ShelfPlayer

ShelfPlayer

Audiobookshelf client

21 ratings
165 reviews
$5.99

Details

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

Features

ShelfPlayer screenshot #1 for iPhone
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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

🥈 2

Book

The app has maintained its position at 2 recently.

Last updated on July 23, 2026.

User reviews

Gut

Also funktioniert bei mir sehr gut. Bestimmt ne Menge Arbeit, danke dafür

Finally fixed the background crashing, but many other issues added in the process

Previous update finally solved the background crashing issue, but caused numerous other issues.

1. Trying to play a completed episode without first explicitly resetting progress causes an instant crash

2. If you have used the sleep timer, you must set to random value, then cancels, then set again. Otherwise it will show a negative number in the thousands and prevent podcasts from playing

3. The latest field has disappeared from CarPlay with no discernible way to get it back.

4. Double click AirPods no longer skips forward, but instead SKIPS TO THE NEXT EPISODE unlike every other audio app in existence. There seems to be no way to change this

5. The currently playing display at the bottom of the screen with occasionally stop working and require a force close

6. Occasionally will crash when queueing multiple episodes

To users - maybe just use plappa. It’s clunky and less pretty, but it actually works consistently

To the dev - maybe layoff the vibes. Random things are breaking and changing in every update. Kinda bums me out
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Response from developer

Should be fixed in version 3.2.1

Works great when it works

I’m really happy overall with ShelfPlayer as it manages my audiobooks via audiobookshelf running on my Linux server. The problem is, it occasionally starts the book from the beginning. This isn’t a huge deal for shorter books, but I’m listening to 1000+ page books over the course of weeks/months and it takes a long long time of skipping around in the audio book to find my place. Infuriating.


Edit: seems fixed
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Response from developer

Should be fixed in version 3.2.1

Been my primary audiobook player

I’m at a period of life where reading books is difficult. I listen to books almost constantly. I have a half dozen audiobook apps and this one is my go to. I have multiple long series that I enjoy re-listening to, and this is a simple way to do that.

Good ABS App

This is my preferred Audiobookshelf app. I particularly like the integration with Shortcuts.

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.