RPi5 Home Server — Part 4: Books, Tools & Utilities

This is Part 4 of the Raspberry Pi 5 Home Server series — the final part. This covers the reading, reference, and utility layer of the stack.

What We're Installing

jDownloader2 — Bulk File Downloader

jDownloader2 is the industry standard for downloading from file hosting sites. It handles multi-part archives, password-protected downloads, and automatic extraction once downloads complete — everything MeTube doesn't cover.

Key capabilities:

• Automatically extracts .zip and .rar archives after download
• Handles multi-part archives (.part1.rar, .part2.rar, etc.)
• Supports hundreds of file hosting sites
• Browser extension lets you push links from your main computer to the Pi

1. Create the directory structure

mkdir -p /mnt/data/storage/Downloads/jdownloader
mkdir -p /mnt/data/docker-compose/appdata/jdownloader2

2. Docker Compose configuration

Add this to your docker-compose.yml under services::

  jdownloader2:
    image: jlesage/jdownloader-2:latest
    container_name: jdownloader2
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - "5800:5800"
    volumes:
      - /mnt/data/docker-compose/appdata/jdownloader2:/config
      - /mnt/data/storage/Downloads/jdownloader:/output
    environment:
      - PUID=1000
      - PGID=1000

Deploy:

cd /mnt/data/docker-compose
docker compose up -d jdownloader2

Access jDownloader2 at http://192.168.1.150:5800

The interface renders jDownloader2's full desktop GUI in your browser via a built-in VNC session.

3. My.jDownloader — push links from anywhere

My.jDownloader is a free relay service that lets you send download links from your browser directly to the Pi — even remotely via Tailscale.

1. Create a free account at my.jdownloader.org
2. Inside jDownloader2, go to Settings → My.jDownloader
3. Enter your email and password
4. Install the browser extension on your main computer

Once connected, right-clicking any link shows a "Send to jDownloader" option — the Pi picks it up and starts downloading immediately.

4. Auto-watch folder

jDownloader2 can monitor a folder for text files containing download links. Drop a .txt file full of URLs via Filebrowser and jDownloader2 starts downloading automatically — no UI interaction required.

Enable this in Settings → LinkGrabber → Auto-add links from files and configure a watch folder inside your downloads directory.

5. Homepage integration

- Tools:
    - jDownloader2:
        icon: jdownloader.png
        href: http://192.168.1.150:5800
        description: Bulk File Downloader

Kavita — Digital Library Server

Kavita is a reading server built specifically for manga, comics, and e-books. Think of it as a self-hosted Kindle library — except it runs on your Pi, your data never leaves your network, and it handles CBZ, CBR, PDF, and EPUB formats natively.

What makes Kavita stand out:

• Understands series logic — automatically groups volumes and chapters
• Tracks read/unread status per user across devices
• Right-to-left reading mode for manga
• Webtoon mode for vertical-scrolling comics
• OPDS support for connecting external reading apps (Panels, Moon+ Reader)
• Combined with Tailscale, sync your reading position across all devices

1. Create the directory structure

mkdir -p /mnt/data/storage/Books/Manga
mkdir -p /mnt/data/storage/Books/Novels
mkdir -p /mnt/data/storage/Books/Comics
mkdir -p /mnt/data/docker-compose/appdata/kavita

2. Docker Compose configuration

  kavita:
    image: lscr.io/linuxserver/kavita:latest
    container_name: kavita
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - "5000:5000"
    volumes:
      - /mnt/data/docker-compose/appdata/kavita:/config
      - /mnt/data/storage/Books:/data:ro
    environment:
      - PUID=1000
      - PGID=1000
      - TZ=Etc/UTC

Deploy:

cd /mnt/data/docker-compose
docker compose up -d kavita

Access Kavita at http://192.168.1.150:5000

3. Library configuration

On first login, create an admin account. Then:

1. Go to Server Settings → Libraries
2. Add a library for each content type:
   • /data/Manga → Type: Manga
   • /data/Novels → Type: Book
   • /data/Comics → Type: Comic
3. Click Scan Library to index your files

4. Pro tips

Webtoon mode — for vertically scrolling manhwa, click the eye icon in the reader to enable continuous scroll mode.

OPDS — connect reading apps directly to http://192.168.1.150:5000/api/opds/ for native app integration.

NVMe advantage — with your library on NVMe storage, page turns and cover art loading are near-instant even with large high-resolution manga files.

5. Homepage integration

- Media:
    - Kavita:
        icon: kavita.png
        href: http://192.168.1.150:5000
        description: Digital Library

Calibre & Calibre-Web — E-Book Management

Calibre is the gold standard for e-book library management — format conversion, metadata editing, cover art downloading, and more. Calibre-Web provides a clean, mobile-friendly reading interface backed by the same library.

Running both gives the best of both worlds:

• Calibre — the engine room. Fix messy metadata, convert formats, download covers, manage your library in bulk.
• Calibre-Web — the showroom. Beautiful browser interface optimized for reading and mobile use.

Both point at the same library folder on the NVMe, keeping them in sync automatically.

1. Create the directory structure

mkdir -p /mnt/data/storage/Books/Calibre-Library
mkdir -p /mnt/data/docker-compose/appdata/calibre
mkdir -p /mnt/data/docker-compose/appdata/calibre-web

2. Docker Compose configuration

  calibre:
    image: lscr.io/linuxserver/calibre:latest
    container_name: calibre
    restart: unless-stopped
    environment:
      - PUID=1000
      - PGID=1000
      - TZ=Etc/UTC
      - PASSWORD=your_secure_password
    volumes:
      - /mnt/data/docker-compose/appdata/calibre:/config
      - /mnt/data/storage/Books/Calibre-Library:/config/Calibre Library
    ports:
      - "3003:8080"
      - "8086:8081"

  calibre-web:
    image: lscr.io/linuxserver/calibre-web:latest
    container_name: calibre-web
    restart: unless-stopped
    environment:
      - PUID=1000
      - PGID=1000
      - TZ=Etc/UTC
      - DOCKER_MODS=linuxserver/mods:universal-calibre
    volumes:
      - /mnt/data/docker-compose/appdata/calibre-web:/config
      - /mnt/data/storage/Books/Calibre-Library:/books
    ports:
      - "3004:8083"
    depends_on:
      - calibre

Deploy:

cd /mnt/data/docker-compose
docker compose up -d calibre calibre-web

3. Initial setup — the sync step

Follow this order carefully since Calibre-Web depends on an existing Calibre database:

1. Set up Calibre first — access at http://192.168.1.150:3003 and log in with the password you set. Complete the initial wizard. Calibre creates a metadata.db file in the library folder.

2. Set up Calibre-Web — access at http://192.168.1.150:3004. Default login: admin / admin123. When asked for the Calibre database location, enter /books.

3. Enable uploads — in Calibre-Web go to Admin → Basic Configuration → Feature Configuration and enable Enable Uploads.

4. Homepage integration

- Media:
    - Calibre:
        icon: calibre.png
        href: http://192.168.1.150:3003
        description: Library Management
    - Calibre Web:
        icon: calibre-web.png
        href: http://192.168.1.150:3004
        description: Book Reader

IT-Tools — Developer Utility Toolkit

IT-Tools is a massive collection of on-demand developer and sysadmin utilities. Instead of sending your data to random online tools, everything runs locally in your browser — nothing leaves your network.

Included tools: JSON formatter, Base64 encoder/decoder, UUID generator, password generator, cron expression builder, SQL formatter, case converter, QR code generator, JWT decoder, Docker Compose generator, and dozens more.

IT-Tools is stateless — no storage folders or configuration needed.

1. Docker Compose configuration

  it-tools:
    image: corentinth/it-tools:latest
    container_name: it-tools
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - "8083:80"

Deploy:

cd /mnt/data/docker-compose
docker compose up -d it-tools

Access IT-Tools at http://192.168.1.150:8083

No setup required — every tool is immediately available.

2. Homepage integration

- Tools:
    - IT Tools:
        icon: it-tools.png
        href: http://192.168.1.150:8083
        description: Developer Utilities

Stirling PDF — Private Document Processing

Stirling PDF is a comprehensive PDF toolkit. Merge, split, rotate, compress, convert, OCR — all running locally on your Pi. Your documents never touch an external server.

Why this matters: Most "free online PDF tools" process documents on their servers. Tax returns, identification documents, contracts — these should never be uploaded to a random website. Stirling PDF eliminates that risk entirely.

1. Create the directory structure

mkdir -p /mnt/data/docker-compose/appdata/stirling-pdf/trainingData
mkdir -p /mnt/data/docker-compose/appdata/stirling-pdf/configs

2. Docker Compose configuration

  stirling-pdf:
    image: stirlingtools/stirling-pdf:latest
    container_name: stirling-pdf
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - "8084:8080"
    volumes:
      - /mnt/data/docker-compose/appdata/stirling-pdf/trainingData:/usr/share/tessdata
      - /mnt/data/docker-compose/appdata/stirling-pdf/configs:/configs
    environment:
      - DOCKER_ENABLE_SECURITY=false
      - INSTALL_BOOK_AND_ADVANCED_HTML_OPS=false

Deploy:

cd /mnt/data/docker-compose
docker compose up -d stirling-pdf

Access Stirling PDF at http://192.168.1.150:8084

3. OCR language support

To add OCR languages beyond English, download the appropriate .traineddata files from the tessdata repository and place them in /mnt/data/docker-compose/appdata/stirling-pdf/trainingData/. Restart the container after adding new language files:

docker compose restart stirling-pdf

4. Homepage integration

- Tools:
    - Stirling PDF:
        icon: stirling-pdf.png
        href: http://192.168.1.150:8084
        description: PDF Toolkit

Complete Port Reference

A full port map across the entire series:

Troubleshooting

jDownloader2 interface is blank

The VNC session may not have started. Check the logs:

docker compose logs jdownloader2

If the container is running but the interface is blank, try a hard refresh: Ctrl+Shift+R

jDownloader2 downloads to the wrong location

Inside jDownloader2, go to Settings → Save To and verify the path is set to /output (the container-side path, not the host path).

Kavita library scan finds no files

• Verify files are in the correct subfolder for their library type
• Confirm file format is supported (CBZ, CBR, PDF, EPUB)
• Check permissions: ls -la /mnt/data/storage/Books/

Calibre-Web can't find the library

The database path must be set to /books (the container-side mount point). If you entered the host path, go to Admin → Basic Configuration and correct it.

IT-Tools page is blank

Clear your browser cache. IT-Tools is a single-page app that occasionally gets stuck on a stale cache after an update.

Stirling PDF OCR returns garbled text

The language model may not match the document language. Download the correct .traineddata file for your language, place it in the trainingData folder, and restart the container.

"bind: address already in use"

Run docker ps to find what's using the conflicting port, then change the left-hand number in the ports: mapping.

What's Next

With all four parts complete, your Raspberry Pi 5 is running a full self-hosted infrastructure stack. Adding new services is as simple as appending a block to docker-compose.yml and running docker compose up -d.

Some containers worth exploring next:

• AdGuard Home — an alternative to Pi-hole with a more modern UI and DNS-over-HTTPS support
• Uptime Kuma — a beautiful monitoring tool that checks whether all your services are online and sends alerts when they're not
• Nextcloud — self-hosted cloud storage and productivity platform
• Home Assistant — smart home automation integrating thousands of devices
• Vaultwarden — a self-hosted Bitwarden-compatible password manager

Legal Notice

All tools documented in this series are legitimate software with many lawful uses. Please ensure your use complies with your local laws and the terms of service of any platforms you interact with. These guides are provided for educational and personal use only.

Series Navigation

• ← Part 3 — VPN, Remote Access & Private Downloads
• Back to Part 1 — Foundation