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Ebook to Audiobook converter using MiniMax and FFmpeg

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Created by: Jay Emp0 || jay-emp0

Jay Emp0

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Last update 2 days ago

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Ebook to Audiobook Converter

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What It Does

Turn any PDF ebook into a professional audiobook automatically. Upload a PDF, get an MP3 audiobook in your Google Drive. Perfect for listening to books, research papers, or documents on the go.

Example: Input PDF → Output Audiobook

Key Features

  • Upload PDF via web form → Get MP3 audiobook in Google Drive
  • Natural-sounding AI voices (MiniMax Speech-02-HD)
  • Automatic text extraction, chunking, and audio merging
  • Customizable voice, speed, and emotion settings
  • Processes long books in batches with smart rate limiting

Perfect For

  • Students: Turn textbooks into study audiobooks
  • Professionals: Listen to reports and documents while commuting
  • Content Creators: Repurpose written content as audio
  • Accessibility: Make content accessible to visually impaired users

Requirements

Component Details
n8n Self-hosted ONLY (cannot run on n8n Cloud)
FFmpeg Must be installed in your n8n environment
Replicate API For MiniMax TTS (Sign up here)
Google Drive OAuth2 credentials + "Audiobook" folder

⚠️ Important: This workflow does NOT work on n8n Cloud because FFmpeg installation is required.

Quick Setup

1. Install FFmpeg

Docker users:

docker exec -it <n8n-container-name> /bin/bash
apt-get update && apt-get install -y ffmpeg

Native installation:

sudo apt-get install ffmpeg  # Linux
brew install ffmpeg          # macOS

2. Get API Keys

  • Replicate: Sign up at replicate.com and copy your API token
  • Google Drive: Set up OAuth2 in n8n and create an "Audiobook" folder in Drive

3. Import & Configure

  1. Import n8n.json into your n8n instance
  2. Replace the Replicate API token in the "MINIMAX TTS" node
  3. Configure Google Drive credentials and select your "Audiobook" folder
  4. Activate the workflow

Cost Estimate

Component Cost
MiniMax TTS API ~$0.15 per 1000 characters (~$3-5 for average book)
Google Drive Storage Free (up to 15GB)
Processing Time ~1-2 minutes per 10 pages

How It Works

Workflow Diagram

PDF Upload → Extract Text → Split into Chunks → Convert to Speech (batches of 5)
→ Merge Audio Files (FFmpeg) → Upload to Google Drive

The workflow uses four main modules:

  1. Extraction: PDF text extraction and intelligent chunking
  2. Conversion: MiniMax TTS processes text in batches
  3. Merging: FFmpeg combines all audio files seamlessly
  4. Upload: Final audiobook saved to Google Drive

Voice Settings (Customizable)

{
  "voice_id": "Friendly_Person",
  "emotion": "happy",
  "speed": 1,
  "pitch": 0
}

Available emotions: happy, neutral, sad, angry, excited

Limitations

  • ⚠️ Self-hosted n8n ONLY (not compatible with n8n Cloud)
  • PDF files only (not EPUB, MOBI, or scanned images)
  • Large books (500+ pages) take longer to process
  • Requires FFmpeg installation (see setup above)

Troubleshooting

FFmpeg not found?

  • Docker: Run docker exec -it <container> /bin/bash then apt-get install ffmpeg
  • Native: Run sudo apt-get install ffmpeg (Linux) or brew install ffmpeg (macOS)

Rate limit errors?

  • Increase wait time in the "WAITS FOR 5 SECONDS" node to 10-15 seconds

Google Drive upload fails?

  • Make sure you created the "Audiobook" folder in your Google Drive
  • Reconfigure OAuth2 credentials in n8n

Created by emp0 | More workflows: n8n Gallery