DeDRM Plugin for Calibre

Post tags: | apprenticealf | books | dedrm_plugin | ebooks |

apprenticealf.wordpress.com main page For support, comment on apprenticealf main page

github.com/apprenticeharper/DeDRM

I cannot solve my problem with the Windows DeDRM application, and now I need to ‘post a log’. How do I do that?

The Windows DeDRM application creates a log file in your home directory (C:\Users[username]) every time it is run. After unsuccessfully removing DRM from one ebook, copy the contents of the log file (it is a simple text file) and paste it into your comment at Apprentice Alf’s blog or in a new issue at Apprentice Harper’s github repository.

github - apprenticeharper/DeDRM_tools

This is a repository of all the scripts and other tools for removing DRM from ebooks that I could find, committed in date order as best as I could manage. (Except for the Requiem tools for Apple’s iBooks, and Convert LIT for Microsoft’s .lit ebooks.)

Mostly it tracks the tools releases by Apprentice Alf, athough it also includes the individual tools and their histories from before Alf had a blog.

Users should download the latest zip archive. Developers might be interested in forking the repository, as it contains unzipped versions of those tools that are zipped, and text versions of the AppleScripts, to make the changes over time easier to follow.

For the latest Amazon KFX format, users of the calibre plugin should also install the KFX Input plugin from the standard calibre plugin menu. It’s also available from the MobileRead thread here: https://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=291290

apprenticealf.wordpress.com Frequently Asked Questions about the DRM removal tools - January 17, 2011 by Apprentice Alf

I can’t get the tools to work on my rented or library ebooks.

Support for removing DRM from rented or library ebooks is not provided.

Do the tools work on books from Kobo?

adobe.com/support/digitaleditions/downloads

ADE_2.0_Installer.exe

Kobo uses Adobe Digital Editions encryption, but it also uses its own application and encryption system, so you might not have already installed Adobe Digital Editions. Version 2.0.1 (download here) is strongly recommended. Version 3.0 and later are capable of utilizing a new encryption scheme which the tools cannot unlock.

Once you have installed ADE 2.0.1, you must authorise it with an Adobe ID. Failing to do that will link your DRMed ebooks to this particular installation of ADE, instead of to an ID that can be used with any new installation. Do this before you try getting any DRMed ebooks loaded into Adobe Digit

apprenticealf.wordpress.com Ebook Formats, DRM and You — A Guide for the Perplexed - January 13, 2011 by Apprentice Alf

apprenticealf.wordpress.com DeDRM plugin for calibre: the simplest option for removing DRM from most ebooks - September 10, 2012 by Apprentice Alf

apprenticealf.wordpress.com DeDRM Tools 6.6.1 Released - June 2, 2018 by Apprentice Alf

Thanks to work by several people, the tools can now decrypt KFX format ebooks from Amazon.

If using the calibre plugin, install the KFX Input Plugin to automatically locate all of the files that make up a KFX format book and gather them into a KFX-ZIP. After the DeDRM plugin removes the DRM, then the KFX Input Plugin will package it into a single KFX file.

apprenticealf.wordpress.com DRM Removal Tools for eBooks - September 10, 2012 by Apprentice Alf

This blog is intended to help anyone looking for free and simple software for removing DRM from their Kindle ebooks, stripping DRM from their Adobe Digital Editions ebooks, getting rid of DRM from their Barnes and Noble ebooks, freeing their Kobo ebooks of DRM, or decrypting their Fictionwise eReader ebooks.

teleread.org/2017/01/29 Latest Kindle for PC no longer uses Calibre-compatible AZW files

Update, 4/5/18: I just noticed a post in a MobileRead thread indicating that there are now Calibre plug-ins available for handling KFX. So, there may no longer be any need to use these workarounds.

Things just got a little harder for folks who like to store their Amazon purchases in Calibre. I noticed it myself when I was trying to add a DRM-free title I just bought, Bone Dance by Emma Bull, to my Calibre library. Even though it’s DRM-free, when I dragged and dropped the file from my “My Kindle Content” directory across to Calibre, it couldn’t figure out what to do with the file.

A little detective work turned up this Mobileread forum thread. It turns out that the new version of Kindle for PC, 1.19, no longer uses the AZW ebook format that Calibre knows how to read. Instead, it uses the new KFX ebook format—which nothing else can read or convert right now. The only way to resume being able to convert downloaded Kindle content is to uninstall Kindle for PC, then reinstall Kindle for PC version 1.17, currently accessible via this link (or this one for the OS X version). Once you have, go to the Tools menu, then Options, then General and uncheck the box to install updates automatically—and then just don’t update.

It’s unclear how long Amazon will support these older versions, or that they’ll be available for download. But even if Amazon stops, those who own older Kindle hardware devices will still be able to obtain AZW-format ebooks via the expedient of downloading them to the Kindle then copying them across via USB. Meanwhile, I suppose we can hope that Calibre adds the ability to read KFX files sometime soon.

Update: In a comment, Steve notes you can also download AZW files by going to your “Manage Your Content and Devices” page, then clicking on the “…” button next to the title you want and selecting “Download & transfer via USB.” Even if the Kindle device you choose is a newer model, it still sends you the .AZW file format.

Install DeDRM Tools 6.6.1

wget https://github.com/apprenticeharper/DeDRM_tools/releases/download/v6.6.1/DeDRM_tools_6.6.1.zip

DeDRM/FAQs.md

Starting with version 1.19, Kindle for PC/Mac uses Amazon’s new KFX format which these tools can’t handle. There are two options to get the older formats that the tools can decrypt. Either stick with version 1.17 or earlier, or modify the executable by changing a file name.

Version 1.17 of Kindle is are no longer available directly from Amazon, so you will need to search for the proper file name and find it on a third party site. The name is “KindleForPC-installer-1.17.44170.exe” for PC and “KindleForMac-44182.dmg” for Mac.

Verify the one of the following cryptographic hash values, using software of your choice, before installing the downloaded file in order to avoid viruses. If the hash does not match, delete the downloaded file and try again from another site.

Kindle for PC:
        MD-5: 53F793B562F4823721AA47D7DE099869
        SHA-1: 73C404D719F0DD8D4AE1C2C96612B095D6C86255
        SHA-256: 14E0F0053F1276C0C7C446892DC170344F707FBFE99B695176 2C120144163200

You will need to go to the preferences and uncheck the auto update checkbox. Then download and install 1.17 over the top of the 1.19 installation. You’ll also need to delete the KFX folders from your My Kindle Content folder.

A second possible solution is to use 1.19 or later, but disable KFX by renaming or disabling a necessary component of the application. This may or may not work on versions after 1.20. In a command window, enter the following commands when Kindle for PC/Mac is not running:

        ren %localappdata%\Amazon\Kindle\application\renderer-test.exe renderer-test.xxx

PC Note: The renderer-test program may be in a different location in some Kindle for PC installations. If the rename command fails look in other folders, such as C:\Program Files\Amazon\Kindle.

        wget http://www.ebook-tool.com/KindleForPC-installer-1.17.44170.exe
        73c404d719f0dd8d4ae1c2c96612b095d6c86255  KindleForPC-installer-1.17.44170.exe
        73c404d719f0dd8d4ae1c2c96612b095d6c86255 SHA-1 from DeDRM for check

apprenticealf.wordpress.com Frequently Asked Questions about the DRM removal tools

I have installed the calibre plugin, and the book is not already in calibre, but the DRM does not get removed. It is a Kindle book.

If this book is from Kindle for Mac or Kindle for PC, you must have the Kindle software installed on the same computer as your copy of calibre.

If the book is from Kindle for PC or Kindle for Mac (version 1.17 or older) and you think you are doing everything right, and you are getting this message, it is possible that the files containing the encryption key aren’t quite in the format the tools expect. To try to fix this:

  1. Deregister Kindle for PC(Mac) from your Amazon account.
  2. Uninstall Kindle for PC(Mac)
  3. Delete the Kindle for PC(Mac) preferences
    • PC: Delete the directory [user folder]\AppData\Local\Amazon (it might be hidden) and [user folder]\Documents\My Kindle Content
    • Mac: Delete the directory [home folder]/Library/Application Support/Kindle/ and/or [home folder]/Library/Containers/com.amazon.Kindle/Data/Library/Application Support/Kindle/ (one or both may be present and should be deleted)
  4. Reinstall Kindle for PC(Mac)
  5. re-register Kindle for PC(Mac) with your Amazon account
  6. Download the ebook again. Do not use the files you have downloaded previously.

ereader-palace.com How to Convert AZW4 to a Perfect PDF

And here I reveal another fact: every single AZW4 book contains a complete PDF file inside, or we can say, it is actually a PDF file with a shell called AZW4.

I guess some of you readers have tried using some software like Calibre to convert AZW4 to EPUB or PDF, and the output layout is totally messed up. That makes sense because AZW4 books are always textbooks, they contain lots of images, tables and complex patterns, all of these elements are difficult to keep the original layout when converting to another format.

Can we just rip off the shell and extract the PDF inside AZW4? The answer is a big YES and this is why I write this post.

Calibre plugin: Kindle Unpack