kindlegen availability

[jhowell]

I noticed that Amazon is no longer making kindlegen available as a standalone program. The web page that used to host kindlegen now says:

KindleGen is no longer available for download. Please use Kindle Previewer to convert, preview, and validate your eBooks.

Kindlegen is actually a part of the Kindle Previewer and the CLI can still be invoked if you track down where the Kindle Previewer installer puts it. The main things missing with that approach are 32-bit OS support and and Linux support.

[Doitsu]

The links are gone, but the files can still be downloaded from Amazon's server:

Windows
macOS
Linux

Kindle Previewer users can find the latest version in the following folders:

C:\Users\%UserName%\AppData\Local\Amazon\Kindle Previewer 3\lib\fc\bin\kindlegen.exe

/Applications/Kindle Previewer 3.app/Contents/MacOS/lib/fc/bin/kindlegen

[hobnail]

Thanks.

I'm guessing that when you use Kindle Previewer that it makes the "triple" MOBI that includes the EPUB. With the standalone Kindlegen you can give it a flag to make it not include the EPUB.

[JSWolf]

Kindlegen has no changed in at least 7 years. The version I have is 2.9 and it's the same version in the links given by Doitsu.

[jhowell]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Kindlegen has no changed in at least 7 years. The version I have is 2.9 and it's the same version in the links given by Doitsu.

I think it unlikely that kindlegen ever will be updated again. The MOBI and KF8 renderers have been frozen for years and all new development by Amazon is going into the KFX converter and renderer.

[Doitsu]

Originally Posted by hobnail

I'm guessing that when you use Kindle Previewer that it makes the "triple" MOBI that includes the EPUB. With the standalone Kindlegen you can give it a flag to make it not include the EPUB.

Shameless plug: You can use my Sigil KindleGen plugin to generate .mobi file without attached source files as well as .azw3 files. (It'll automatically use the Kindlegen binary bundled with Kindle Previewer.)
If jhowell's excellent Calibre KFX plugin is installed, you can also generate .kfx files.

[mexofeed1]

Originally Posted by Doitsu

The links are gone, but the files can still be downloaded from Amazon's server:

Windows
macOS
Linux

The Linux link gives me an Access Denied error. Luckily, the Internet Archive mirrored it in 2015.

[jhowell]

Amazon has released Kindle Previewer version 3.45. It now warns you with a popup that you should not publish using MOBI files:

NOTE: Please use your original source file (EPUB or DOCX) for publishing. This MOBI file should only be used for testing on older devices that do not support Enhanced Typesetting.

[m22chan]

Pardon me. I'm new here, but I just received the same warning popup as jhowell above.

I'm confused by what the message is trying to convey: Amazon doesn't sell EPUB (or DOCX, for that matter) version books. So is there a different tool that should be used to convert EPUBs into an Amazon supported format?

[binaryhermit]

I think Amazon prefers to convert the source EPUB or DOCX themselves.

Which would let them convert it to any hypothetical future format they support.

[Quoth]

You upload docx or epub2 (Amazon admits that epub2 may work better).
Amazon then convert it to all the formats they use. What someone gets depends on which registered actual Kindle, Fire or App they select.

I had issues with the page breaks at chapters with the docx, but it was fine converted by Calibre to epub2. So Amazon told me to always upload the epub2. Same one as uploaded to Smashwords for Apple and Nook and Kobo and also to Google.

Do select Tablet under page settings in Calibre so that images are not resized, assuming you have done them properly for ebooks.

Also every kind of paragraph or heading should be a named style. Only use inline formatting for a few italic or bold words in a paragraph.
Every heading that's not to be in the system TOC should be body level, including the Title.
The docx or epub should not contain the cover. It's uploaded separately on EVERY platform. True also for paper POD or print runs as the cover is a different size to the internal pages.
No headers or footers on the docx upload or local conversion to epub.

The ONLY use for a local Kindle single Format generation tool is your own previews or giving a copy of your own material to Kindle owning friend.
The only use at all for dual mobi (old mobi with KF8 as in azw in the one file) created by Calibre or any other tool is to upload a Kindle version to Smashwords, or perhaps if you are making it Public Domain, some other site. Only Amazon knows what kind of Kindle someone has.
The Dual Mobi from Calibre seems OK on Kindle Keyboard, DXG, older Kindle Basic, Paperwhite 3 and Paperwhite 4.

I found KindleGen very limiting compared to LO Writer (saving as ODT and an extra copy as docx when finished) or MS Word. Then loading docx into Calibre and making an epub2.

[m22chan]

Ahh, I think I see what you mean. Thanks to you both.