To remove DRM from Kobo books for free, you can use the Kobo Book Downloader to download and unlock your purchased titles. However, the new Kobo Book Downloader is better suited for users who are comfortable with technical processes. If you're not particularly tech-savvy, a professional paid tool like Epubor Ultimate offers an easier and more user-friendly way to remove Kobo DRM effortlessly.
1. What is Kobo Book Downloader?
kobo-book-downloader is a command line program. It looks like this:
With kobo-book-downloader, you can download your purchased Kobo books on Mac/Windows/Linux and remove the DRM protection from them. The resulting EPUB files can be read on any compatible reading app, such as calibre. Unlike obok.py, kobo-book-downloader doesn't require any pre-downloading through a Kobo e-reader or application. Of course, you do not need to download and upload any plugin to calibre in order to remove Kobo DRM smoothly.
2. How to Use Kobo Book Downloader to Remove Kobo DRM
Step 1Set UP the Environment
kobo-book-downloader requires to be used with Python 3+. Make sure that you have installed Python 3 or higher version from their official webpage. If you are not a tech geek, you can search Google for video tutorials about how to install Python on your computer.
Step 2Download and Extract the Kobo Book Downloader Zip
You can download Kobo_book_downloader as a zip and save it on your desktop. Then you have to extract it.
Step 3Open the Terminal Window
Let's take a Windows computer as an example here.
First, open your computer's Start menu by clicking the Windows icon on the bottom-left corner of your desktop or pressing the Win key on your keyboard.
Second, after opening the Start menu, type cmd on your keyboard to search for the menu items.
Last, open the Command Prompt or PowerShell terminal in a new window by pressing the enter key.
Step 4Pip Install -r requirements.txt to Install Its Dependencies
Typically the requirements. txt file is located in the root directory of the project. So from your terminal enter the directory where the kobo-book-downloader is by typing cd desktop/kobo-book-downloader-master/kobo-book-downloader-master and press enter key on your keyboard. Then run pip install -r requirements.txt to install its dependencies.
Step 5Log into Your Kobo Account
kobo-book-downloader will prompt for your Kobo e-mail address and password. Once it has successfully logged in, it won't ask for them again, it doesn't store them either, from then on it works with access tokens.
Kind Reminder: If you are not a tech geek, the following operations might be challenging for you to get it through.
1. enter your Kobo e-mail address and password
kobo-book-downloader will prompt for your Kobo e-mail address and password after running this command line: python kobo-book-downloader list
2. then open http://authorize.kobo.com/signin in an incognito window in your browser, but do not log in! Then open the developer tools (press F12 in Chrome).
Then select the console tab > paste the following code (in the terminal window) there and press Enter.
3. A captcha should show up in the login window. Tick the box in front of I am Human, then you will get a captcha response in the console window.
4. Copy and paste the captcha response to the terminal window:
Then you are ready to download your kobo books.
Step 6List All Your Kobo Books in the Terminal Window
To list all your books, you need to type or just copy & paste this command line to the terminal window: python kobo-book-downloader list --all and press the enter key to run the command line. Here's what you will get after running it:
Step 7Create a Folder to Save your Downloaded Kobo Files
In my case, I create a folder named kobo on my desktop. So the location of this folder is C:\Users\User name\Desktop\kobo
Step 8Download a Kobo Book and Name the File Automatically
Copy & paste the command line to the terminal window: python kobo-book-downloader get /dir/ kobo file description name
For instance, my dir should be my newly created kobo folder, which is C:\Users\User name\Desktop\kobo. If I want to download the kobo file named Zero Hour: The Original Short Story by Eamon Ambrose, as you can see in the screenshot, so you need to copy its file description name before the kobo title. So the complete command line should look like this: python kobo-book-downloader get C:\Users\User name\Desktop\kobo 64566bff-d6a7-465d-bf14-7a48789fc3a6(The user name should be your own account name). The kobo file will be downloaded to the desktop kobo folder after running the command line.
BTW, you can choose to download all your Kobo books at once. Below are the complete command lines to customize your personal needs with the kobo book downloader master.
1. To list your unread books: python kobo-book-downloader list
2. To list all your books: python kobo-book-downloader list --all
3. To download a book: python kobo-book-downloader get /dir/book.epub 01234567-89ab-cdef-0123-456789abcdef
4. To download a book and name the file automatically: python kobo-book-downloader get /dir/ 01234567-89ab-cdef-0123-456789abcdef
5. To download all your books: python kobo-book-downloader get /dir/ --all
Bouns Tips
How to Download Kobo audiobooks as MP3?
If you have successfully downloaded your Kobo eBooks as EPUB files following the guide above, you can also try this new tool to download your Kobo audiobooks as MP3 files. (Otherwise, you will not be able to proceed.) Here's how to do it:
1. Download the kobo-book-downloader-main.zip file here.
2. Unzip the downloaded file, then navigate into the `kobo-book-downloader-main\kobo-book-downloader-main` folder. Right-click in an empty area and select 'Open in Terminal'.
3. In the terminal, install the required package by running: pip install kobold , and wait for all packages to be installed.
4. List all your Kobo books (including audiobooks) by running: kobodl book list
5. To download a specific audiobook as MP3, copy its RevisionId and run: kobodl book get RevisionId(Replace `RevisionId` with the actual ID)
Once the download is complete, the MP3 files will be saved in the `kobo_downloads` subfolder within the current directory.
Conclusion
Frankly, the above tools can be quite technical and challenging for non-tech users. For a hassle-free experience, we recommend using a dedicated paid tool like Epubor Kobo Converter to remove Kobo DRM instead. Follow this simple step-by-step guide to remove Kobo DRM from both Kobo eBooks and audiobooks now.
Amy Lopez crafts informative articles on eBooks and eReaders, uncovering optimal methods to enhance your eBook reading experience, and eagerly shares her findings with you.
