[Feature request] (Android/iOS) Add option to Highlight or Take Note #806

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2026-04-24T23:38:56+02:00

adam commented

2026-04-24 23:38:56 +02:00

Originally created by @b3nd1k on GitHub (Dec 27, 2023).

As of now, Apple Books on my iPad is my main way of reading ebooks. What is stopping me from migrating to ABS is the lack of the option to higlight sections of a book. Apple Books gives you the option to higlight in yellow, green, blue, pink, purple and red. This great if you want to highlight things such as favorite quotes, important character or world information, sad moments and so on.

The option to add notes to a highlight is a great tool when you want to add more information to the quote, such as who said it or what it means for the story.

Originally created by @b3nd1k on GitHub (Dec 27, 2023). As of now, Apple Books on my iPad is my main way of reading ebooks. What is stopping me from migrating to ABS is the lack of the option to higlight sections of a book. Apple Books gives you the option to higlight in yellow, green, blue, pink, purple and red. This great if you want to highlight things such as favorite quotes, important character or world information, sad moments and so on. The option to add notes to a highlight is a great tool when you want to add more information to the quote, such as who said it or what it means for the story.

adam added the enhancement label 2026-04-24 23:38:56 +02:00

adam commented

2026-04-24 23:38:57 +02:00

@KaiStarkk commented on GitHub (Dec 27, 2023):

Duplicate of https://github.com/advplyr/audiobookshelf/issues/1558 I believe. It's in the other repo so easy to miss.
Although it probably belongs here rather than the main repo anyway.

@KaiStarkk commented on GitHub (Dec 27, 2023): Duplicate of https://github.com/advplyr/audiobookshelf/issues/1558 I believe. It's in the other repo so easy to miss. Although it probably belongs here rather than the main repo anyway.

adam commented

2026-04-24 23:38:57 +02:00

@fivestones commented on GitHub (Jan 19, 2024):

I'd love the ability to add annotations too, especially notes.

One additional thing that would be great would be to access the annotations (highlights, underlines, notes about certain text) programmatically from the server, like through an API. Then these could automatically be pulled into other apps. For example, I could have a notes app like Obsidian that automatically keeps a list of all the highlights and notes I've made for the books I'm reading.

@fivestones commented on GitHub (Jan 19, 2024): I'd love the ability to add annotations too, especially notes. One additional thing that would be great would be to access the annotations (highlights, underlines, notes about certain text) programmatically from the server, like through an API. Then these could automatically be pulled into other apps. For example, I could have a notes app like Obsidian that automatically keeps a list of all the highlights and notes I've made for the books I'm reading.

adam commented

2026-04-24 23:38:58 +02:00

@jsspen commented on GitHub (Jan 21, 2024):

I'd love the ability to add annotations too, especially notes.

One additional thing that would be great would be to access the annotations (highlights, underlines, notes about certain text) programmatically from the server, like through an API. Then these could automatically be pulled into other apps. For example, I could have a notes app like Obsidian that automatically keeps a list of all the highlights and notes I've made for the books I'm reading.

This would be amazing! Big +1

@jsspen commented on GitHub (Jan 21, 2024): > I'd love the ability to add annotations too, especially notes. > > One additional thing that would be great would be to access the annotations (highlights, underlines, notes about certain text) programmatically from the server, like through an API. Then these could automatically be pulled into other apps. For example, I could have a notes app like Obsidian that automatically keeps a list of all the highlights and notes I've made for the books I'm reading. This would be amazing! Big +1

adam commented

2026-04-24 23:38:59 +02:00

@nichwall commented on GitHub (Jan 21, 2024):

You can show support for a feature by reacting with a thumbs up to the top comment (please don't just comment "+1")
https://www.audiobookshelf.org/faq/#i-have-a-feature-request-how-should-i-bring-this-up

@nichwall commented on GitHub (Jan 21, 2024): You can show support for a feature by reacting with a thumbs up to the top comment (please don't just comment "+1") https://www.audiobookshelf.org/faq/#i-have-a-feature-request-how-should-i-bring-this-up

adam commented

2026-04-24 23:38:59 +02:00

@Hutch79 commented on GitHub (Feb 11, 2024):

I would also love to see this since Google Books as well as Tolino readers have the same feature.

My use case is to easily find where I left reading, since different screen sizes can make it tricky to find the part.

@Hutch79 commented on GitHub (Feb 11, 2024): I would also love to see this since Google Books as well as Tolino readers have the same feature. My use case is to easily find where I left reading, since different screen sizes can make it tricky to find the part.

adam commented

2026-04-24 23:39:00 +02:00

@mrjfilippo commented on GitHub (Sep 16, 2024):

This would be a great feature. Including bookmarks seems fitting to this request.

@mrjfilippo commented on GitHub (Sep 16, 2024): This would be a great feature. Including bookmarks seems fitting to this request.

adam commented

2026-04-24 23:39:00 +02:00

@rlandolt commented on GitHub (Oct 8, 2024):

This would be a great feature. Including bookmarks seems fitting to this request.

Dont mix different things. Better have two feature requests instead of one that gets more and more separat things in it (smaller=>faster to implement)

@rlandolt commented on GitHub (Oct 8, 2024): > This would be a great feature. Including bookmarks seems fitting to this request. Dont mix different things. Better have two feature requests instead of one that gets more and more separat things in it (smaller=>faster to implement)

adam commented

2026-04-24 23:39:01 +02:00

@KaiStarkk commented on GitHub (Oct 26, 2024):

On review of upstream, highlighting and bookmarks both appear to be possible to implement.

https://github.com/futurepress/epub.js/issues/420

https://github.com/futurepress/epub.js/blob/master/examples/highlights.html

I expect the challenge would be figuring out how to record these things in ABS's data model.

@KaiStarkk commented on GitHub (Oct 26, 2024): On review of upstream, highlighting and bookmarks both appear to be possible to implement. https://github.com/futurepress/epub.js/issues/420 https://github.com/futurepress/epub.js/blob/master/examples/highlights.html I expect the challenge would be figuring out how to record these things in ABS's data model.

adam commented

2026-04-24 23:39:01 +02:00

@advplyr commented on GitHub (Oct 26, 2024):

Correct, we need to figure out the data model

@advplyr commented on GitHub (Oct 26, 2024): Correct, we need to figure out the data model

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Reference: starred/audiobookshelf-app#806