[GUI Plugin] Kobo Utilities - Page 38

Majutsushi · 03-04-2026, 02:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JDesat

This is what I think is the relevant section of the log file going by what it says is going on at that point. Also, it's the only point where there is any gaps at all in what I'm guessing is a time code of some kind (the [114.07] or whatever at the start of some lines). After the end point of this there was no freeze, and the freeze happens after it gets the list of books on the device.

Spoiler:

Thanks for the log! I'm a bit unsure how the plugin could freeze Calibre itself since the backup runs in background job, and I don't see any smoking guns in the log, but it would be interesting to know how big the files ".kobo/KoboReader.sqlite" and ".kobo/BookReader.sqlite" are on your device. I'm also wondering if using the "Database → Compress the device database" menu option of the plugin makes any difference.

JDesat · 03-06-2026, 04:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Majutsushi

Thanks for the log! I'm a bit unsure how the plugin could freeze Calibre itself since the backup runs in background job, and I don't see any smoking guns in the log, but it would be interesting to know how big the files ".kobo/KoboReader.sqlite" and ".kobo/BookReader.sqlite" are on your device. I'm also wondering if using the "Database → Compress the device database" menu option of the plugin makes any difference.

KoboReader is 632,155 KB
BookReader is 527,193 KB

Also, I just noticed that the freeze happens IMMEDIATELY after the 'queuing books for...' scroll thing ends where it's getting the list of books or whatever.

After running the compress database tool, KoboReader is 604,725 KB.

enuddleyarbl · 03-06-2026, 06:42 PM

I'm not knowledgeable about this, but my BookReader.sqlite is just 48 KB. I don't think that file is supposed to get as big as yours. According to:

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=341536

davidfor said "BookReader.sqlite is largely used for some of the information related to Kobo Plus and library borrowing. I understand it gets used for other things, but, I don't know what they are. From my experience, it should be fairly small. I would only expect a large size like that if you are borrowing books from Kobo Plus...."

Based on that thread, I'll ask what the time stamp of your BookReader.sqlite file is and if you also have files like BookReader.sqlite-shm and BookReader.sqlite-wal?

palaran · 03-09-2026, 01:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by enuddleyarbl

I'm not knowledgeable about this, but my BookReader.sqlite is just 48 KB. I don't think that file is supposed to get as big as yours.

Just had a look at the latest one I had un-RARed to do a reinstall and mine is only 22KB.

JDesat · 03-13-2026, 08:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by enuddleyarbl

I'm not knowledgeable about this, but my BookReader.sqlite is just 48 KB. I don't think that file is supposed to get as big as yours. According to:

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=341536

davidfor said "BookReader.sqlite is largely used for some of the information related to Kobo Plus and library borrowing. I understand it gets used for other things, but, I don't know what they are. From my experience, it should be fairly small. I would only expect a large size like that if you are borrowing books from Kobo Plus...."

Based on that thread, I'll ask what the time stamp of your BookReader.sqlite file is and if you also have files like BookReader.sqlite-shm and BookReader.sqlite-wal?

So, I have the -shm and -wal files, and neither of them, nor the main sqlite file have been modified since August 2025.

If I delete them, will I need to sign in and out of my Kobo? And if I do, will it have to rebuild the database? Will it get rid of my reading locations (what percentages of different books I've read)?

I ONLY add books through Calibre, and almost everything on my Kobo at the moment is fanfiction, but I've honestly read parts of like... a couple hundred stories with several thousand on the Kobo. I don't want to wipe everything, and rebuilding the database takes... forever...

PeterT · 03-13-2026, 10:27 PM

The shm and wal files are used by the sqlite engine when the database is open. When it's closed cleanly the files should be removed.

If you want to drop them I'd suggest taking a backup of the directory that contains the databases along with the shm and wal files, and the drop the shm and wal files from the Kobo.

serpi · 03-17-2026, 11:06 AM

I use calibre to back up a lot of fanfiction I've read over the years that I then put it on my kobo colour in case I want to read something again.

Most the stuff I add to my calibre I've already read and is marked in the library as read but when I add it to the kobo it gets registered as unread.

Is there anyway in calibre I can mark something as read that will also be registered as read in the kobo when I connect it and transfer the works over?

I've tried using the kobo_percent_read column to do this by changing the percentage to 100 in calibre before transferring over but the kobo still reads and resets it to unread if it wasn't first registered as finished on the kobo

DNSB · 03-17-2026, 04:08 PM

If you have the columns set properly, you can use the Kobo Utilities Change reading status in device library option to restore the reading status on your Kobo.

ownedbycats · 03-22-2026, 11:01 PM

Does changing Date Added on storebought kepubs work for anyone else? It doesn't seem do anthing for me.

Majutsushi · 03-25-2026, 02:32 AM

It's supposed to affect sorting, but I just tested it and can't get it to do that. The plugin is updating the database correctly, but maybe that field isn't used in some cases.

ownedbycats · 03-25-2026, 06:44 AM

I once had it fail to affect sideloads, but I thought it was a database error and never really tested further.

vasbinde · Today, 02:32 AM

Hi all,

I've been looking into why star ratings on my sideloaded KEPUB don't display on my Kobo Libra Colour, whereas the widget for star ratings appears with no issues for purchased books.

I spent quite a bit of time looking into the depths of the Kobo SQLite DB and eventually hit a brick wall. That said, I wanted to share my findings in case anyone has encountered this or knows a solution to force the ratings widget to display on sideloaded books.

Note: Screenshots are attached. Edit: Added Kobo Utilities config screen capture.

---

My Setup:
- Device: Kobo Libra Colour (latest firmware)
- Calibre with Kobo Utilities plugin (latest version)
- NickelMenu installed
- Books transferred as .kepub.epub via Calibre

The Problem:
Store-purchased books display a star rating widget on the Item Details page, allowing me to view and set ratings. Sideloaded books do not show this widget at all, regardless of what I've tried.

Already Tried:
- Setting ratings via Calibre's native built-in rating field and syncing with Kobo Utilities → no rating displayed on device
- Creating a custom column (#kobo_rating) and mapping it in Kobo Utilities → no rating displayed on device
- NickelMenu (this did fix series display, but had no effect on ratings)

SQLite Investigation:
I opened KoboReader.sqlite and started digging. The first thing I noticed is that there is no "Rating" column in the content table — so Kobo Utilities may have been targeting a field that doesn't exist in the current firmware schema.

The relevant fields in the content table appear to be:
- FeedbackType (index 36) — appears to store the personal star rating
- AverageRating (index 37) — appears to be the store community rating
- FeedbackTypeSynced (index 43)

I manually set FeedbackType = 2 for a sideloaded book via SQL UPDATE. The value was written successfully, but the rating widget still did not appear in the UI.

I then compared a purchased book vs. a sideloaded book across key fields:

Purchased book: FeedbackType=9, EntitlementId=[UUID], WorkId=[UUID]
Sideloaded book: FeedbackType=2, EntitlementId=[blank], WorkId=NULL

This suggested the UI might be gating the rating widget behind EntitlementId or WorkId as a "store purchase" check.

Ratings Table:
I then discovered a separate "ratings" table in the database, with columns: ContentID, Rating, Review, DateModified. This seemed like it might work. I inserted a row for the sideloaded book using its exact ContentID and set a Rating value.

Unfortunately, however, the widget still did not appear.

One thing I noticed: for purchased books, ContentID in both the content table and ratings table is a UUID. For sideloaded books, ContentID is a file path (e.g. file:///mnt/onboard/AUTHOR/BookTitle.kepub.epub). The keys matched exactly between the two tables for my sideloaded book, so the join itself should be working — but I wonder if the UI is doing a UUID-format check on ContentID before deciding whether to render the rating widget.

My Current Thoughts:
The Kobo UI MIGHT be stopping the widget from being displayed behind one or more of the following conditions that sideloaded books cannot satisfy:
- A UUID-format ContentID (sideloaded books use file paths)
- A populated EntitlementId
- A populated WorkId

Even with FeedbackType and the ratings table both populated correctly, the widget does not render for sideloaded books.

Here are my questions for anyone who may be familiar with this situation:
1. Has anyone successfully gotten the rating widget to display for sideloaded books on recent Kobo firmware?
2. Is there a known way to assign a UUID-format ContentID to a sideloaded book, and would that even help?
3. Is there a NickelMenu or KFMon approach that could surface the ratings widget for sideloaded books as a workaround?

Any insight would be greatly appreciated. Happy to share more database details if useful.

Thank you again!

Terisa de morgan · Today, 06:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vasbinde

Hi all,

Here are my questions for anyone who may be familiar with this situation:
1. Has anyone successfully gotten the rating widget to display for sideloaded books on recent Kobo firmware?
2. Is there a known way to assign a UUID-format ContentID to a sideloaded book, and would that even help?
3. Is there a NickelMenu or KFMon approach that could surface the ratings widget for sideloaded books as a workaround?

Any insight would be greatly appreciated. Happy to share more database details if useful.

Thank you again!

1.- No, Kobo doesn't show the rating for sideloaded books, and it hasn't done for a long time.
2/3 -> I don't have answers, sorry.

Today, 02:32 AM	#567
vasbinde Member Posts: 14 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jan 2008 Device: Kindle Paperwhite / iPad 2 / Various Phones	Hi all, I've been looking into why star ratings on my sideloaded KEPUB don't display on my Kobo Libra Colour, whereas the widget for star ratings appears with no issues for purchased books. I spent quite a bit of time looking into the depths of the Kobo SQLite DB and eventually hit a brick wall. That said, I wanted to share my findings in case anyone has encountered this or knows a solution to force the ratings widget to display on sideloaded books. Note: Screenshots are attached. Edit: Added Kobo Utilities config screen capture. --- My Setup: - Device: Kobo Libra Colour (latest firmware) - Calibre with Kobo Utilities plugin (latest version) - NickelMenu installed - Books transferred as .kepub.epub via Calibre The Problem: Store-purchased books display a star rating widget on the Item Details page, allowing me to view and set ratings. Sideloaded books do not show this widget at all, regardless of what I've tried. Already Tried: - Setting ratings via Calibre's native built-in rating field and syncing with Kobo Utilities → no rating displayed on device - Creating a custom column (#kobo_rating) and mapping it in Kobo Utilities → no rating displayed on device - NickelMenu (this did fix series display, but had no effect on ratings) SQLite Investigation: I opened KoboReader.sqlite and started digging. The first thing I noticed is that there is no "Rating" column in the content table — so Kobo Utilities may have been targeting a field that doesn't exist in the current firmware schema. The relevant fields in the content table appear to be: - FeedbackType (index 36) — appears to store the personal star rating - AverageRating (index 37) — appears to be the store community rating - FeedbackTypeSynced (index 43) I manually set FeedbackType = 2 for a sideloaded book via SQL UPDATE. The value was written successfully, but the rating widget still did not appear in the UI. I then compared a purchased book vs. a sideloaded book across key fields: Purchased book: FeedbackType=9, EntitlementId=[UUID], WorkId=[UUID] Sideloaded book: FeedbackType=2, EntitlementId=[blank], WorkId=NULL This suggested the UI might be gating the rating widget behind EntitlementId or WorkId as a "store purchase" check. Ratings Table: I then discovered a separate "ratings" table in the database, with columns: ContentID, Rating, Review, DateModified. This seemed like it might work. I inserted a row for the sideloaded book using its exact ContentID and set a Rating value. Unfortunately, however, the widget still did not appear. One thing I noticed: for purchased books, ContentID in both the content table and ratings table is a UUID. For sideloaded books, ContentID is a file path (e.g. file:///mnt/onboard/AUTHOR/BookTitle.kepub.epub). The keys matched exactly between the two tables for my sideloaded book, so the join itself should be working — but I wonder if the UI is doing a UUID-format check on ContentID before deciding whether to render the rating widget. My Current Thoughts: The Kobo UI MIGHT be stopping the widget from being displayed behind one or more of the following conditions that sideloaded books cannot satisfy: - A UUID-format ContentID (sideloaded books use file paths) - A populated EntitlementId - A populated WorkId Even with FeedbackType and the ratings table both populated correctly, the widget does not render for sideloaded books. Here are my questions for anyone who may be familiar with this situation: 1. Has anyone successfully gotten the rating widget to display for sideloaded books on recent Kobo firmware? 2. Is there a known way to assign a UUID-format ContentID to a sideloaded book, and would that even help? 3. Is there a NickelMenu or KFMon approach that could surface the ratings widget for sideloaded books as a workaround? Any insight would be greatly appreciated. Happy to share more database details if useful. Thank you again! Attached Thumbnails Last edited by vasbinde; Today at 02:36 AM.

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03-06-2026, 06:42 PM	#558
enuddleyarbl Guru Posts: 819 Karma: 1538931 Join Date: Sep 2013 Device: Kobo Sage	I'm not knowledgeable about this, but my BookReader.sqlite is just 48 KB. I don't think that file is supposed to get as big as yours. According to: https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=341536 davidfor said "BookReader.sqlite is largely used for some of the information related to Kobo Plus and library borrowing. I understand it gets used for other things, but, I don't know what they are. From my experience, it should be fairly small. I would only expect a large size like that if you are borrowing books from Kobo Plus...." Based on that thread, I'll ask what the time stamp of your BookReader.sqlite file is and if you also have files like BookReader.sqlite-shm and BookReader.sqlite-wal?

03-13-2026, 10:27 PM	#561
PeterT Grand Sorcerer Posts: 13,886 Karma: 80512826 Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Toronto Device: Libra H2O, Libra Colour	The shm and wal files are used by the sqlite engine when the database is open. When it's closed cleanly the files should be removed. If you want to drop them I'd suggest taking a backup of the directory that contains the databases along with the shm and wal files, and the drop the shm and wal files from the Kobo.

03-17-2026, 11:06 AM	#562
serpi Member Posts: 18 Karma: 10 Join Date: Oct 2021 Device: kindle	I use calibre to back up a lot of fanfiction I've read over the years that I then put it on my kobo colour in case I want to read something again. Most the stuff I add to my calibre I've already read and is marked in the library as read but when I add it to the kobo it gets registered as unread. Is there anyway in calibre I can mark something as read that will also be registered as read in the kobo when I connect it and transfer the works over? I've tried using the kobo_percent_read column to do this by changing the percentage to 100 in calibre before transferring over but the kobo still reads and resets it to unread if it wasn't first registered as finished on the kobo

03-17-2026, 04:08 PM	#563
DNSB Bibliophagist Posts: 51,093 Karma: 179232776 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Vancouver Device: Kobo Sage, Libra Colour, Lenovo M8 FHD, Paperwhite 4, Tolino epos	If you have the columns set properly, you can use the Kobo Utilities Change reading status in device library option to restore the reading status on your Kobo.

03-22-2026, 11:01 PM	#564
ownedbycats Custom User Title Posts: 11,680 Karma: 81419259 Join Date: Oct 2018 Location: Canada Device: Kobo Libra H2O, formerly Aura HD	Does changing Date Added on storebought kepubs work for anyone else? It doesn't seem do anthing for me.

03-25-2026, 02:32 AM	#565
Majutsushi Zealot Posts: 136 Karma: 11778 Join Date: Aug 2023 Location: New Zealand Device: Kobo Clara HD, Kobo Libra Colour	It's supposed to affect sorting, but I just tested it and can't get it to do that. The plugin is updating the database correctly, but maybe that field isn't used in some cases.

03-25-2026, 06:44 AM	#566
ownedbycats Custom User Title Posts: 11,680 Karma: 81419259 Join Date: Oct 2018 Location: Canada Device: Kobo Libra H2O, formerly Aura HD	I once had it fail to affect sideloads, but I thought it was a database error and never really tested further.