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Kobo integrations ## DRAFT WIP

Michael Shavit edited this page Apr 14, 2020 · 2 revisions

Setup

Kobo integration must first be enabled in CalibreWeb by toggling on the Enable Kobo sync checkbox in the Basic configuration >> Feature Configuration page.

The Kobo eReader.conf file found under the .kobo directory on Kobo devices is used to configure which URL the device uses for syncing books. By default, the config file contains the following row:

api_endpoint=https://storeapi.kobo.com

Users can generate a URL to sync with CalibreWeb instead by cliking the Create/View button under their CalibreWeb profile page.

Store purchases

If you want to maintain access to the official Kobo store on the device, you can set the Proxy unknown requests to Kobo Store checkbox. When syncing, we will try to sync against both the official Kobo Store as well as CalibreWeb's library.

Privacy & Security caution

The Kobo device sends out a unique and irrevocable (even across password reset) {device_id; user_id} pair during the Sync protocol. If CalibreWeb is exposed over the internet without SSL, then this id pair could theoretically be stolen (if anyone was bothered to...). As far as I can tell, a malicious individual wouldn't be able to make account changes or purchases, but would be able to download the list of purchased or borrowed books, collections, reading stats, etc.

Installing a self signed certificate on Kobo

You can install a self-signed certificate on the device by copying a DER encoded certificate with a .cer file extension to the .kobo/certificates directory on the Kobo device. For example, to convert an existing certificate to the right format:

openssl x509 -in self-signed-cert.crt -outform DER -out /media/KOBOeReader/.kobo/certificates/calibre_web.cer

Feature support:

Book management

Adding books to Calibre/CalibreWeb will cause them to appear on the device the next time it Syncs with CalibreWeb.

Deleting a book from Calibre/CalibreWeb will not cause it to be removed from the device on the next Sync. In order to trigger deletions from their devices, users must archive books and then sync their devices.

Reading state and statistics

Book progress and reading statistics are synced with and stored in CalibreWeb. At the moment, CalibreWeb will only display whether books have been completed (Read) or not (Unread).