Make a Mac shortcut to convert ePub cover art to fit your reader screen (looks better on lock screen)
**YOU NEED TO HAVE CALIBRE INSTALLED. IT USES CALIBRE TOOLS IN THE BG**
- Open the shortcuts app and create a new one.
- Check the setting for "Quick Action" and select "Finder"
- Set "receive" to "files" (hit the select all button, then deselect all, then select "files")
- Add a "Run Shell Script" action
- Copy the code from below.
- Change the width/height to your reader (mine is set for 12th gen paper white)
- Set the "Pass Input" to "as arguments"
- **I made one for cropping the image, one for stretching it. Sometimes stretching looks bad, sometimes cropping cuts off some of the title. (see screenshot)
- Right click an ePub in the finder and look under "Quick Actions"
CODE FOR RESIZE:
# Get the ePub file from the shortcut input
epub="$1"
temp_img="/tmp/epub_cover.jpg"
# 1. Extract the current cover image
/Applications/calibre.app/Contents/MacOS/ebook-meta "$epub" --get-cover "$temp_img"
# 2. Stretch the image
sips --resampleHeightWidth 1680 1264 "$temp_img"
# 3. Apply the modified image back as the cover
/Applications/calibre.app/Contents/MacOS/ebook-meta "$epub" --cover "$temp_img"
# 4. Remove the temporary image file
rm "$temp_img"
CODE FOR CROP:
# Get the ePub file from the shortcut input
epub="$1"
temp_img="/tmp/epub_cover.jpg"
# 1. Extract the current cover image
/Applications/calibre.app/Contents/MacOS/ebook-meta "$epub" --get-cover "$temp_img"
# 2. Scale the image
sips --resampleWidth 1264 "$temp_img"
# 3. Crop the image
sips --cropToHeightWidth 1680 1264 "$temp_img"
# 4. Apply the modified image back as the cover
/Applications/calibre.app/Contents/MacOS/ebook-meta "$epub" --cover "$temp_img"
# 5. Remove the temporary image file
rm "$temp_img
Posted Jun 3, 2026, 1:18 PM UTC
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