NickelAI beta - contextual AI from Kobo's native selection menu (testers wanted)

paolomulas · Today, 02:43 AM

Hi everyone,

I'd like to share **NickelAI**, an experimental open-source project I've been working on for Kobo e-readers.

The idea is simple: while reading in the stock Kobo interface, select a passage, tap **Ask NickelAI** in the selection menu, receive a short contextual explanation, then close it and continue reading.

I intentionally developed and tested the first prototype on a **Kobo Glo N613 from 2012**, running firmware `4.38.23684`, to see whether this kind of interaction could remain usable even on very old and resource-constrained hardware. On the validated Kobo Glo, the interaction remains responsive and preserves the normal reading flow.

NickelAI currently uses NickelMenu for the native selection action. A small 32-bit ARM helper reads `KoboReader.sqlite` strictly in read-only mode to retrieve context such as title, author, language and reading progress. The selected passage and context are then sent to a lightweight backend, and the answer is displayed using Kobo's modal browser.

There is no resident daemon and NickelAI does not write to Kobo's database.

Current status:

* Kobo Glo N613 / firmware 4.38.23684: end-to-end validated
* other firmware 4.x devices: experimental, not yet physically validated
* firmware 5.x: currently blocked because of NickelMenu compatibility

The project is MIT licensed and public here:

https://github.com/paolomulas/kobo-ai-agent

Project/demo page:

https://nickelai.it/

I'm especially interested in finding a few people willing to test it on other Kobo models. I've added a community-testing guide and GitHub issue templates so both successful and unsuccessful tests can be reported with model and firmware details.

Feedback on the implementation is also very welcome, particularly from people familiar with NickelMenu internals and Kobo firmware differences.

Thanks,
Paolo

rantanplan · Today, 04:28 AM

I looked over your website and I couldn't find any info about which model you're using but I eventually found it on GitHub.

I think it would be helpful if you could put this in your FAQ section on your website.

BTW I love the sleek and minimalist design of your website.

rantanplan · Today, 04:29 AM

Out of curiosity, what happens after 20 requests, as you don't have the paid plan working yet?

Today, 02:43 AM	#1
paolomulas Junior Member Posts: 1 Karma: 10 Join Date: Aug 2026 Device: Kobo Glo N613	NickelAI beta - contextual AI from Kobo's native selection menu (testers wanted) Hi everyone, I'd like to share NickelAI, an experimental open-source project I've been working on for Kobo e-readers. The idea is simple: while reading in the stock Kobo interface, select a passage, tap Ask NickelAI in the selection menu, receive a short contextual explanation, then close it and continue reading. I intentionally developed and tested the first prototype on a Kobo Glo N613 from 2012, running firmware `4.38.23684`, to see whether this kind of interaction could remain usable even on very old and resource-constrained hardware. On the validated Kobo Glo, the interaction remains responsive and preserves the normal reading flow. NickelAI currently uses NickelMenu for the native selection action. A small 32-bit ARM helper reads `KoboReader.sqlite` strictly in read-only mode to retrieve context such as title, author, language and reading progress. The selected passage and context are then sent to a lightweight backend, and the answer is displayed using Kobo's modal browser. There is no resident daemon and NickelAI does not write to Kobo's database. Current status: * Kobo Glo N613 / firmware 4.38.23684: end-to-end validated * other firmware 4.x devices: experimental, not yet physically validated * firmware 5.x: currently blocked because of NickelMenu compatibility The project is MIT licensed and public here: https://github.com/paolomulas/kobo-ai-agent Project/demo page: https://nickelai.it/ I'm especially interested in finding a few people willing to test it on other Kobo models. I've added a community-testing guide and GitHub issue templates so both successful and unsuccessful tests can be reported with model and firmware details. Feedback on the implementation is also very welcome, particularly from people familiar with NickelMenu internals and Kobo firmware differences. Thanks, Paolo

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Today, 04:28 AM	#2
rantanplan Weirdo Posts: 1,189 Karma: 13516840 Join Date: Nov 2019 Location: Wuppertal, Germany Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Sage, Kobo Aura H2O, reMarkable PaperPro	I looked over your website and I couldn't find any info about which model you're using but I eventually found it on GitHub. I think it would be helpful if you could put this in your FAQ section on your website. BTW I love the sleek and minimalist design of your website.

Today, 04:29 AM	#3
rantanplan Weirdo Posts: 1,189 Karma: 13516840 Join Date: Nov 2019 Location: Wuppertal, Germany Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Sage, Kobo Aura H2O, reMarkable PaperPro	Out of curiosity, what happens after 20 requests, as you don't have the paid plan working yet?

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