For those wishing to use Kindle ebooks with calibre, this thread continues the work of jhowell’s invaluable
Dealing with Kindle for PC/Mac 1.19 (and later) and KFX in calibre.
First, you will need
DeDRM v10.0.9 beta/RC or the
alpha release. This will work on many (but not all) Kindle ebooks. (Some Kindle books come with extra-strength encryption that these tools cannot handle, etc.) If you have questions about installing, setting up, or using DeDRM, ask on
GitHub. Detailed help on the aforementioned topics is not permitted on MobileRead.
Once you have DeDRM v10.0.9 or later installed, the following methods can be used to obtain Kindle ebook files to import into calibre:
Method 1: Download & transfer via USB
IMPORTANT: "Starting February 26, 2025, the 'Download & Transfer via USB' option will no longer be available," says Amazon. D&T is already not available for Kindles released in 2024.
To use this method (while it's still available), you must have a pre-2024 eink Kindle (not a Fire) registered to your Amazon account.
Log in to your Amazon account, then: Account & Lists > Content Library > Books > [find the book you want] > More actions > Download & transfer via USB > [select an eink Kindle] > Download. You should receive an .azw3 (KF8) or .mobi file that you can import into calibre.
Note: There are some ebooks for which
Download & transfer is not available, such as those in Kindle Unlimited, etc.
Method 2a: Kindle for PC
Current versions of Kindle for PC (starting with v 2.4.1 [70946] aka 2.4.70946 and later) do NOT work with calibre. However, Kindle for PC 2.4.0 (70904) aka 2.4.70904 is known to work with calibre for most (but not all) books, provided you have the
KFX Input plugin installed.
- Kindle for PC 2.4.0 (70904) aka 2.4.70904 can be downloaded from Amazon here. If the link stops working, try third-party sites. Google is your friend.
- To block automatic updates, run DNSB's disable_k4pc_download.bat file. Also remove the checkmark from Tools > Options > General > Automatically install updates when they are available without asking me, though there are reports of forced updates even when this box is unchecked, thus DNSB's .bat file.
- Ebooks are located in your Documents > My Kindle Content folder. Import the .azw file into calibre (you can ignore the other files). Most .azw files will import as KFX; if it imports as KFX-ZIP, it failed.
Method 2b: Kindle for Mac
Current versions of Kindle for Mac (starting with v7.25.1 and later) do NOT work with calibre. 7.24 and earlier only work in an
extremely limited fashion provided you have the
KFX Input plugin installed. Kindle for Mac 1.40.x and earlier no longer work.
- Kindle for Mac 7.x is only available from the Mac App Store, so if you don't already have v7.24, you probably won't be able to find it.
- If you do have 7.24 or earlier, look for ebooks in User > Library > Containers > Kindle > Data > Library > eBooks. Import the .azw8 file into calibre (you can ignore the other files). If you get KFX, it worked; however, most will import as KFX-ZIP, in which case you will need to try Method 1, 2a (using virtual machine software), 3 or 4.
Method 3: eink Kindle
If you have an eink Kindle, it's possible to download the ebook to your Kindle, connect the Kindle to a computer via USB cable, and copy the ebook file (.kfx, .azw3, .azw, .mobi) from Kindle to computer. More info from jhowell in posts #
419 and #
425.
If your Kindle was released in 2013 or later running firmware v5.6.5 or newer, you will get KFX.
If you have a pre-2013 eink Kindle running firmware older than v5.6.5, you will get KF8. More info on older Kindle models and their usefulness in obtaining KF8 from jhowell:
here
Method 4: Kindle for Android on PC & Mac
There has been some success running Android emulator software (available for both PC and Mac) to run older versions of Kindle for Android (4.17 and older) to obtain Kindle ebooks that work with calibre. See:
DRM workaround: Kindle for Android