your private library
Remember what you read on paper.
Scan the passages you mark in real books. They become searchable cards on our EU servers or your own, and come back to you a few each day.
Private beta soon. Lite is free forever; cloud plans open at launch.
You’re on the list.
We’ll write when the beta opens.
That didn’t go through. Try again in a moment.
the problem
Is your book starting to look like this?
Post-its on every chapter, pencil in every margin, and no way to find any of it three weeks later. Put those passages on your phone instead: sorted, searchable, and back in front of you every day.
a well-loved book, drowning in post-its
how it works
From pencil mark to memory
Scan the marked page
Point your phone at the page. The passage you underlined lands in your library as text. You can also type it in yourself.
It becomes a card
Each passage sits on its own card, colored by what it means to you, tagged, and tied to its book and chapter. Your notes pin to the exact words that earned them.
It comes back to you
A small hand of cards returns each day. Swipe through them like turning pages.
your shelf
Every book you own, on one shelf
Real spines on real boards. Sort books by Reading, On the pile, Finished, Paused or Wishlist, stack them into collections, and watch progress creep along a cover.
the daily loop
A few passages find you every day
The deck deals itself: passages come back spaced out, so old ones resurface before they fade. When one asks for more than rereading, turn it into a todo or a daily practice and let the streak keep you honest.
your server, your rules
Free on your own machine, forever
PassageShelf Lite is free. One Docker command runs it on your NAS or a small VPS, it never phones home, and you can export everything whenever you like.
docker compose up -d
# your library is now at localhost:3000The trust contract
- Export is never gated. Any tier, ever — your whole library as Markdown or JSON.
- Lite never phones home. No telemetry, no tracking, nothing to opt out of.
- Cloud data lives in Germany. Encrypted backups, never used to train AI, never sold, and the delete button really deletes.
- Fair use over hard cuts. Heavy users get an email from a human before anything is enforced.
Printed here so you can hold us to it.
or let us keep the shelf
You don’t pay to unlock your notes
Capture and export are free everywhere. Cloud plans pay for continuity: someone runs the server, backs it up nightly, keeps OCR improving, ships new features monthly. No ads, no data resale — the subscription is the privacy guarantee.
Prices at launch · VAT included
Self-hosted Lite
Free forever
Your hardware. Unlimited books and passages, camera scan + OCR, full export. Security fixes, community support.
Cloud Free
€0
10 books · 300 passages · 100 MB of scans. Neural OCR, the apps, daily digest. Forever-free.
Cloud Full
€4/mo · €35/yr yearly ≈ 2 months free
Unlimited (fair use), 5 GB of scans, Kindle import, nightly encrypted backups in Germany, email support, new features monthly.
in your pocket
The scanner is already next to your book
The apps scan pages with the camera, drop one passage into your notifications each morning, and can share any card as a quote image. Android beta comes first, iOS right behind it. The web app already works on any phone.
Android — beta first
iOS — right behind
before you ask
Fair questions
What’s the difference between Lite and Cloud?
Capture is free everywhere: Lite runs on your own machine with unlimited books and full export. Cloud adds the convenient parts, like neural OCR, the apps, Kindle import and nightly backups, and funds development. Export is free on every tier, always: Markdown or JSON.
Where does my data live?
Cloud data sits on servers in Germany with encrypted backups. It’s never used to train AI, never sold, and deleting your account really deletes it. Lite data never leaves your machine — there’s no telemetry at all.
What about my Kindle highlights?
Kindle import ships with Cloud at launch, so your digital highlights and your paper passages can live on the same shelf.
Why not just type passages into my notes app?
Typing passages out is the step everyone skips. PassageShelf takes them in through the camera, then exports clean Markdown, so your notes app stays the home of your notes.
When do the apps arrive?
Android’s beta opens first; iOS follows close behind. Until then the web app works on any phone.
How much will it cost?
Lite is free forever. Cloud Free stays free (10 books, 300 passages). Cloud Full is €4/month or €35/year — and the first 100 accounts can take it for €79, once, for life.
the doors open soon
Get a shelf when they do
We’re letting readers in a few at a time. Leave an email and we’ll write when yours is ready. Nothing else, ever.
Private beta soon. Lite is free forever; cloud plans open at launch.
You’re on the list.
We’ll write when the beta opens.
That didn’t go through. Try again in a moment.