📂 Organization Modes

When you create a library, you choose an organization mode that tells Booklore how to group your files into books. This is a per-library setting and cannot be changed after creation.

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📄 Book Per File

Every file becomes its own book. No grouping, no fuzzy matching, no surprises.

Library/
├── American Gods/
│   ├── American Gods.epub   ← book 1
│   ├── American Gods.pdf    ← book 2
│   └── American Gods.m4b    ← book 3
└── Dune/
    └── Dune.epub            ← book 4

Even though the three American Gods files share a folder and a name, each one is a separate book entry in Booklore.

When to use it

• You want full control over what counts as a book
• Your collection has lots of loose files and you don't care about multi-format grouping
• You prefer to merge formats manually after import

Root-level files

Works the same way. Every file at the library root is its own book.

Library/
├── Dune.epub       ← book 1
├── Dune.pdf        ← book 2
└── 1984.epub       ← book 3

Audiobooks

Chaptered audiobooks (2+ audio files in a folder) are still grouped into a single audiobook. Booklore detects folder-based audiobooks before the organization mode is applied, so this works the same in both modes.

Library/
└── Project Hail Mary/
    ├── 01 - Chapter 1.mp3   ← ┐
    ├── 02 - Chapter 2.mp3   ← ├─ one audiobook
    └── 03 - Chapter 3.mp3   ← ┘

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📁 Book Per Folder

All files in the same folder are grouped as one book. The folder is the boundary.

Library/
├── American Gods/
│   ├── American Gods.epub   ← ┐
│   ├── American Gods.pdf    ← ├─ one book, three formats
│   └── American Gods.m4b    ← ┘
└── Dune/
    └── Dune.epub            ← one book

When to use it

• You organize each book into its own folder (the most common setup)
• You want multi-format grouping (epub + pdf + m4b = one book)
• You have chaptered audiobooks (multiple audio files per folder)

Root-level files

Files at the library root have no folder to group by, so each file becomes its own book (same behavior as Book Per File).

Library/
├── Dune.epub       ← book 1
├── Dune.pdf        ← book 2
└── 1984.epub       ← book 3

Use subfolders

Move books into their own folders for proper grouping. Root-level files always end up as individual entries regardless of the mode.

Audiobooks

Chaptered audiobooks work naturally. All audio files in a folder become one book.

Library/
└── Project Hail Mary/
    ├── 01 - Chapter 1.mp3   ← ┐
    ├── 02 - Chapter 2.mp3   ← ├─ one audiobook
    └── 03 - Chapter 3.mp3   ← ┘

Audio absorption

If an audiobook subfolder sits under a folder that already has an ebook, the audiobook is absorbed into the same book entry.

Library/
└── Project Hail Mary/
    ├── Project Hail Mary.epub   ← ┐
    └── audiobook/                   │
        ├── 01 - Chapter 1.mp3  ← ├─ one book (epub + audiobook)
        ├── 02 - Chapter 2.mp3  ← │
        └── 03 - Chapter 3.mp3  ← ┘

This means you don't need to keep ebooks and chaptered audiobooks in separate folders. Booklore walks up the directory tree looking for a parent folder that contains an ebook and merges them.

Author folders and nesting

Intermediate directories (like author folders) don't interfere. Booklore groups by the immediate parent folder of each file.

Library/
└── Brandon Sanderson/
    ├── Mistborn 1 - The Final Empire/
    │   ├── The Final Empire.epub   ← one book
    │   └── The Final Empire.m4b    ← same book
    └── Mistborn 2 - The Well of Ascension/
        └── The Well of Ascension.epub  ← different book

Series in one folder

If you put multiple series entries in a single folder, they will all be merged into one book. Give each book its own folder.

Library/
└── Mistborn/
    ├── Mistborn Book 1.epub   ← ┐
    ├── Mistborn Book 2.epub   ← ├─ all merged into one book (probably not what you want)
    └── Mistborn Book 3.epub   ← ┘

Instead, use separate folders:

Library/
├── Mistborn 1 - The Final Empire/
│   └── The Final Empire.epub      ← book 1
├── Mistborn 2 - The Well of Ascension/
│   └── The Well of Ascension.epub ← book 2
└── Mistborn 3 - The Hero of Ages/
    └── The Hero of Ages.epub      ← book 3

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🔄 Choosing a Mode

	Book Per File	Book Per Folder
Multi-format grouping	No	Yes
Chaptered audiobooks	Yes (folder = one audiobook)	Yes (folder = one audiobook)
Ebook + audiobook together	No	Yes (with audio absorption)
Series in one folder	Works (each file is separate)	Doesn't work (all merged)
Predictability	Very high	High
Best for	Flat file collections, manual control	Organized folder-per-book layouts

Rule of thumb

If each book has its own folder, use Book Per Folder. If your files are loosely organized or you want one-file-one-book simplicity, use Book Per File.