Requesting help running calibre-debug on MacOS

[bace651]

Hi all,

I've been trying to follow jhowell's instructions regarding CLI conversion of KPF to KFX:

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh...4&postcount=45

I am using MacOS and running into the following error message:

zsh: command not found: calibre-debug

I've been troubleshooting this for hours now, looking up other posts about this issue, but I am not too tech-savvy and am having trouble following how to resolve this. I've tried running this command by opening a terminal where the .KPF file is, and also tried running this command by clicking calibre-debug under Applications. I'm at my wit's end, feeling like I'm missing something as I am new to command lines in general... I would greatly appreciate some advice.

[kovidgoyal]

See the note at the top of https://manual.calibre-ebook.com/gen...cli-index.html

[DNSB]

For what it may be worth, here's how I access the calibre-debug on MacOS. Once you had cded to the MacOS directory, you need to use ./ before the command you want to run (by default, most Linux/Unix shells do not look in the current directory). I've never used the KPF to KFX conversion so can't say if that will actually work.

Last login: Mon Oct  9 20:47:45 on console

david@Davids-Mac / % cd /Applications/calibre.app/Contents/MacOS/ 
david@Davids-Mac MacOS % ls
calibre			calibre-parallel	ebook-convert		ebook-polish		lrfviewer
calibre-complete	calibre-server		ebook-device		ebook-viewer		lrs2lrf
calibre-customize	calibre-smtp		ebook-edit		fetch-ebook-metadata	markdown-calibre
calibre-debug		calibredb		ebook-meta		lrf2lrs			web2disk
david@Davids-Mac MacOS % ./calibre-debug
Welcome to the interactive calibre shell!
Use exit to quit
>>> exit
david@Davids-Mac MacOS %

[jhowell]

Originally Posted by bace651

I've been trying to follow jhowell's instructions regarding CLI conversion of KPF to KFX…

I will update the plugin documentation to refer to the appropriate instructions for MacOS.

[bace651]

Originally Posted by kovidgoyal

See the note at the top of https://manual.calibre-ebook.com/gen...cli-index.html

I did see that note, and I have accessed calibre-debug by going to /Applications/calibre.app/Contents/MacOS/ and double clicking on calibre-debug. I am running into an issue because the instructions are to go to the folder where the KPF file is located, and run

calibre-debug -r "KFX Output" -- "your-file-name.kpf"

However, if I run this command by clicking calibre-debug in the Calibre.app/Contents/MacOS folder, I get an invalid syntax error - I am guessing this is because the KPF file is not in the system folder where Calibre is installed?

If I run this command in the folder where the KPF file is located, I get an error message, command not found, probably because it cannot find the calibre-debug file?

I apologize for my lack of experience running terminal commands..

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by bace651

I did see that note, and I have accessed calibre-debug by going to /Applications/calibre.app/Contents/MacOS/ and double clicking on calibre-debug. I am running into an issue because the instructions are to go to the folder where the KPF file is located, and run

calibre-debug -r "KFX Output" -- "your-file-name.kpf"

Try using:

/Applications/calibre.app/Contents/MacOS/calibre-debug -r "KFX Output" -- "your-file-name.kpf"

[bace651]

Originally Posted by DNSB

Try using:

/Applications/calibre.app/Contents/MacOS/calibre-debug -r "KFX Output" -- "your-file-name.kpf"

That worked, thank you! Such details had me stuck on trouble shooting for hours haha.

[bace651]

Originally Posted by jhowell

I will update the plugin documentation to refer to the appropriate instructions for MacOS.

Jhowell, would you know if it is possible to extract a sideloaded KFX file that had been annotated? Since I’ve read it’s possible to extract notebook files from a Scribe and converted to ePub via Calibre, I am wondering if this is also possible with annotated KFX files that had been sideloaded?

[jhowell]

Originally Posted by bace651

Jhowell, would you know if it is possible to extract a sideloaded KFX file that had been annotated? Since I’ve read it’s possible to extract notebook files from a Scribe and converted to ePub via Calibre, I am wondering if this is also possible with annotated KFX files that had been sideloaded?

Handwritten annotations are stored in a separate file from the actual book using the same data format as Scribe notebooks. It does not matter whether the book being annotated was sideloaded or not. The annotation file can be extracted from a Scribe and then converted to an EPUB containing SVG images using the KFX Input plugin.

However there is little reason to create your own KFX files and sideload them since Amazon will create KFX for you if you use one of the send-to-kindle methods. If you do that you will be able to export the annotations as a PDF.

[bace651]

Originally Posted by jhowell

Handwritten annotations are stored in a separate file from the actual book using the same data format as Scribe notebooks. It does not matter whether the book being annotated was sideloaded or not. The annotation file can be extracted from a Scribe and then converted to an EPUB containing SVG images using the KFX Input plugin.

However there is little reason to create your own KFX files and sideload them since Amazon will create KFX for you if you use one of the send-to-kindle methods. If you do that you will be able to export the annotations as a PDF.

Thanks, that is helpful info. Side loading KFX is very useful for me for certain situations, like large files over 200 mb or ones that have complex structures that won’t transfer over Send to Kindle. And if I have any confidential/proprietary documents, I feel more comfortable side loading them in and out rather than sending it over Kindle’s server and then exporting it to an email. So your instructions on side loading KFX solved many situational issues for me.