kobopatch - An improved patching system

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Scaledish

thats great, works perfectly. may I ask WHY I need to download the firmware again? what does it do, considring its already on the device?

sorry, one more question. do I need do do this EVERY firmware update?

thanks in advance for the help

When you get your Forma, it won't have the latest firmware installed. When you register your Forma, you may end up downloading and installing the new firmware.

You need to download the firmware if you plan to patch it and/or manually install it. You do want to be running 4.20.14622.

[Scaledish]

Originally Posted by jackie_w

If a firmware is already installed on the device you don't need to do it again.



Yes you do. Many (but not all) patches have to be updated every time a new firmware is released and you must only ever install the patches intended for the same firmware as is installed on your Kobo. All things being well, a new kobopatch pack will be released within a few days of each new firmware release.

thanks so much.

should I keep a list of the patches I am using so it is easier to update each V?

additionally, what is a use case for sideloading the firmware? cant the device do this already?

again, thank you for answering, and sorry for bombarding you with questions.

[Scaledish]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

When you get your Forma, it won't have the latest firmware installed. When you register your Forma, you may end up downloading and installing the new firmware.

You need to download the firmware if you plan to patch it and/or manually install it. You do want to be running 4.20.14622.

ah, that clears it up. you patch it on the computer and than sideload it on, correct?

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Scaledish

thanks so much.

should I keep a list of the patches I am using so it is easier to update each V?

additionally, what is a use case for sideloading the firmware? cant the device do this already?

again, thank you for answering, and sorry for bombarding you with questions.

If you do not sync you would need to side load the firmware. Kobo staggers the firmware release so you might not be getting it when you want it.

The patch system allows you to keep track of which patches you've selected to install. As I've not done that yet, ask for a sample of how to do it.

[jackie_w]

Originally Posted by Scaledish

ah, that clears it up. you patch it on the computer and than sideload it on, correct?

Yes, that's right.

FYI: the firmware .zip file contains thousands of files but patching is only done on 4 of them. The local copy of the .zip file is there so that each of the 4 files can be extracted /patched/rezipped according to the list of patches you've enabled for that file. The 4 files end up in a much smaller KoboRoot.tgz file which is then drag-dropped to the Kobo's /.kobo directory. The 4 patched files will be auto-replaced on the device after safe USB disconnection.

[Scaledish]

Originally Posted by jackie_w

Yes, that's right.

FYI: the firmware .zip file contains thousands of files but patching is only done on 4 of them. The local copy of the .zip file is there so that each of the 4 files can be extracted /patched/rezipped according to the list of patches you've enabled for that file. The 4 files end up in a much smaller KoboRoot.tgz file which is then drag-dropped to the Kobo's /.kobo directory. The 4 patched files will be auto-replaced on the device after safe USB disconnection.

ahh ok, so these are the steps?

1. Update what you want to patch
2. download the new firmware
3. run the thingy in the patch file
4. grab the result
5. put it in .kobo
6. delete the firmware because its taking up space on your system

also

The patch system allows you to keep track of which patches you've selected to install. As I've not done that yet, ask for a sample of how to do it.

could I see a example of this?

[jackie_w]

@Scaledish,

This is the thread you need.

The download in Step 2 is the kobopatch pack. Download, unzip and look at the contents. The kobopatch src subdirectory contains the .yaml files containing all the patches. Each patch has its own help notes.

The kobopatch.yaml file in the pack's root directory can be used as 'Mission Control', listing all your patches. Some people (e.g. me) prefer to only list the patches they want to be enabled. Others prefer to have all available patches listed in there with either yes or no against each patch. I don't have one of these but maybe someone else will post one for you.

To be honest, if you've never used an unpatched Kobo before, it can be difficult to anticipate which patches you'll want to enable. Maybe you should just read a couple of books before deciding what drives you nuts in the stock firmware Some patches are for epub only and some are for kepub only, so kepub vs. epub is one of the early decisions you need to make. Both have their pluses/minuses. Try both.

[Scaledish]

Originally Posted by jackie_w

@Scaledish,

This is the thread you need.

The download in Step 2 is the kobopatch pack. Download, unzip and look at the contents. The kobopatch src subdirectory contains the .yaml files containing all the patches. Each patch has its own help notes.

The kobopatch.yaml file in the pack's root directory can be used as 'Mission Control', listing all your patches. Some people (e.g. me) prefer to only list the patches they want to be enabled. Others prefer to have all available patches listed in there with either yes or no against each patch. I don't have one of these but maybe someone else will post one for you.

To be honest, if you've never used an unpatched Kobo before, it can be difficult to anticipate which patches you'll want to enable. Maybe you should just read a couple of books before deciding what drives you nuts in the stock firmware Some patches are for epub only and some are for kepub only, so kepub vs. epub is one of the early decisions you need to make. Both have their pluses/minuses. Try both.

to some extent yes, but I KNOW for a fact I need the games on beta

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by Scaledish

to some extent yes, but I KNOW for a fact I need the games on beta

Which doesn't need a patch, just enter something in the search or add an entry to the config file.

[geek1011]

Originally Posted by jackie_w

Yes you do. Many (but not all) patches have to be updated every time a new firmware is released and you must only ever install the patches intended for the same firmware as is installed on your Kobo. All things being well, a new kobopatch pack will be released within a few days of each new firmware release.

Yep (although it's usually been under 12 hours). And, with the newest changes to kobopatch, even more patches should work on multiple versions, and the rest will take me significantly less time to update. Assuming there aren't any major refactors on Kobo's part (e.g. the September 2019 update), I should be able to update them ~10-20 minutes including testing.

[geek1011]

Originally Posted by davidfor

Which doesn't need a patch, just enter something in the search or add an entry to the config file.

It's devmodeon. The only disadvantage of doing it this way is that it exposes passwordless telnet and ftp, but that's only an issue if connecting to public networks.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by Scaledish

thanks so much.

should I keep a list of the patches I am using so it is easier to update each V?

You can use the Overrides section in the kobopatch.yaml file instead of editing each of the filename.yaml files. I also save those overrides in an overrides.txt file so it's doesn't accidentally get overwritten during an update.

Originally Posted by Scaledish

additionally, what is a use case for sideloading the firmware? cant the device do this already?

again, thank you for answering, and sorry for bombarding you with questions.

After running the patcher, copy the KoboRoot.tgz file into the .kobo directory on your ereader and safely eject it.

I've attached a copy of my overrides.txt file. Basically just change the 'no' on patches you want to use to 'yes' and vice versa. Save overrides.txt, copy/paste the contents into the right spot in kobopatch.yaml and you're ready to go. Every once in a while, it gets updated when patches are added or removed.

“The only stupid question is the question that is never asked.”
―Ramon Bautista

[Scaledish]

Originally Posted by DNSB

You can use the Overrides section in the kobopatch.yaml file instead of editing each of the filename.yaml files. I also save those overrides in an overrides.txt file so it's doesn't accidentally get overwritten during an update.



After running the patcher, copy the KoboRoot.tgz file into the .kobo directory on your ereader and safely eject it.

I've attached a copy of my overrides.txt file. Basically just change the 'no' on patches you want to use to 'yes' and vice versa. Save overrides.txt, copy/paste the contents into the right spot in kobopatch.yaml and you're ready to go. Every once in a while, it gets updated when patches are added or removed.

“The only stupid question is the question that is never asked.”
―Ramon Bautista

thanks david! thats a big help

[Scaledish]

Originally Posted by geek1011

It's devmodeon. The only disadvantage of doing it this way is that it exposes passwordless telnet and ftp, but that's only an issue if connecting to public networks.

unfortunately yes, is there any workaround for that?

[NiLuJe]

Having something else hogging the port works, AFAICT (but I haven't checked very carefully, as I hog that port with a... passwordless telnet server behind an inetd ).