global and library search
Playback queues and chapter navigation
Configurable playback speed and skip intervals
Offline mode and automatic downloads
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What users say

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What's New in ShelfPlayer

3.3.0

June 9, 2026

This release introduces Podcast Channels support and a new Statistics sheet showing listening activity and goals. The Episode view has been redesigned, and the Now Playing screen now features an animated background. The Sleep Timer and playback speed picker have been reworked, and the home screen has a new customization editor. OpenID Connect authentication has been fixed, and library lookup is more reliable, with better genre handling and tag support. Settings have been redesigned, and iPadOS layout, accessibility, and CarPlay have all received polish, including a fix for physical wheel buttons that didn't work in some circumstances. Internally, event propagation has moved from NotificationCenter to Combine. Other changes include: - New Bookmark Export App Intent - Updated Intents and Shortcuts support - Better image aspect ratio handling - New marquee text for long titles - Increased offline mode timeout - Convenience Download subsystem rework - More WebSocket events for progress, sessions, and item updates - Memory leak fixes - Under-the-hood refactors and project structure cleanup - Translation updates - Various bug fixes

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Charts

Top Paid

📊 21

Book

The app has maintained its position at 21 recently.

Last updated on August 12, 2026.

User reviews

So far from what I have expected

I am connecting to an instance of Audiobookshelf and I have to log in every other time that I open the app. Then it takes a minute to load the main screen and even though it downloads episodes it stll takes time before you can play anything.

I do not recommend at all. There are better alternatives.
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Pretty good but lots of bugs

There is a bug where the audio stops playing at midnight and cannot be restarted without going to the app. Also the chapter selection from the book page is broken but it works in the playback menu with visual bugs. Sometimes the downloads randomly disappear.

Decent but needs work

Constantly going offline, losing my current position in my book, skipping too far, etc. it’s just pretty clunky

Constantly losing podcast/audiobook progress

Using the sleep timer function for several 20 minute podcast series and audio books. When the timer runs through several episodes or chapters over the course of an hour long timer I constantly find the shelf player app not saving progress to ABS on timer end and starting right back where the last session began.

I’m losing multiple episodes or chapters of progress and taking up a lot of time constantly re-marking episodes complete or trying to figure out where to resume an audiobook before continuing listening sessions.

The UI is very nice but this functionality flaw is heavily detracting from the experience
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Great App

Does everything I need to, recognizes Audiobookshelf tags, collections, series etc. which is super helpful

Developer apps

User experience

🐞

Reported Bugs

6 issues

Unable to present all books from an author

Bug

Keeps resetting book progress

Bug

Offline mode broken, can't play downloaded books

Bug

Crashes after recent update

Bug

Widgets not updating with last played book

Bug

Login issues and app getting stuck in offline mode

Bug

Requested Features

6 requests

Option to load fully downloaded books without server handshake

Feature

Ability to filter library view to only downloaded books

Feature

Add support for ebooks and PDF files

Feature

Customizable playback speed options beyond 2x

Feature

Implement a static reading queue/playlist

Feature

Add Apple Watch support for offline listening

Feature

FAQ

What is ShelfPlayer?

ShelfPlayer is a powerful iOS application designed for users who have self-hosted Audiobookshelf libraries. It allows you to listen to your audiobooks and podcasts directly from your own server, offering a native and integrated experience on your iPhone or iPad.

Do I need to buy audiobooks or podcasts through the app?

No, ShelfPlayer does not include any media content. You must have a running Audiobookshelf instance with your own audiobooks and podcasts to use the app. It acts as a client to access and play your existing library.

What are the key features of ShelfPlayer?

Key features include unified management for audiobooks and podcasts, support for multiple servers, flexible authentication, global search, playback queues, chapter navigation, customizable playback speed and skip intervals, offline downloads, and integration with Apple features like Live Activities and Siri.

Is ShelfPlayer free to use?

Based on the provided information, ShelfPlayer is a paid application. It does not contain ads or in-app purchases, indicating a one-time purchase model for the app itself.

What devices is ShelfPlayer compatible with?

ShelfPlayer is built for iOS 18+ and is designed to work natively on both iPhone and iPad. It also supports CarPlay and integrates with Apple ecosystem features like AirPlay, Siri, and Live Activities.