Export fields

FieldDescriptionSource
coverCover image URLBook database
booktitleBook titleOCR + database match
authorAuthor nameDatabase
isbnISBN-10 or ISBN-13Barcode or database
tagsAdd these per file and/or per shelf in BookSpineScannerManual entry
confidenceMatch confidence %OCR analysis
sourcePhoto sourceAutomatic
scannedScan dateAutomatic

For the first five fields, you can choose your own field names:

  1. Open settings
  2. Scroll to “field names”
  3. Customize them to match your Libiry/Obsidian setup

Example:

booktitle → title
author → creator

Obsidian integration

Exported files work with Obsidian’s Book Search plugin:

  • YAML frontmatter format matches
  • Cover images display correctly
  • ISBN enables additional lookups

Libiry integration

Move the export files to a folder within your Libiry library folder. The books in the files are shown in Libiry’s book grid, alongside any digital books you might have.

Export format ‘One file per photo’ (default)

Best for Libiry, batch processing and future stock keeping. Creates a single markdown file containing all books from one scanning session.

Example output:

scan_date: 2026-03-03T08:32:49.041Z
scan_source: shelf1.jpg
books_detected: 2
books_total: 2
lookup_source: all
scanner_version: 1.0.0
---
cover: https://covers.openlibrary.org/b/isbn/9780385490818-L.jpg
booktitle: The Handmaid's Tale 
author: Margaret Atwood 
isbn: 9780385490818 
tags: 
scan_confidence: 92% 
scan_preliminary: Handmaids Tale Atwood 
 
cover: https://covers.openlibrary.org/b/isbn/9780441569595-L.jpg 
booktitle: Neuromancer 
author: William Gibson 
isbn: 9780441569595 
tags: 
scan_confidence: 88% 
scan_preliminary: Neuromancer Gibson 

Filename: shelf_2026-03-03_08-32-49.md

Export format ‘One file per book’

Best for Obsidian and other personal knowledge management tools. Creates individual markdown files for each detected book.

Example output:

---
cover: https://covers.openlibrary.org/b/isbn/9780385490818-L.jpg
booktitle: The Handmaid's Tale 
author: Margaret Atwood 
isbn: 9780385490818 
tags: 
source: "BookSpineScanner"
scanned: "2026-02-13"
---
 
# The Handmaid's Tale 
 

Filename: shelf_2026-03-03_08-32-49(1).md

File splitting

When scanning many books, files are automatically split:

  • Maximum 100 books per file
  • Creates shelf_part1.md, shelf_part2.md, etc.
  • Matches Libiry’s 100-book limit per file