Downloads & Offline
Download audiobooks for offline listening, configure Smart Downloads, manage storage, and understand offline capabilities in FableFrog.
Downloading Books
Offline downloads are a Premium feature. With Premium, you can download any audiobook from your library to your device and listen without a network connection. All playback controls (speed, volume boost, bookmarks, sleep timer, chapter navigation) work identically whether you're streaming or playing a downloaded book.
How to Download
Open any book's detail page and tap the download button. FableFrog begins downloading all audio files for that book from your Audiobookshelf server. You can continue browsing or listening to other content while the download runs in the background.
Monitoring Progress
Active downloads show a progress indicator on the book's cover throughout the app, including in the library grid, on the detail page, and in the downloads manager. You can see the percentage complete and estimated time remaining.
Managing Downloads
The Downloads section in Settings provides a dedicated view of all your downloaded content. From here you can:
- Browse your downloaded library with the same search and sort options as the main library
- View file sizes for each downloaded book
- Delete individual downloads to free up space
- Sort by title, size, date downloaded, or last listened
Failed Download Recovery
If a download fails (due to a network interruption, server going offline, or insufficient storage), FableFrog marks it with an error state. You can retry the download from the downloads manager. If a download was partially completed, FableFrog resumes from where it left off rather than starting over.
Smart Downloads
Smart Downloads automate the process of downloading and cleaning up audiobooks, so you always have something to listen to offline without manual management. This is a Premium feature.
Setting Up Smart Downloads
Enable Smart Downloads in Settings > Downloads. Once enabled, FableFrog monitors your listening activity and automatically downloads books based on your behavior.
Listening Threshold
Configure a listening threshold between 5 and 30 minutes. When you've streamed a book for at least that long, FableFrog assumes you're committed to it and starts downloading it automatically. This prevents downloading books you only sampled briefly.
Auto-Remove When Finished
When you finish a downloaded book, Smart Downloads can automatically remove it from your device to reclaim storage. This keeps your downloads lean and relevant. Only books you're actively listening to stay on your device.
Storage Considerations
Smart Downloads respect your Wi-Fi only setting (see below). They won't trigger cellular downloads unless you've explicitly allowed cellular data usage. Keep an eye on available device storage if you listen to many books concurrently, as Smart Downloads can accumulate content quickly.
Offline Mode
FableFrog is designed to work gracefully when you lose connectivity.
What Works Offline
- Playback of any downloaded audiobook, with full controls
- Browsing your cached library metadata, including covers, descriptions, chapter lists, and progress for books you've previously viewed
- Bookmarks can be created offline and will sync when you reconnect
- Playback progress is tracked locally and synced to the server when connectivity returns
What Requires a Connection
- Streaming books that aren't downloaded
- Syncing progress, bookmarks, and listening sessions to the server
- Downloading new books
- Library updates: new books added to the server won't appear until you reconnect
- Statistics: viewing and updating your listening stats requires server communication
Reconnecting and Syncing
When FableFrog regains a network connection, it automatically syncs any locally accumulated progress, bookmarks, and session data to your Audiobookshelf server. This happens transparently, and you don't need to trigger it manually. If there are conflicts (e.g., you listened on another device while offline), the server reconciles the positions.
Wi-Fi Only Mode
Enable Wi-Fi Only in Settings to restrict all downloads (both manual and Smart Downloads) to Wi-Fi connections. When this mode is active and you're on cellular data:
- New downloads will not start
- In-progress downloads pause until Wi-Fi is available
- Streaming playback continues to work over cellular (Wi-Fi Only applies to downloads, not streaming)
This gives you control over cellular data usage, especially useful if you have a limited data plan.
Storage Management
Viewing Download Sizes
The downloads manager shows the file size of each downloaded audiobook and the total storage used by all downloads. This helps you make informed decisions about what to keep on your device.
Clearing Downloads
You can delete individual downloads by swiping on them in the downloads manager, or delete from a book's detail page. There is no "delete all." This is intentional, to prevent accidentally removing content you need before a flight or commute.
Clearing Cache
FableFrog caches library metadata (cover images, book details, chapter lists) to improve performance and enable limited offline browsing. You can clear this cache from Settings if you need to reclaim storage or force a fresh sync from the server. Note that clearing the cache does not affect your downloaded audiobook files.