Added Storyteller to BigBearUniversal Apps

Big Bear Universal Apps Big Bear Universal Apps - Releases
1

About

Storyteller is a self-hosted ebook and audiobook platform that brings synchronized reading and listening to your personal library. The standout feature is the ability to seamlessly switch between reading text and listening to audio without losing your place - text highlighting stays synchronized with audio playback, allowing you to transition effortlessly between formats.

With Storyteller, you maintain complete control and ownership of your library. All your books stay on your hardware with no cloud dependencies or vendor lock-in, giving you true data sovereignty over your reading collection.

Suggested By

This app was suggested by MeanXBeam via app request: storyteller · Issue #5914 · bigbeartechworld/big-bear-casaos · GitHub.

App Stores

Storyteller is now available on all 6 platforms:

Pull Request

The addition was made via feat: add Storyteller app by dragonfire1119 · Pull Request #969 · bigbeartechworld/big-bear-universal-apps · GitHub with 204 additions and 0 deletions.

Documentation

Installation Requirements

IMPORTANT: Storyteller requires the STORYTELLER_SECRET_KEY environment variable to be set before first launch. Generate a secure key using:

openssl rand -base64 32

Security Note: Keep this secret key secure and never share it publicly. It’s used for encrypting session data and authentication tokens.

Key Features

  • Synchronized Reading/Listening - Switch seamlessly between ebook text and audiobook audio without losing your position
  • Text-Audio Sync - Text highlighting follows along with audio playback in real-time
  • Multi-Format Support - Works with EPUB, PDF, and MOBI files
  • EPUB 3 Media Overlays - Full support for the EPUB 3 standard with embedded audio synchronization
  • Self-Hosted - Complete data ownership with all books stored on your own hardware
  • No Cloud Dependencies - Works entirely offline with no vendor lock-in
  • Mobile Apps Available - Access your library from mobile devices
  • Standard Compliant - Produces EPUB 3 compliant files compatible with any standard reader

Configuration Details

Default Settings

  • Port: 8015 (host) / 8001 (container)
  • Umbrel Port: 10094
  • Data Storage: /data volume for database and books
  • Architectures: amd64, arm64
  • License: MIT
  • Version: web-v2.6.0-experimental.14

Environment Variables

Required:

  • STORYTELLER_SECRET_KEY - Secret key for encryption (generate with openssl rand -base64 32)

Optional:

  • STORYTELLER_LOG_LEVEL - Logging level (default: info)
  • STORYTELLER_DATA_DIR - Data directory path (default: /data)
  • STORYTELLER_MAX_UPLOAD_CHUNK_SIZE - Max upload chunk size in MB (default: 10)
  • STORYTELLER_DEMO_MODE - Enable demo mode (default: false)
  • ENABLE_WEB_READER - Enable web-based reader (default: false)
  • TZ - Timezone (default: UTC)

Support Resources