Introducing TaleRunner

We've built something new. TaleRunner is a free tool that connects your Audiobookshelf library to your Yoto MYO cards. If you've ever spent an evening manually splitting audiobook chapters, converting files, and dragging them onto cards one by one, this is for you.

What it does

For those who haven't come across it, Audiobookshelf is a free, self-hosted audiobook server. Think of it as your own personal audiobook library running on your home network or a server somewhere, where you manage your own collection of audiobooks and podcasts. It's popular with parents who want to own and organise their audio content rather than relying on subscription services.

Connect your Audiobookshelf server, browse your library, and assign any book to a MYO card. TaleRunner handles the chapter splitting, cover art, and upload to Yoto automatically. You get a review step before anything is pushed, so you can rename chapters, swap cover art, and check everything looks right.

If your audiobook has more than 99 chapters (Yoto's limit per card), it'll split across multiple cards for you. If you re-sync the same book later, it only re-processes what's actually changed.

It works the other way too. You can import audio from your existing MYO cards back into Audiobookshelf, which keeps everything linked so future syncs update the original card rather than creating duplicates.

MYO Backups

Even if you don't use Audiobookshelf, TaleRunner can back up your Yoto MYO card playlists. Every track, chapter title, icon, and cover image. The free plan lets you download ZIP backups of your cards. The Pro plan adds cloud backups with version history and one-click restore, so if a card gets wiped or your child decides to record over their favourite story, you can roll it back.

We've seen enough posts from parents who've lost playlists to know this is worth having.

Pricing

The free plan is genuinely useful. You get 100 tracks synced per month, unlimited Audiobookshelf libraries, chapter splitting, Yoto card importing, and local ZIP backups. For most families that's plenty.

Pro is $5/month and removes the sync limit, adds cloud backups with version history, automatic scheduled backups, and priority queue. No trial period needed because the free plan isn't a demo, it's the real thing.

A couple of things worth knowing

Your Audiobookshelf server does need to be accessible over the internet for TaleRunner to reach it. If you're self-hosting on your home network, you'll need a reverse proxy, Cloudflare Tunnel, or similar. The FAQ on the site covers the options.

TaleRunner doesn't host or distribute any audio content. Your books stay on your server. You're responsible for making sure you have the rights to what you sync, same as any file transfer tool.

You can delete your account and all data at any time from settings. No hoops, no email required.

Give it a go at talerunner.dailyadventure.io