Notes are saved as multiple partial entries in My Clippings.txt

[Katja_hbg]

I like to use notes for quotes and comments. From time to time I export my clipping.txt and copy the text into calibre.
I am not sure but maybe since last Kindle update the autosave function is activated. Therefore while I am typing the notes several entries are stored.

I cannot find anyone having the same issue beside that one in the link. The suggestion from Amazon to restart the kindle did not avoid the (growing) duplicates.
I am aware of the download feature from Amazon but I will not use that.
Any other idea how to get a more clean clipping.txt?

https://www.amazonforum.com/s/questi...y-clippingstxt

[tomsem]

Originally Posted by Katja_hbg

I like to use notes for quotes and comments. From time to time I export my clipping.txt and copy the text into calibre.
I am not sure but maybe since last Kindle update the autosave function is activated. Therefore while I am typing the notes several entries are stored.

I cannot find anyone having the same issue beside that one in the link. The suggestion from Amazon to restart the kindle did not avoid the (growing) duplicates.
I am aware of the download feature from Amazon but I will not use that.
Any other idea how to get a more clean clipping.txt?

https://www.amazonforum.com/s/questi...y-clippingstxt

I do not think 'auto-save' is a feature. It should not save anything to clippings until you close the note entry.

Which Kindle do you have?

[Frogm4n]

Clippings is *not* a list of notes. It's a scratchpad of input to the Kindle. A lot of stuff tries to use it like an actual record of notes and highlights, but that's not what it is for.

[mergen3107]

You can take this file and orocess it in KindleMate or similar program to extract only useful information

[tomsem]

Originally Posted by mergen3107

You can take this file and orocess it in KindleMate or similar program to extract only useful information

Yes, but the OP seems to be saying they'd type in a note, and that note was broken up into pieces in Clippings file. Not one record per note, more than one record per note.

But your interpretation may be more accurate than my literal one.

[Katja_hbg]

Originally Posted by tomsem

I do not think 'auto-save' is a feature. It should not save anything to clippings until you close the note entry.
Which Kindle do you have?

It is kindle 11th generation with version 5.19.2.
While I type a note several times "saving (wird gespeichert)" pops up. There is no save button nor any question whether to save when I close the note. Thats why I assume autosave function.

Originally Posted by mergen3107

You can take this file and orocess it in KindleMate or similar program to extract only useful information

Before I try to reduce the clipping, I like to avoid getting the mess.


See anyone else this behaviour and has a solution?

[Archibald Yates]

Originally Posted by Katja_hbg

See anyone else this behaviour and has a solution?

Yes to the first part of the question, sadly no to the second.

I can confirm this for a Kindle 11th and 12th generation and a Kindle Scribe 2024, all running 5.19.2.

In regards of my clippings.txt the note feature is totally screwed up. The Kindle saves every few seconds while typing the note and not when closing the note box.

This happens wether or not the Kindle is connected to WiFi, which is expected as my clippings.txt is a file local to the device and not synced at all.

It does have nothing to do with the German user interface either. Why should it, you might ask. Well, as others here don't report chopped up notes and, according to her post, Katja uses her Kindles with a German user interface like me, I had the faint hope that there was a connection.

My guess: Amazon has indeed introduced an auto-save feature but totally forgot or did not care at all about my clippings.txt. As they have not touched it since – the introduction of the first Kindle? At least not for the last one and a half decade, I can confirm, because they sold the Kindle for the first time in Germany in 2011.

They forgot it, they don't care, they want you to use the USB cable solely to charge and do the rest wireless via their servers. And indeed, on the Kindles clippings website my test note is in one piece.

Highlighting still seems to work with my clippings.txt, though.

[Archibald Yates]

Okay, I can get more precise: The Kindle saves at intervals of up to every two seconds to my clippings.txt!

The sentence "das ist eine Test-Notiz." (meaning "This is a test note."; it should start with a capital "D", please forgive me my typo.) results in this:

Maigret im Nachtzug (German Edition) (Simenon, Georges)
- Deine Notiz auf Seite 185 | bei Position 2088 | Hinzugefügt am Montag, 2. März 2026 11:13:18

d
==========
Maigret im Nachtzug (German Edition) (Simenon, Georges)
- Deine Notiz auf Seite 185 | bei Position 2088 | Hinzugefügt am Montag, 2. März 2026 11:13:20

das
==========
Maigret im Nachtzug (German Edition) (Simenon, Georges)
- Deine Notiz auf Seite 185 | bei Position 2088 | Hinzugefügt am Montag, 2. März 2026 11:13:22

das i
==========
Maigret im Nachtzug (German Edition) (Simenon, Georges)
- Deine Notiz auf Seite 185 | bei Position 2088 | Hinzugefügt am Montag, 2. März 2026 11:13:24

das ist e
==========
Maigret im Nachtzug (German Edition) (Simenon, Georges)
- Deine Notiz auf Seite 185 | bei Position 2088 | Hinzugefügt am Montag, 2. März 2026 11:13:26

das ist ein
==========
Maigret im Nachtzug (German Edition) (Simenon, Georges)
- Deine Notiz auf Seite 185 | bei Position 2088 | Hinzugefügt am Montag, 2. März 2026 11:13:28

das ist eine T
==========
Maigret im Nachtzug (German Edition) (Simenon, Georges)
- Deine Notiz auf Seite 185 | bei Position 2088 | Hinzugefügt am Montag, 2. März 2026 11:13:30

das ist eine Test
==========
Maigret im Nachtzug (German Edition) (Simenon, Georges)
- Deine Notiz auf Seite 185 | bei Position 2088 | Hinzugefügt am Montag, 2. März 2026 11:13:34

das ist eine Test-
==========
Maigret im Nachtzug (German Edition) (Simenon, Georges)
- Deine Notiz auf Seite 185 | bei Position 2088 | Hinzugefügt am Montag, 2. März 2026 11:13:36

das ist eine Test-N
==========
Maigret im Nachtzug (German Edition) (Simenon, Georges)
- Deine Notiz auf Seite 185 | bei Position 2088 | Hinzugefügt am Montag, 2. März 2026 11:13:38

das ist eine Test-Notiz
==========
Maigret im Nachtzug (German Edition) (Simenon, Georges)
- Deine Notiz auf Seite 185 | bei Position 2088 | Hinzugefügt am Montag, 2. März 2026 11:13:44

das ist eine Test-Notiz.

And the Maigret is a faux Maigret, by the way…

[HarveyCN]

That’s a huge bug not only for latest firmware but has been existing for quite a while in 5.18.6. I reported on reddit and seems many users are suffering from this. https://www.reddit.com/r/kindlescrib...d_my_notes_it/

If you are using Mac, I have just updated my App KMate(free)to auto clean these and keep the right one. Let me know your clippings become clean.

[Archibald Yates]

Originally Posted by HarveyCN

If you are using Mac, I have just updated my App KMate(free)to auto clean these and keep the right one. Let me know your clippings become clean.

Now that's a neat feature! But I have to admit that I have no need for it because I rarely take notes. Unlike highlighting.

[Archibald Yates]

Originally Posted by Frogm4n

Clippings is *not* a list of notes. It's a scratchpad of input to the Kindle. A lot of stuff tries to use it like an actual record of notes and highlights, but that's not what it is for.

But it was, was it not? It's just an old Kindle feature. Synced notes came later.

And even for the present day I would disagree: The Kindles sync notes to the website only for e-books purchased from Amazon. And how would one get access to notes and highlights belonging to sideloaded books?

[HarveyCN]

Originally Posted by Archibald Yates

Now that's a neat feature! But I have to admit that I have no need for it because I rarely take notes.

Yeah it happens only you do typing text note on Kindle Scribe etc. rare cases though lol.

[HarveyCN]

Originally Posted by Archibald Yates

But it was, was it not? It's just an old Kindle feature. Synced notes came later.

And even for the present day I would disagree: The Kindles sync notes to the website only for e-books purchased from Amazon. And how would one get access to notes and highlights belonging to sideloaded books?

true, that’s said by MOD I am going to argue him. lol
For sideloaded books only thing you can do is to handle with this less organized My Clippings.txt. Amazon has done nothing for near a decade since Kindle 1…
That’s why clippings.io/readwise and even Kindle Mate/KMate and tons of other scripting tools exist here.

[j.p.s]

Originally Posted by Frogm4n

Clippings is *not* a list of notes. It's a scratchpad of input to the Kindle. A lot of stuff tries to use it like an actual record of notes and highlights, but that's not what it is for.

Yes, as has been posted many times by many people over many years, it is just a record the notes and/or hightlights have been made, and when. I don't know why this always fails to sink in. Maybe it's partly because of the notes processing apps that pretend it's a real notes repository.

Originally Posted by Archibald Yates

But it was, was it not? It's just an old Kindle feature. Synced notes came later.

And even for the present day I would disagree: The Kindles sync notes to the website only for e-books purchased from Amazon. And how would one get access to notes and highlights belonging to sideloaded books?

No, it has always been essentially a log file. The actual notes and pointers to highlights are in the .sdr directory for the book (regardless of where the book was obtianed and how it got on the kindle).

If you are actually interested in actual facts about kindle notes, highlights, etc., see the KRDS thread:

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=322172

[Archibald Yates]

Originally Posted by j.p.s

No, it has always been essentially a log file. The actual notes and pointers to highlights are in the .sdr directory for the book (regardless of where the book was obtianed and how it got on the kindle).

I do not doubt that this is right from a technical standpoint. But for users, especially those with little technical knowledge, these log files were a very easy way to get access to their highlights and notes – with the one restriction that the highlights are unformatted as My Clippings is a plain text file, of course.

And the numerous partial notes do not make My Clippings any clearer if you actually only use it as a log file for whatever purpose.