I need to access my annotations

emailmask · 09-25-2026, 01:38 PM

I have sideloaded a personal book on my Kindle Scribe 3 and now I need all the annotations (there are thousands!). Unfortunately myclippings.txt for whatever reason isn't there and I have no idea how to extract what I need.
Has a solution to this issue been found? I can't factory reset my kindle (the temporary hotfix) because I would lose weeks of work. What do I do?

KBAILEY90 · 09-25-2026, 02:22 PM

Hey!

Before anything else, plug it into a computer and copy the whole documents folder, especially the .sdr folder next to your book. That's where the Kindle keeps your highlights and notes, so once you have a copy a reset can't take them. KRDS or kindle-reading-dashboard (there's a thread about it here) can read those sidecar files and pull the highlights out, and the basic scripts work on a normal Kindle mounted over USB. I haven't tried it on a Scribe 3, so run it on the copy, not the device.

DNSB · 09-25-2026, 05:25 PM

You may also want to check the "Your Clippings" is no more thread for as to why you are not seeing the clippings file.

emailmask · 09-25-2026, 05:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KBAILEY90

Hey!

Before anything else, plug it into a computer and copy the whole documents folder, especially the .sdr folder next to your book. That's where the Kindle keeps your highlights and notes, so once you have a copy a reset can't take them. KRDS or kindle-reading-dashboard (there's a thread about it here) can read those sidecar files and pull the highlights out, and the basic scripts work on a normal Kindle mounted over USB. I haven't tried it on a Scribe 3, so run it on the copy, not the device.

thanks for the tip about the .sdr folder! I've tried with the KRDS gui but it crashes on startup everytime with Calibre last version

Quote:

Originally Posted by DNSB

You may also want to check the "Your Clippings" is no more thread for as to why you are not seeing the clippings file.

nothing worked unfortunately

KBAILEY90 · 09-25-2026, 07:05 PM

[QUOTE=emailmask;4612036]thanks for the tip about the .sdr folder! I've tried with the KRDS gui but it crashes on startup everytime with Calibre last version

Oh, sorry it didn't work. :/ KRDS itself doesn't need calibre, so the crash is probably that GUI rather than your files. A few things so I can point you the right way: what format is the book (PDF, EPUB sent to Kindle, AZW3...)? Are the annotations typed highlights, or handwritten notes with the pen? And are you on Windows or Mac?

emailmask · 09-26-2026, 05:18 AM

[QUOTE=KBAILEY90;4612047]

Quote:

Originally Posted by emailmask

thanks for the tip about the .sdr folder! I've tried with the KRDS gui but it crashes on startup everytime with Calibre last version

Oh, sorry it didn't work. :/ KRDS itself doesn't need calibre, so the crash is probably that GUI rather than your files. A few things so I can point you the right way: what format is the book (PDF, EPUB sent to Kindle, AZW3...)? Are the annotations typed highlights, or handwritten notes with the pen? And are you on Windows or Mac?

converted epub from calibre in AZW3 format, annotations are 95% highlights, and I'm on Windows 11

KBAILEY90 · 09-28-2026, 02:12 PM

Ok! I think I got it. Since calibre made the AZW3 there's no DRM, so the highlights can be matched back to the text.

Forget the plugin. Grab Python from python.org, download the kindle-reading-dashboard repo as a zip and open a command prompt in the azw3text folder. Run this once:

python assemble_azw3_text.py --get-kindleunpack

then:

python extract_highlights.py "C:\your\copy\YourBook.azw3"

Keep the .sdr folder next to the book. You should get a .highlights.md file with everything in it.

Only tested on a regular Kindle though, not a Scribe, so do it on the copy. If it errors out just paste it here and we'll figure it out.

09-25-2026, 01:38 PM	#1
emailmask Junior Member Posts: 5 Karma: 10 Join Date: Sep 2026 Device: Kindle Scribe 3	I need to access my annotations I have sideloaded a personal book on my Kindle Scribe 3 and now I need all the annotations (there are thousands!). Unfortunately myclippings.txt for whatever reason isn't there and I have no idea how to extract what I need. Has a solution to this issue been found? I can't factory reset my kindle (the temporary hotfix) because I would lose weeks of work. What do I do?

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09-25-2026, 02:22 PM	#2
KBAILEY90 Junior Member Posts: 3 Karma: 12 Join Date: Sep 2026 Device: none	Hey! Before anything else, plug it into a computer and copy the whole documents folder, especially the .sdr folder next to your book. That's where the Kindle keeps your highlights and notes, so once you have a copy a reset can't take them. KRDS or kindle-reading-dashboard (there's a thread about it here) can read those sidecar files and pull the highlights out, and the basic scripts work on a normal Kindle mounted over USB. I haven't tried it on a Scribe 3, so run it on the copy, not the device.

09-25-2026, 05:25 PM	#3
DNSB Bibliophagist Posts: 54,784 Karma: 182340541 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Vancouver Device: Kobo Sage, Libra Colour, Lenovo M8 FHD, Paperwhite 4, Tolino epos	You may also want to check the "Your Clippings" is no more thread for as to why you are not seeing the clippings file.

09-25-2026, 07:05 PM	#5
KBAILEY90 Junior Member Posts: 3 Karma: 12 Join Date: Sep 2026 Device: none	[QUOTE=emailmask;4612036]thanks for the tip about the .sdr folder! I've tried with the KRDS gui but it crashes on startup everytime with Calibre last version Oh, sorry it didn't work. :/ KRDS itself doesn't need calibre, so the crash is probably that GUI rather than your files. A few things so I can point you the right way: what format is the book (PDF, EPUB sent to Kindle, AZW3...)? Are the annotations typed highlights, or handwritten notes with the pen? And are you on Windows or Mac?

09-28-2026, 02:12 PM	#7
KBAILEY90 Junior Member Posts: 3 Karma: 12 Join Date: Sep 2026 Device: none	Ok! I think I got it. Since calibre made the AZW3 there's no DRM, so the highlights can be matched back to the text. Forget the plugin. Grab Python from python.org, download the kindle-reading-dashboard repo as a zip and open a command prompt in the azw3text folder. Run this once: python assemble_azw3_text.py --get-kindleunpack then: python extract_highlights.py "C:\your\copy\YourBook.azw3" Keep the .sdr folder next to the book. You should get a .highlights.md file with everything in it. Only tested on a regular Kindle though, not a Scribe, so do it on the copy. If it errors out just paste it here and we'll figure it out.