[GUI Plugin] Kindle Reading Dashboard

[zevi svei]

Imports the reading data your Kindle already stores on-device into Calibre custom columns: reading time, pace (WPM), progress %, furthest page, words read, highlights count, read status and last-read date.

Features

• Sources: USB drive, MTP (Scribe 3 / Colorsoft / 2024 Paperwhite, Calibre 7.25+), or SSH (jailbroken device with USBNetwork) for read status.
• No jailbreak needed for USB/MTP. Read-only on the device. No cloud or Amazon account.
• "Create missing columns" button; import all books or refresh only the selected ones; optional auto-import when the Kindle connects.
• Reading stats also shown in the Book Details panel.

Install
Preferences -> Plugins -> Load plugin from file -> pick the attached zip, then restart Calibre.

Source and issues: https://github.com/zevisvei/kindle-reading-dashboard
Discussion of the standalone toolkit: https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh....php?p=4592371
License: GPL v3. KRDS parser by John Howell.

Version History

Spoiler:

1.4.1 - "Words in book" now shows the whole book's size. The Kindle only stores the words it has counted so far and the share of the book they cover, so the plugin scales that up (e.g. 31,871 words counted over 14% of the book = about 220,000). Note: "Words read" is the Kindle's reading-timer counter (the one behind "time left in book"). It only counts pages read at a normal pace, so it is lower than the words actually read.
1.4.0 - Highlights with their text: the plugin reads the highlighted sentences and notes from the book file in your Calibre library (Calibre's own MOBI/KF8 reader, no KindleUnpack needed). They go into a new "Highlights text" column, and the web dashboard now shows them too. New fields: Series (as on the Kindle, with its number), First read, Reading sessions. New options: fill Calibre's own Series from the Kindle (only books without a series), and save the Kindle's ASIN as an amazon identifier (exact matching next time). Read status is filled for USB / MTP Kindles too (no cc.db): an opened book is "reading" unless the Kindle marked it. New menu item: Export reading stats to CSV (every field, plus the matched Calibre book). The web dashboard's sync button now reads the Kindle again (USB or SSH) instead of only rebuilding the page. SSH with a password now works without installing Python: Configure > "Install SSH support…" downloads paramiko and its libraries from PyPI into Calibre's config folder (one time, about 15 MB). Clear message when Source = ssh with a password but SSH support is not installed. On Windows, when the Kindle's USB network adapter got an automatic 169.254.x address, the "not reachable" message shows the exact command that fixes it. Source = auto now also finds a Kindle on USB networking (SSH) when no USB / MTP Kindle is connected and the SSH host answers. "Import automatically when the Kindle connects" now also works over SSH (Source = auto or ssh): the plugin checks every 10 seconds whether the Kindle answers and imports when it appears. Open web dashboard no longer starts a second server each time on Windows (the old one kept running). Books deleted from the Kindle no longer show up: the Kindle keeps a deleted book's .sdr folder, so reading files are now only read for books that are still on the device (USB, MTP and SSH). The dashboard no longer lists cloud-only items (not downloaded), dictionaries, KUAL / KOReader launchers (.sh) or My Clippings. New option in Configure: "Also read books deleted from the Kindle". The Kindle keeps their reading data, so their time and progress can still be imported and shown; the dashboard marks them "(deleted)". Open web dashboard no longer fails silently when the Kindle was read but nothing came back (e.g. password login without SSH support): it shows an error instead.
1.3.3 - Books are matched to the library with Calibre's own device matching first (the same as the Device tab: UUID, application id, title + author), then ASIN, then title. Title matching never guesses: if several library books share the title, the author must match too, otherwise the book is skipped. Clearer status message: books with reading data (opened at least once), matches per method, skipped books, and books actually updated.
1.3.2 - Progress % no longer goes past 100: it is now how far into the book you are (the Kindle's own value from cc.db, else furthest page / total pages), not the cumulative share read. Fixed "QObject: Cannot create children for a parent that is in a different thread" on import / refresh: results are now applied in Calibre's GUI thread.
1.3.1 - Web dashboard opened from Calibre: the page's button is now "Rebuild" (Calibre reads the Kindle; reopen the dashboard from Calibre to read it again). No more 404 for the page icon.
1.3.0 - Open web dashboard works out of the box: the dashboard ships inside the plugin and reads the Kindle like the import does (USB, MTP or SSH); no dashboard.py path, no Python install. Works without cc.db: the dashboard is built from the reading-data files alone when cc.db is not available. Optional cc.db / fmcache.db copies from anywhere (Configure, with Browse) for exact titles, series and read status, in the import and the dashboard; books missing from an older cc.db copy are still included. Help in Configure explaining what each source gives, with links.
1.2.0 - Browse buttons for the documents folder, SSH key and dashboard.py in Configure. Open web dashboard works without installing Python (uses Calibre's own when no system Python is found).
1.1.0 - Support for MTP Kindles (Scribe 3, Colorsoft, 2024 Paperwhite); requires Calibre 7.25+. Clean title/ASIN for books in documents/Downloads/Items01.
1.0.0 - Initial release.

[zevi svei]

Reserved for test versions.

[sgmoore]

Tried this (version 1.1.0) and when I select "Refresh selected books" the debug-screen shows

Starting job: Importing Kindle reading metadata
QObject: Cannot create children for a parent that is in a different thread.
(Parent is StatusBar(0x27198119790), parent's thread is QThread(0x2718587cab0), current thread is QThread(0x27194a14a20)
QObject::startTimer: Timers can only be used with threads started with QThread

[BeckyEbook]

It's probably just a minor oversight, because it shows values above 100 percent for many books.

But overall – I've been waiting 15 years for a plugin like this! Thanks!

[zevi svei]

Originally Posted by sgmoore

QObject: Cannot create children for a parent that is in a different thread.

Thanks for the report. Fixed in 1.3.2: the import applied its results from a background thread instead of Calibre's GUI thread.

Originally Posted by BeckyEbook

It shows values above 100 percent for many books.

Thanks, and glad it's useful! Fixed in 1.3.2. The percentage came from the Kindle's "total read" counter, which keeps growing when you re-read or page back and forth. It now shows how far into the book you are: the Kindle's own value when cc.db is available, otherwise furthest page / total pages. Run the import again to update the column.

1.3.2 is attached to the first post; the plugin updater will offer it as soon as Calibre's index picks it up.

[BeckyEbook]

I confirm. It's OK now.
With a plugin like this, it really makes you want to read so you can check the stats often.

[sgmoore]

You seem to be matching by ASIN with an option to fallback to title, but I don't think this is accurate enough.

I tried the plugin without the fallback option and it flashed a message on the status bar that said something like

34 matched 0 updated 0

I have no idea where it gets 34 books as my Kindle has several thousand!

I re-enable the fallback to title and this time is says

34 matched 28 updated 28

Now sure why 28 as it actually updated 16 but some of them were incorrect because I have two books with the title (so I have discarded those changes).

The current book I am reading was obviously not one of the 28 books even though the title is the same in calibre and on my kindle.

Looking at my device tab in Calibre it usually matches using UUID and that works for 90% of my books. I have around 150 books which are matched by APP_ID and about a dozen that aren't matched.

I have sometimes seem a match failure in Calibre, but I never noticed a mismatch.

[zevi svei]

Originally Posted by sgmoore

Looking at my device tab in Calibre it usually matches using UUID and that works for 90% of my books.

Good point, thanks - that is the right source. 1.3.3 changes the matching:

1. Calibre's own device matching first - exactly what the Device tab shows (UUID / APP_ID / title+author), so books sent from Calibre match like they do there. This needs Calibre to be connected to the Kindle when you import.
2. Then the ASIN.
3. Then the title, but only when it is unambiguous: if several library books share the title, the author must match too, otherwise the book is skipped instead of guessed. That was the cause of your wrong matches.

About the numbers: only books that have been opened on the Kindle have reading data, so the 34 were the books with reading data, not your whole Kindle. The old "updated" counted values (one per column), which is why it said 28 when 16 books changed. The status message now says how many books have reading data, how each one was matched or why it was skipped, and how many books actually changed.

If you try 1.3.3 with the Kindle connected, I would be glad to see the status message it shows.

[sgmoore]

1.3.3 works much better.

The message does not stay very long on the screen, but I think it was

Kindle import :35 books with reading data on the Kindle (opened at least once) matched 33 (device 33 ASIN 0 , title 0) 2 not in library, 29 books updated (source usb)

This time it correctly matched the book I am currently reading and also reminded me of a book that I never finished and one short story that I had read but had not marked as such in calibre.

I checked the changes and it did update 29 books and the only one I didn't want updated was a book where it changed from 100% to 99% and that was because I stopped at the 'About Author' page rather than going to the very end as I usually do. (I opened the book and paged down a few times and re-synced and it went back to 100%)

Thank you very much.

[sgmoore]

Do you know how the Kindle determines the total number of words and the number read? (Calibre has an option to send the page count to the Kindle, but I don't see anything about word count.)

Most of the figures exported do not look right. For example

title	                author	        progress page	words	book_words
Old Curiosity Shop, The	Charles Dickens	27	 169/633	22987	31871

Progress and Page and both correct, but total words should be a lot higher. Calibre Page count plugin says

Word count using icu_wordcount - trying to count_words
Word count - used count_words: 220761

Also 22987 of 31871 is a lot more than 27%.

Another book says 352 pages with a total of 168 words!

[zevi svei]

@sgmoore Thanks — good catch. Both numbers come straight from the Kindle's sidecar file, but they don't mean what the column names suggest:

Words in book: the Kindle stores only the words it has counted so far (numberOfWords) together with the fraction of the book they cover (percentOfBook). Your Old Curiosity Shop had 31,871 words counted over about 14% of the book. Scaled up, that's roughly 220,000, matching the Page Count plugin. The 352-page book with 168 words had only a tiny part counted. v1.4.1 (now in the first post) shows the scaled-up figure. Run "Refresh selected books" (or a full import) again to update the column.

Words read: this is the Kindle's reading-timer counter, the one behind "time left in book". It only counts pages turned at a normal reading pace, so pages flipped quickly or skipped aren't included. It's good for working out reading speed (that's what the WPM columns use) but it will always be lower than the words you actually read.

[brynstntn]

I think this is a cool plugin. I always wanted to back up my reading stats

[rethinklife]

Hi,

I am quite new to this whole process.
I have downloaded the plugin, but it does not seem to be working.
it does not fetch anything over the mtp.

i have the kindle colorsoft.

I was wondering if you could do a video tutorial.

thank you.