Forma Kobo AutoSync: daily first-wake sync and Wi-Fi shutdown (Forma, experimental)

[kroshka4aplin]

Hi everyone,

I made a small Nickel mod for my own Kobo Forma after noticing frequent sync requests in my Autocaliweb logs while reading. I wanted to keep my existing sync setup, but normally connect only for one daily sync and turn Wi-Fi off afterwards, while still allowing manual sync.

Kobo AutoSync 0.1.2-experimental

This is a personal, open-source experiment. Development and device testing are limited to Kobo Forma on firmware 4.38.23828. Other models and firmware versions are unsupported. Battery savings have not been measured.

What it does

• At the first wake or startup of each local calendar day, connects to a saved Wi-Fi network and requests Nickel's native full sync. It does not schedule an extra wake from sleep.
• Turns Wi-Fi off after completion or a bounded failure/timeout. After a confirmed success, further wakes that day skip automatic sync.
• Keeps the stock Kobo "Sync now" button available, including after that day's automatic sync. Managed manual attempts also turn Wi-Fi off afterwards.
• Blocks Wi-Fi outside daily or explicit manual attempts while enabled. Pause the mod to use the browser, Wikipedia or other network features.
• Uses the sync configuration already on the device, including an existing Autocaliweb setup. No factory reset or account reconfiguration is needed.
• Provides optional NickelMenu commands for sync now, pause and resume. NickelMenu is not required; NickelDBus is not required either.

This controls Nickel's networking; KOReader and Kobalt networking are outside its scope. A sync session can generate multiple HTTP requests. Failed or unconfirmed attempts may retry on the next wake if no success has been recorded for today, so this is not a strict one-attempt-per-day or one-request-per-day limiter.

Current test results and known limitation

On my Forma, v0.1.1 logged a confirmed full sync and same-day automatic skips, with Wi-Fi shutdown confirmed on the device. Version 0.1.2 adds the manual-sync exception: a native manual request reached the server, completed without an error on the screen, and Wi-Fi switched off afterwards. Subsequent wakes still skipped using the day's earlier confirmed success.

However, that manual attempt had no expected content updates and did not update the native full-success timestamp. The plugin therefore logged UNCONFIRMED/FAILED. Manual access and Wi-Fi shutdown are verified; full-success accounting for this attempt remains unresolved. Those log messages alone do not establish that the exchange failed. I would particularly welcome developer feedback on that distinction.

Installation

Keep a backup and read the README before trying this experimental build.

1. Download and extract the installer ZIP from the release below. GitHub's automatic "Source code" archives are not installers.
2. Connect the Forma by USB and merge the installer's .adds directory into the reader's root. Preserve existing files, including .adds/nm/doc.
3. Copy .kobo/KoboRoot.tgz into the reader's existing .kobo directory. If another installer is pending, finish it first.
4. Safely eject, disconnect and wait for installation and reboot. Every installation or update starts paused.
5. Disable Kobo's built-in daily automatic sync. Then choose "Daily Sync - resume" in NickelMenu, or delete only .adds/daily-sync/paused over USB and safely eject. Sleep and wake the reader to test.

Defaults are a 5-second wake delay, 60-second connection timeout and 300-second running-sync timeout. Increase the latter for large downloads. status.txt, daily-sync.log and last-success.txt are in .adds/daily-sync. A confirmed result is "DONE: full sync confirmed; Wi-Fi disabled" with today's date in last-success.txt.

To uninstall, create an empty .adds/daily-sync/uninstall file and reboot. No factory reset is needed.

Developer notes

Built with NickelHook and NickelTC. The plugin uses Nickel's silentSync full-sync entry, native sync signals and the full-success timestamp; explicit stock manual requests are detected through fireManualSyncEvent. Idle behavior is event-driven, active attempts have bounded timers, and automation pauses during USB storage export. The model/firmware allowlist is intentionally narrow. Host policy tests, the ARM build and ABI checks against the exact reference firmware passed; these do not establish compatibility with other devices.

Code and documentation are MIT licensed. NickelHook's MIT license and notices are retained. No Kobo firmware binaries are redistributed.

Source, English installation instructions and known limitations
Download 0.1.2-experimental
Russian installation instructions

Thanks to the NickelHook, NickelMenu and NickelTC developers. I also found a closely related Wi-Fi/sync/Wi-Fi-off request in the NickelMenu thread. Sharing this here in case the approach is useful; feedback on the native sync handling is welcome.