Mass delete downloads #836

New Issue

2026-04-24T23:39:59+02:00

adam commented

2026-04-24 23:39:59 +02:00

Originally created by @sveinbjornpalsson on GitHub (Jan 15, 2024).

Problem:
It takes a bit too long to clean up downloads. Each deletion is four taps. You have to concentrate, its a chore.

Solution:
The ability to select/checkmark those books you wish to delete. Then you press delete and confirm.
Additional idea: “select all read”. A button that checks all books marked as finished.

I haven’t considered alternatives, I think this is pretty standard UI. No screenshots needed afaik.

Originally created by @sveinbjornpalsson on GitHub (Jan 15, 2024). Problem: It takes a bit too long to clean up downloads. Each deletion is four taps. You have to concentrate, its a chore. Solution: The ability to select/checkmark those books you wish to delete. Then you press delete and confirm. Additional idea: “select all read”. A button that checks all books marked as finished. _I haven’t considered alternatives, I think this is pretty standard UI. No screenshots needed afaik._

adam added the enhancement label 2026-04-24 23:39:59 +02:00

adam commented

2026-04-24 23:40:00 +02:00

@iconoclasthero commented on GitHub (Mar 14, 2024):

I would rename this feature suggestion to "Select local books to delete" and state it as:
in Android App [Home] > scroll down to [Local Books] > long press to select first local book > additional selections > click [ Delete selected local books ].

The OP's Select All suggestion could be revised to: [Select All] > Select all books marked read or all downloaded books? however this would probably require a "local books" section of the top menu [home / library / ... / authors / local books ]

@iconoclasthero commented on GitHub (Mar 14, 2024): I would rename this feature suggestion to "Select local books to delete" and state it as: in Android App [Home] > scroll down to [Local Books] > long press to select first local book > additional selections > click [ Delete selected local books ]. The OP's Select All suggestion could be revised to: [Select All] > Select all books marked read or all downloaded books? however this would probably require a "local books" section of the top menu [home / library / ... / authors / local books ]

adam commented

2026-04-24 23:40:00 +02:00

@methosinhiding commented on GitHub (May 15, 2024):

Adding support for a shortcut to 'swipe left to expose delete button, tap button to delete' workflow in the Settings>Downloads section would speed up this process

@methosinhiding commented on GitHub (May 15, 2024): Adding support for a shortcut to 'swipe left to expose delete button, tap button to delete' workflow in the Settings>Downloads section would speed up this process

adam commented

2026-04-24 23:40:01 +02:00

@iconoclasthero commented on GitHub (Oct 15, 2025):

I was thinking about this today...maybe the simplest thing would be a way to have abs scan the directory and remove books missing from the media, i.e., that've been deleted by other means. This would allow for other methods to be reasonably employed to cull books. This would, however, require the user to not use Internal App Storage but rather a directory on /sdcard. (That's not a particular problem for me since I already use /sdcard/Books.)

In looking at my downloaded books in ABS/Android, I can already see that it's got a count of tracks so it could just go off of that to remove empty folders.

@iconoclasthero commented on GitHub (Oct 15, 2025): I was thinking about this today...maybe the simplest thing would be a way to have abs scan the directory and remove books missing from the media, i.e., that've been deleted by other means. This would allow for other methods to be reasonably employed to cull books. **This would, however, require the user to _not_ use `Internal App Storage` but rather a directory on /sdcard.** (That's not a particular problem for me since I already use /sdcard/Books.) In looking at my downloaded books in ABS/Android, I can already see that it's got a count of tracks so it could just go off of that to remove empty folders.

adam commented

2026-04-24 23:40:03 +02:00

@sveinbjornpalsson commented on GitHub (Oct 15, 2025):

Audiobookshelf isn't visible to the file system on iOS, so this would not
work there. Its not a bad idea for android I'm sure but it doesn't
solve the problem. I suggest you make it into a separate feature suggestion.

On Wed, 15 Oct 2025 at 11:07, iconoclasthero @.***>
wrote:

iconoclasthero left a comment (advplyr/audiobookshelf-app#1043)
https://github.com/advplyr/audiobookshelf-app/issues/1043#issuecomment-3405881715

I was thinking about this today...maybe the simplest thing would be a way
to have abs scan the directory and remove books missing from the media,
i.e., that've been deleted by other means. This would allow for other
methods to be reasonably employed to cull books. This would, however,
require the user to not use Internal App Storage but rather a directory on
/sdcard. (That's not a particular problem for me since I already use
/sdcard/Books.)

In looking at my downloaded books in ABS/Android, I can already see that
it's got a count of tracks so it could just go off of that to remove empty
folders.

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Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub
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@sveinbjornpalsson commented on GitHub (Oct 15, 2025): Audiobookshelf isn't visible to the file system on iOS, so this would not work there. Its not a bad idea for android I'm sure but it doesn't solve the problem. I suggest you make it into a separate feature suggestion. On Wed, 15 Oct 2025 at 11:07, iconoclasthero ***@***.***> wrote: > *iconoclasthero* left a comment (advplyr/audiobookshelf-app#1043) > <https://github.com/advplyr/audiobookshelf-app/issues/1043#issuecomment-3405881715> > > I was thinking about this today...maybe the simplest thing would be a way > to have abs scan the directory and remove books missing from the media, > i.e., that've been deleted by other means. This would allow for other > methods to be reasonably employed to cull books. *This would, however, > require the user to not use Internal App Storage but rather a directory on > /sdcard.* (That's not a particular problem for me since I already use > /sdcard/Books.) > > In looking at my downloaded books in ABS/Android, I can already see that > it's got a count of tracks so it could just go off of that to remove empty > folders. > > — > Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub > <https://github.com/advplyr/audiobookshelf-app/issues/1043#issuecomment-3405881715>, > or unsubscribe > <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/ABY7EL7E6C3JPXB6DCZ4MYL3XYTHXAVCNFSM6AAAAACJH2L6UWVHI2DSMVQWIX3LMV43OSLTON2WKQ3PNVWWK3TUHMZTIMBVHA4DCNZRGU> > . > You are receiving this because you authored the thread.Message ID: > ***@***.***> >

adam commented

2026-04-24 23:40:05 +02:00

@KiwiHour commented on GitHub (Jan 8, 2026):

Gonna have a go at implementing this. Tap and hold items in library for mass selection, then select the "Delete local files" option. For podcasts this will delete every episode, for more precise deletion of specific episodes you'll be able to go into the specific podcast and do the same tap and hold for the episodes

Ok, after some messing around, it is not very easy to implement this feature in a clean way. So I'm giving up

@KiwiHour commented on GitHub (Jan 8, 2026): Gonna have a go at implementing this. Tap and hold items in library for mass selection, then select the "Delete local files" option. For podcasts this will delete every episode, for more precise deletion of specific episodes you'll be able to go into the specific podcast and do the same tap and hold for the episodes Ok, after some messing around, it is not very easy to implement this feature in a clean way. So I'm giving up

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Reference: starred/audiobookshelf-app#836