Metadata download issues

gtriever · 06-28-2026, 09:40 AM

Help!

Suddenly I have issues with book searches and cover searches.

Over 95% of my book searches come back with a [Failure to find book] error, and cover downloads only find one or two small sized covers, no Amazon or Google covers... and as far as I know I haven't changed anything.

Ideas, anybody?

Wiggo · 06-28-2026, 11:09 AM

Forum search

theducks · 06-28-2026, 11:28 AM

In addition to Wiggo

Did you set a cover source priority on the Metadata download source list?

Don't overly tighten the settings for sources or you limit the chance of any returned data.

JSWolf · 06-28-2026, 11:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gtriever

Help!

Suddenly I have issues with book searches and cover searches.

Over 95% of my book searches come back with a [Failure to find book] error, and cover downloads only find one or two small sized covers, no Amazon or Google covers... and as far as I know I haven't changed anything.

Ideas, anybody?

Amazon doesn't really work unless you have the ASIN set correctly in the metadata ID. Google doesn't work because they are blocking you. Kobo sometimes works but not always because of Cloudflare. Storygraph always returns small covers when it works. The only plugin that reliably works for covers is the Apple one.

As for metadata downloads (IMHO) forget it. It doesn't work reliably and when it does, you often get rubbish that has to be hand corrected.

DJViking · 07-01-2026, 02:04 PM

I was stuck with an old version of Calibre - 6.23
When I was adding a few new books, I noticed it started to fail a lot trying to get metadata.

I was able to upgrade to 9.10, but it still failed.
I had to trim down the title, remove authors, remove tags, remove Ids for it not to fail.

And now it never finds any book covers. I am stuck with the one from ePUB or PDF.

I also noticed the Description was badly formatted. I had no interest in formatting it for hand, so I handed it over to ChatGPT to format it for me.

DNSB · 07-01-2026, 09:56 PM

Which sources are you using for covers? I've found that Apple Books, Kindle hi-res covers and Kobo Metadata seem to be the best at locating decent sized cover images.

For Amazon books, have you tried ensuring the Amazon and/or mobi-ASIN IDs are used? For Kobo, either the ISBN or Kobo's IDs seem to work for me.

JSWolf · 07-02-2026, 03:56 PM

I find that Kobo is iffy due to Cloudflare. Apple works. Kindle works best if it's a Kindle eBook or you put in the ASIN in the ID. The rest either don't work because they are banned and the ones that do sometimes work return a cover that's too small. And some don't return metadata.

I've seen plenty of metadata that's a right mess. So it's best to download the metadata this by hand so you can get it as correct as you can.

DJViking · 07-03-2026, 12:29 PM

After I added Kobo Plugin and Goodreads, I no longer has problem getting metadata.
But I disabled Goodreads. Their Description contents was terrible.

JSWolf · 07-04-2026, 05:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DJViking

After I added Kobo Plugin and Goodreads, I no longer has problem getting metadata.
But I disabled Goodreads. Their Description contents was terrible.

I've been saying that Goodreads is a mess for some time.

06-28-2026, 09:40 AM	#1
gtriever Addict Posts: 287 Karma: 2125576 Join Date: Sep 2010 Device: Kobo Forma	Metadata download issues Help! Suddenly I have issues with book searches and cover searches. Over 95% of my book searches come back with a [Failure to find book] error, and cover downloads only find one or two small sized covers, no Amazon or Google covers... and as far as I know I haven't changed anything. Ideas, anybody?

07-02-2026, 03:56 PM	#7
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 84,298 Karma: 153715495 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3	I find that Kobo is iffy due to Cloudflare. Apple works. Kindle works best if it's a Kindle eBook or you put in the ASIN in the ID. The rest either don't work because they are banned and the ones that do sometimes work return a cover that's too small. And some don't return metadata. I've seen plenty of metadata that's a right mess. So it's best to download the metadata this by hand so you can get it as correct as you can. Last edited by JSWolf; 07-02-2026 at 03:58 PM.

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06-28-2026, 11:09 AM	#2
Wiggo Leftutti Posts: 650 Karma: 3671119 Join Date: Feb 2019 Location: Bavaria Device: iPad Pro, Kobo Libra 2	Forum search

06-28-2026, 11:28 AM	#3
theducks Well trained by Cats Posts: 31,905 Karma: 64184592 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: The Central Coast of California Device: Kobo Libra2,Kobo Aura2v1, K4NT(Fixed: New Bat.), Galaxy Tab A	In addition to Wiggo Did you set a cover source priority on the Metadata download source list? Don't overly tighten the settings for sources or you limit the chance of any returned data.

07-01-2026, 02:04 PM	#5
DJViking Junior Member Posts: 5 Karma: 10 Join Date: Oct 2017 Device: Kobo	I was stuck with an old version of Calibre - 6.23 When I was adding a few new books, I noticed it started to fail a lot trying to get metadata. I was able to upgrade to 9.10, but it still failed. I had to trim down the title, remove authors, remove tags, remove Ids for it not to fail. And now it never finds any book covers. I am stuck with the one from ePUB or PDF. I also noticed the Description was badly formatted. I had no interest in formatting it for hand, so I handed it over to ChatGPT to format it for me.

07-01-2026, 09:56 PM	#6
DNSB Bibliophagist Posts: 53,344 Karma: 181495311 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Vancouver Device: Kobo Sage, Libra Colour, Lenovo M8 FHD, Paperwhite 4, Tolino epos	Which sources are you using for covers? I've found that Apple Books, Kindle hi-res covers and Kobo Metadata seem to be the best at locating decent sized cover images. For Amazon books, have you tried ensuring the Amazon and/or mobi-ASIN IDs are used? For Kobo, either the ISBN or Kobo's IDs seem to work for me.

07-03-2026, 12:29 PM	#8
DJViking Junior Member Posts: 5 Karma: 10 Join Date: Oct 2017 Device: Kobo	After I added Kobo Plugin and Goodreads, I no longer has problem getting metadata. But I disabled Goodreads. Their Description contents was terrible.