Audiobookshelf Skill for OpenClaw

Overview

Control Audiobookshelf audiobook library with voice commands and Google Cast playback.

Capabilities

• •Browse and search audiobook library
• •Play audiobooks on Google Cast devices (native protocol)
• •Control playback (pause, resume, stop, seek)
• •Sleep timer with silent volume fade
• •Position tracking and sync to Audiobookshelf
• •Multi-user support with per-user tokens

Voice Commands

Browsing

• •"List my audiobooks"
• •"Search for [book title]"
• •"What libraries do I have?"
• •"What am I listening to?" (status)

Playback

• •"Play [book title]"
• •"Play [book title] on [device name]"
• •"Pause audiobook"
• •"Resume audiobook"
• •"Stop audiobook"
• •"Skip forward 30 seconds"
• •"Go back 1 minute"

Devices

• •"What speakers are available?"
• •"Set default speaker to [device name]"
• •"List Cast devices"

Sleep Timer

• •"Set sleep timer for 30 minutes"
• •"Set sleep timer for 1 hour with 60 second fade"
• •"Cancel sleep timer"
• •"How much time is left on the sleep timer?"

CLI Commands

# Library
abs library              # List libraries
abs books                # List all books
abs search "<query>"     # Search books

# Playback
abs play <id> [--device] # Start playback
abs resume               # Resume last book
abs pause                # Pause playback
abs stop                 # Stop and sync

# Status
abs status               # Current playback status

# Devices
abs devices              # List Cast devices (with IDs)
abs device set "<name>"  # Set default device

# Sleep Timer
abs sleep <min>          # Set timer
abs sleep 30 --fade 45   # Timer with custom fade
abs sleep status         # Timer status
abs sleep cancel         # Cancel timer

Configuration

Required

• •ABS_SERVER — Audiobookshelf server URL
• •ABS_TOKEN — API token (get from Audiobookshelf settings)

Optional

• •ABS_DEVICE — Default Cast device name
• •ABS_TIMEOUT — Request timeout in milliseconds

Setup

1. •Get your API token from Audiobookshelf (Settings → Users → API Token)
2. •Configure the skill with your server URL and token
3. •Optionally set a default Cast device

Technical Details

Native Cast Support

This skill uses native Google Cast protocol:

• •castv2-client — Cast protocol communication
• •bonjour-service — mDNS device discovery
• •AUDIOBOOK_CHAPTER metadata — Nest Hub low-light mode support

Position Tracking

Position is tracked during playback and synced to Audiobookshelf:

• •Polling interval: 10 seconds (configurable)
• •Syncs on pause, stop, and sleep timer expiry
• •Handles playback end and errors gracefully

Sleep Timer

The sleep timer provides:

• •Countdown with configurable duration
• •Silent volume fade via PCM stream (no Cast bloops)
• •Default 30-second fade (configurable)
• •Latency compensation for audio buffer
• •Position sync before pause

Audio Proxy

For volume control, audio streams through a local proxy:

• •Transcodes to PCM for volume manipulation
• •Applies real-time volume changes
• •Supports smooth fades

Dependencies

• •Audiobookshelf server (v2.0+)
• •Network access to Cast devices
• •mDNS/Bonjour enabled on network

Limitations

• •Cast session not persisted across CLI restarts
• •Audio buffer causes 2-4 second volume fade latency
• •Cast groups may not work (use individual devices)