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Tutorial

A step-by-step guide to setting up and using shelfctl.

Prerequisites

  • Go 1.21+ installed
  • GitHub account
  • GitHub personal access token (see Step 1 below)

Step 1: Authenticate with GitHub

shelfctl requires a GitHub personal access token (PAT) set in the SHELFCTL_GITHUB_TOKEN environment variable.

Classic PAT scopes:

  • repo - for private shelves
  • public_repo - for public-only shelves

Fine-grained PAT permissions: Grant Contents (Read/Write) and Releases (Read/Write) on the shelf repos you manage.

Note: GitHub CLI (gh) is not required - shelfctl uses the GitHub REST API directly.

Option A: Using gh CLI (optional convenience)

If you already have GitHub CLI installed and authenticated:

gh auth login
export SHELFCTL_GITHUB_TOKEN=$(gh auth token)

Add to shell profile to persist:

# Bash
echo 'export SHELFCTL_GITHUB_TOKEN=$(gh auth token)' >> ~/.bashrc

# Zsh
echo 'export SHELFCTL_GITHUB_TOKEN=$(gh auth token)' >> ~/.zshrc

Option B: Manual Token

  1. Visit https://github.com/settings/tokens
  2. Generate new token (classic or fine-grained)
  3. Select required scopes/permissions (see above)
  4. Copy the token (starts with ghp_ or github_pat_)
export SHELFCTL_GITHUB_TOKEN=ghp_your_token_here

Add to shell profile to persist (~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc).

API Rate Limits: GitHub's authenticated API allows 5,000 requests/hour. shelfctl caches downloaded book files locally; metadata is fetched from GitHub as needed. For typical personal library usage, you're unlikely to hit rate limits.

Step 2: Install shelfctl

Choose the method that fits your platform:

Homebrew (macOS/Linux):

brew install blackwell-systems/tap/shelfctl

Install script (Linux/macOS):

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/blackwell-systems/shelfctl/main/install.sh | sh

Installs the latest release to /usr/local/bin. Override with INSTALL_DIR=~/bin or pin a version with VERSION=v0.4.4.

Go install:

go install github.com/blackwell-systems/shelfctl/cmd/shelfctl@latest

Download pre-built binary:

Download the appropriate binary for your platform from the releases page, extract, and move to your PATH.

winget (Windows):

winget install blackwell-systems.shelfctl

Verify installation:

shelfctl --help

Step 3: Set up configuration

shelfctl creates its config automatically on first run. Just run:

shelfctl

You'll see:

No config found. Let's set up shelfctl.

GitHub username or org: your-username
Token env var name [SHELFCTL_GITHUB_TOKEN]:

Config created at ~/.config/shelfctl/config.yml

Enter your GitHub username or organization name, and press Enter to accept the default token environment variable name (or type a custom one).

Manual setup (optional): If you prefer to create the config manually, copy config.example.yml:

mkdir -p ~/.config/shelfctl
cp config.example.yml ~/.config/shelfctl/config.yml
# Edit with your GitHub username

Security: The token itself is never stored in the config file - only the environment variable name. shelfctl reads the token from your environment at runtime.

Step 4: Create your first shelf

Let's create a shelf for programming books:

shelfctl init \
  --repo shelf-programming \
  --name programming \
  --create-repo

This will:

  • Create shelf-programming repository on GitHub
  • Create the library release tag
  • Add an empty catalog.yml to the repo
  • Add the shelf to your config file

Verify it worked:

shelfctl shelves

Output:

[OK] programming (shelf-programming)
  catalog: catalog.yml (0 books)

You can also run shelfctl doctor at any time to verify your entire setup (config, token, API connectivity, shelf access, cache).

Step 5: Add your first book

Interactive mode (easiest)

Just run shelve with no arguments for a fully guided workflow:

shelfctl shelve

This launches an interactive TUI that:

  1. Lets you pick the shelf (if you have multiple)
  2. Shows a file browser to select your book
  3. Provides a form to fill in metadata (title, author, tags, ID)
  4. Uploads and catalogs automatically

Command-line mode

Or provide all details via flags:

shelfctl shelve ~/Downloads/some-book.pdf \
  --shelf programming \
  --title "Introduction to Algorithms" \
  --author "CLRS" \
  --tags algorithms,textbook,cs \
  --year 2009

If you don't provide all metadata, shelfctl will prompt you.

What happened:

  1. The PDF was uploaded to GitHub as a release asset
  2. A catalog entry was created with metadata and SHA256 checksum
  3. The catalog was committed and pushed

Step 6: Browse your books

Interactive mode (TUI)

Run browse in a terminal for an interactive browser:

shelfctl browse --shelf programming

This shows a visual browser with:

  • Keyboard navigation (↑/↓ or j/k)
  • Live filtering (press / to search)
  • Color-coded indicators ([OK] = cached)

Text mode

Use --no-interactive or pipe output for scripts:

shelfctl browse --shelf programming --no-interactive

Output:

programming/introduction-to-algorithms
  Introduction to Algorithms
  CLRS
  tags: algorithms, textbook, cs
  format: pdf, 12.4 MB

Step 7: View book details

shelfctl info introduction-to-algorithms

This shows full metadata, source location, cache status, and checksum.

Step 8: Open a book

shelfctl open introduction-to-algorithms

This will:

  1. Download the book to your cache (if not already cached)
  2. Verify the checksum
  3. Open it with your system's default PDF viewer

The next time you open it, it will use the cached copy (no download).

You can also browse from the interactive TUI:

shelfctl browse
# Press 'o' on a book to open it

Generate HTML index for web browsing

Create a visual web page to browse your library in any browser:

# Generate and open in one step
shelfctl index --open

# Or generate only
shelfctl index

This generates ~/.local/share/shelfctl/cache/index.html with:

  • Visual book grid with covers and metadata
  • Real-time search/filter (no server needed)
  • Click books to open them
  • Works offline, no shelfctl needed

The --open flag launches the index in your default browser automatically (macOS, Linux, and Windows supported). Without it, the path is printed to the terminal.

The index shows only cached books, so download books first to include them.

Managing cache

Your local cache stores downloaded books at ~/.local/share/shelfctl/cache/. You can manage cache without affecting your shelf catalog or release assets:

# View cache statistics
shelfctl cache info

# View stats for specific shelf
shelfctl cache info --shelf programming

# Remove specific books from cache
shelfctl cache clear introduction-to-algorithms sicp

# Clear all cached books from a shelf
shelfctl cache clear --shelf programming

# Interactive picker (multi-select with spacebar)
shelfctl cache clear

# Clear entire cache (requires confirmation)
shelfctl cache clear --all

In browse TUI:

  • Press space to select multiple books
  • Press x to remove selected books from cache
  • Books remain in your library, only local copies deleted
  • Useful for reclaiming disk space

Books will automatically re-download when opened or browsed.

Syncing annotations and highlights

When you annotate or highlight PDFs in your reader, those changes are saved to your local cache. Sync them back to GitHub to preserve your work:

# Sync specific book (CLI)
shelfctl sync sicp

# Sync all modified books (CLI)
shelfctl sync --all

In browse TUI:

  • Press s on a modified book to sync it
  • Or press space to select multiple modified books, then press s to sync all
  • Status messages show progress during upload
  • Books marked with modified indicator in cache info

Modified files are protected by default when clearing cache - you'll get a warning to sync first or use --force to delete anyway.

Step 9: Add more shelves

Create shelves for different topics:

# History shelf
shelfctl init --repo shelf-history --name history --create-repo --create-release

# Fiction shelf
shelfctl init --repo shelf-fiction --name fiction --create-repo --create-release

# Research papers
shelfctl init --repo shelf-research --name research --create-repo --create-release

Verify:

shelfctl shelves

Step 10: Add books from URLs

You can add books directly from URLs:

shelfctl shelve https://example.com/paper.pdf \
  --shelf research \
  --title "Important Research Paper" \
  --tags ai,ml \
  --year 2024

Step 11: Organize with tags

Use tags to organize books within a shelf:

# Add a book about Lisp
shelfctl shelve ~/Downloads/sicp.pdf \
  --shelf programming \
  --title "Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs" \
  --author "Abelson & Sussman" \
  --tags lisp,functional,textbook

# Add a book about algorithms
shelfctl shelve ~/Downloads/algo-design.pdf \
  --shelf programming \
  --title "Algorithm Design" \
  --author "Kleinberg & Tardos" \
  --tags algorithms,graphs,textbook

Filter by tag:

shelfctl browse --shelf programming --tag lisp
shelfctl browse --shelf programming --tag algorithms

Common workflows

Workflow 1: Adding multiple books at once

Create a shell script:

#!/bin/bash
for file in ~/Downloads/books/*.pdf; do
  shelfctl shelve "$file" \
    --shelf programming \
    --title "$(basename "$file" .pdf)" \
    --tags imported
done

Then review and update metadata later by editing catalog.yml directly.

Workflow 2: Moving books between shelves

Realized a book belongs in a different shelf?

shelfctl move book-id --to-shelf different-shelf

Workflow 3: Using releases as sub-categories

You can use releases within a shelf for sub-organization:

# Add to a specific year
shelfctl shelve book.pdf \
  --shelf research \
  --release 2024 \
  --title "Recent Paper"

# Add to archive
shelfctl shelve old-book.pdf \
  --shelf programming \
  --release archive \
  --title "Old Book"

Workflow 4: Migrating from an existing collection

If you have books in another GitHub repo:

# Scan the old repo
shelfctl migrate scan --source your-username/old-books > queue.txt

# Edit queue.txt to add shelf mappings and metadata

# Migrate in batches
shelfctl migrate batch queue.txt --n 20 --continue

The --continue flag lets you resume if interrupted.

Workflow 5: Sharing books between users

If a friend also uses shelfctl:

# Import their programming shelf into yours
shelfctl import \
  --from their-username/shelf-programming \
  --shelf imported-books

This copies books from their catalog to yours (requires their repos to be public or you to have access).

Tips

Tip 1: Use consistent IDs

The --id flag lets you control book IDs. Good practices:

  • Use lowercase with hyphens: effective-go
  • Keep them short but meaningful
  • For academic papers, use citation keys: smith2024-neural-nets
  • For ISBNs: isbn-9780262033848

Tip 2: Enable shell completion

Set up autocompletion for faster command typing:

# Bash (add to ~/.bashrc)
source <(shelfctl completion bash)

# Zsh (add to ~/.zshrc)
source <(shelfctl completion zsh)

# Fish
shelfctl completion fish > ~/.config/fish/completions/shelfctl.fish

This enables tab completion for commands, flags, and shelf names.

Tip 3: Automate with shell aliases

Add to your shell profile:

alias shelfadd='shelfctl shelve'
alias shelflist='shelfctl browse'
alias shelfopen='shelfctl open'

Tip 4: Keep catalogs readable

Edit catalog.yml directly for bulk updates. It's just YAML:

- id: book-id
  title: "The Book Title"
  author: "Author Name"
  year: 2024
  tags:
    - tag1
    - tag2
  format: pdf
  checksum:
    sha256: abc123...
  size_bytes: 1048576
  source:
    type: github_release
    owner: you
    repo: shelf-programming
    release: library
    asset: book-id.pdf
  meta:
    added_at: "2024-01-15T10:30:00Z"

After editing, commit and push manually or use shelfctl to add more books (it will merge correctly).

Tip 4: Back up your config

Your ~/.config/shelfctl/config.yml is small and important:

cp ~/.config/shelfctl/config.yml ~/Dropbox/shelfctl-config-backup.yml

Tip 5: Use private repos for sensitive content

By default, repos can be private. Just ensure your GitHub token has access.

# On GitHub, make shelf-private-docs private via repo settings

shelfctl works identically with private repos.

Next steps

Example: Complete setup from scratch

# 1. Authenticate with GitHub (choose one)
# Option A: Using gh CLI (easier)
gh auth login
export SHELFCTL_GITHUB_TOKEN=$(gh auth token)

# Option B: Manual token
# export SHELFCTL_GITHUB_TOKEN=ghp_your_token_here

# 2. Install
go install github.com/blackwell-systems/shelfctl/cmd/shelfctl@latest

# 3. Run shelfctl (auto-creates config)
shelfctl
# Follow the prompts: enter your GitHub username, accept default token env var

# 4. Create shelf
shelfctl init --repo shelf-books --name books --create-repo --create-release

# 5. Add a book
shelfctl shelve ~/book.pdf --shelf books --title "My Book" --tags reading

# 6. Open it
shelfctl open my-book

# Done!