Looking for testers for NickelMenu and some of my mods on Kobo software 5.18+

[MrSilverstrike]

Originally Posted by PeterT

This is weird. I know NM was working for me and I was able to toggle Dark Mode. Suddenly I'm getting an error "Settings ABI unavailable (check failed ! nm_errpeek())" on any command that attempts to change a setting; dark mode; screenshot; toggle Auto USB.

I have tried reinstalling the current beta version to no change; still getting the same errors.

It's possible the latest update (6.0.2) broke some NickelMenu functionality. I'll take a look when I have some time and I'll upload a new version when possible.

Edit: Done. It was just a check that was a little too strict. You can find the new link in the OP.

[PeterT]

Originally Posted by MrSilverstrike

It's possible the latest update (6.0.2) broke some NickelMenu functionality. I'll take a look when I have some time and I'll upload a new version when possible.

Edit: Done. It was just a check that was a little too strict. You can find the new link in the OP.

Thanks And yes, it works.

I have to admit I'm really impressed by the new set of mods that seem to be happening these days.

[MrSilverstrike]

Originally Posted by PeterT

Thanks And yes, it works.

I have to admit I'm really impressed by the new set of mods that seem to be happening these days.

It's also in part due to new technology that more mods are popping up. Reverse engineering doesn't take weeks anymore.

I have been a bit of an "AI" (LLM) skeptic for the most part, but for programming I don't think there's any going back. Building mods like these has never been more approachable than before.

For the most part, given a careful approach, it's trivial to build and maintain these things now, assuming you have access to these frontier models. Getting NickelMenu to work was literally just giving it the firmware, asking for an adaptation of the existing version and doing the appropriate manual checks and validation.

[rantanplan]

By the way, do you plan to also port the NickelModManager to 5.18+?

[MrSilverstrike]

Originally Posted by rantanplan

By the way, do you plan to also port the NickelModManager to 5.18+?

Yes. It's already ready for that, but I'm waiting for an update from Kobo to confirm that its mod retention mechanism works as expected. Trial by fire

[PeterT]

Originally Posted by MrSilverstrike

Yes. It's already ready for that, but I'm waiting for an update from Kobo to confirm that its mod retention mechanism works as expected. Trial by fire

Anything you can share on how mod retention will work?

[MrSilverstrike]

Originally Posted by PeterT

Anything you can share on how mod retention will work?

Sure. The source code's already on GitHub and it's documented here.

In short...

A full firmware update (via the new update.tar mechanism) replaces the entire system partition, removing the installed mods, which is the problem.

After the device is about to reboot when doing a system update, the mod copies the existing mods back onto onboard storage as Kobo.tgz, which will be installed after the (newly updated) OS boots back up. So it's essentially like you just put the mods back in there again after connecting via USB -- just fully automatic after a reboot.

The best part about this is that if it goes wrong, it can't cause a system update to fail or your device to brick because it's just preparing a Kobo.tgz file right before the device is about to shut down.

Also, there's very strict checks. If Kobo changes anything about how updates are applied, the mod retention mechanism won't kick in and you'll lose your mods to ensure that your device updates correctly.

[rantanplan]

Is it possible to put multiple mods into the same kobo.tgz? Like a mod collection?

[MrSilverstrike]

Originally Posted by rantanplan

Is it possible to put multiple mods into the same kobo.tgz? Like a mod collection?

Yup! It's what KoboPatch Web UI does when you select multiple mods. It's worked with firmware 4.x, 5.x and now also with 6.x.