Free books inside Calibre

v0.6.23 beta Calibre 6+

Gutenberg Curator

Free books?! Project Gutenberg has a huge library of free public-domain ebooks, and Calibre is the free, open-source app that helps you manage them. Gutenberg Curator is the plugin that puts Gutenberg's Top 100, Emmy's Picks, reading-list collections, and human-read audiobooks right inside Calibre.

Download v0.6.23 ZIP Start here Click-by-click install Get Calibre first Plugin support

Free booksBrowse public-domain ebooks from Project Gutenberg.

Windows readyThe ZIP installs inside Calibre on Windows, macOS, or Linux.

Daily listsTop 100 refreshes with Gutenberg's daily popularity page.

AudiobooksHuman-read audio browsing with longer lookup guidance.

Inside the plugin

BrowseOpen Gutenberg lists without leaving Calibre.

ChoosePick preferred ebook or audiobook formats.

DownloadSave files directly when available.

AddSend supported ebooks into your Calibre library.

Start here

New to Calibre, Project Gutenberg, or plugins?

Fair question. This is not a standalone app you open by double-clicking. It is a Calibre plugin, which means Calibre loads the ZIP and adds a new Gutenberg Curator button inside the Calibre app.

Free books?!

What is Project Gutenberg?

Project Gutenberg is an online library of free ebooks, mostly older public-domain books that anyone can legally read, download, and share.

Visit Project Gutenberg

Library app

What is Calibre?

Calibre is a free, open-source desktop app for Windows, macOS, and Linux. It organizes ebooks, converts formats, edits metadata, and sends books to many ereaders.

Download Calibre

Tiny add-on

What is a plugin?

A plugin is a small add-on that gives an app a new feature. This ZIP is the add-on; Calibre imports it from Preferences.

Calibre plugin help

Why should I care?

You get a friendlier path to thousands of free public-domain books, you keep your books in one library, and you use Calibre, an open-source app whose code is public instead of locked inside one company's bookstore. Gutenberg Curator makes the good stuff easier to find.

If you downloaded this on a phone or tablet: move the ZIP to the computer where Calibre is installed. Do not unzip it. Open Calibre, go to Preferences, then Plugins, then choose Load plugin from file and select the ZIP.

Windows note: Windows may show the plugin as a compressed folder. Leave it alone. Do not right-click Extract All. Calibre needs the ZIP file exactly as downloaded.

Click-by-click

Install Gutenberg Curator with no guessing

Use this path on the Windows, Mac, or Linux computer where Calibre is installed. On Windows, the ZIP may look like a compressed folder. Keep it zipped.

Install Calibre first

Click Get Calibre first, choose Windows on Calibre's official download page if you use a PC, install Calibre, then open Calibre once.

Get Calibre first Windows / macOS / Linux Download Calibre Install Open Calibre

Download the plugin ZIP

Return to this page and click Download v0.6.23 ZIP. On Windows, save it to Downloads and leave it zipped even if File Explorer calls it a compressed folder.

Download v0.6.23 ZIP Save to Downloads Do not Extract All

Open Calibre's plugin screen

In Calibre on Windows, use the Preferences button in the top toolbar. In the Preferences window, find Advanced, then click Plugins. The same path works on Mac and Linux.

Calibre Preferences Advanced Plugins

Load the ZIP file

Click Load plugin from file. On Windows, open Downloads, select gutenberg-curator-v0.6.23.zip, then click Open. On Mac, the button may say Choose.

Load plugin from file gutenberg-curator-v0.6.23.zip Open on Windows Choose on Mac

Approve Calibre's warning

Calibre warns you before installing plugins from files. If you chose the ZIP from this page and trust LB Creations, click Yes, OK, or Apply.

Warning appears Yes / OK

Restart Calibre

Close Calibre, open it again, then look for the Gutenberg Curator button in the toolbar.

Close Calibre Open Calibre Gutenberg Curator

Add the button if it is hidden

If you do not see Gutenberg Curator, open Preferences, then Toolbars & menus. Choose The main toolbar, add Gutenberg Curator, click Apply, then close Preferences.

Preferences Toolbars & menus The main toolbar Add Gutenberg Curator Apply

Stuck on any screen? Take a screenshot and use Plugin support. Tell us which step you reached and what Calibre showed.

What it does

Project Gutenberg lists for your ebook library

Once it is installed, Gutenberg Curator keeps public-domain browsing close to your Calibre library, with progress feedback and format fallbacks when Gutenberg does not offer the first format you wanted.

Daily

Top 100

Loads the current Project Gutenberg Top 100 and keeps rank sorting in true numeric order.

Curated

Emmy's Picks

Includes Emmy's staff-curated shelf as a saved list with a short note about why it matters.

Browse

Collections

Opens Project Gutenberg bookshelves by category with chunked loading so large shelves stay usable.

Listen

Audiobooks

Separates human-read audiobooks and sets clearer expectations because audio lookups can take longer.

Formats

Preferred downloads

Checks your selected format at download time and asks before using the next available non-audio ebook format.

Support

Issue-friendly

Plugin support links can carry the active section and selected book details into the LB Creations support page.

Latest release

Download and verify

The ZIP installs directly in the desktop Calibre app. It may look like a normal compressed file, but for Calibre plugins, the ZIP is the installer package.

Version 0.6.23

Beta

Release build for Calibre 6.0.0 or newer. Install Calibre first, then load this ZIP from Calibre's Plugins screen. The same ZIP was published in the MobileRead update thread.

File gutenberg-curator-v0.6.23.zip

Size 692 KB

Minimum Calibre 6.0.0

Platforms Windows, macOS, Linux

SHA-256 5a66a57f8ea4532a70026508f4e77a88f6472b0baf448ba693441949826271f7

Support LB Creations support page

Share URL lbcreations.studio/gutenberg-curator/

Download plugin ZIP MobileRead thread Release manifest

Install

Add it to Calibre

Use these steps on the computer where you read or manage ebooks. Calibre's official plugin screen calls this Load plugin from file.

Install Calibre

Download and install the free Calibre desktop app first.

Download ZIP

Save the Gutenberg Curator ZIP. Keep it zipped.

Open Plugins

Open the Calibre app, then open Preferences and Plugins.

Load file

Choose Load plugin from file and select the ZIP.

Restart

Accept Calibre's warning, restart, then add the button to your toolbar if needed.

Release notes

What changed in 0.6.23

Plugin Support opens the LB Creations support page instead of the older contact route.
Support links can prefill the active section and selected book details.
Closing Calibre from the Dock should no longer be blocked by an open Gutenberg Curator window during background work.
Keeps the recent audiobook folder, early lookup, and progress-window improvements.