How to view and convert KFX files in Calibre – Tutorial
Updated: May 13, 2019
This is a rather interesting topic. Over the years, Amazon have changed the Kindle file format
several times. Their digital books came in a variety of formats, including AZW, then AZW3 and
finally KFX. The last one is a complex archive that combines numerous features, including typesetting
engine, fonts, multi-page thumbnails, and also DRM. I noticed this starting with Decay, one of my books
published in 2017.
Reading some more, I realized KFX seemed to
include DRM even for books that
are not meant to use DRM, and I found this quite weird, because as an author, I have specifically
chosen not to publish my own works with any sort of lock-in encryption. So this got me thinking. Is
there a way to actually convert KFX into the old format, or other e-book formats, and use them in
Calibre and other readers, the way the older formats allowed? Follow me.
Basic tools, requirements & disclaimer
What you want to do is simple: convert KFX files to other formats – for archiving, backup and
publication testing purposes, so you can use them on different e-reader devices. If you try to open a
KFX file in a typical e-book reader, you probably won’t succeed. For instance, Calibre cannot read this
file format natively. The solution is then to convert the file, our task for today.
I spent a good few hours reading about this topic, compiling information, trying to find out all the
necessary bits and pieces to get the job done. In the end, I did successfully manage, but it wasn’t
trivial, and there are still many ifs and buts to the whole thing. So let’s start with the tools:
- I tested this on a Linux system (Ubuntu-based).
- Calibre software (apt-get install calibre or dnf install calibre, for instance).
- DeDRM Calibre plugin.
- KFX Input Calibre plugin.
- Your Kindle device serial number.
- KFX book (which includes ALL the files and associated folders for the specific book on your
Kindle).
You will need to feel comfortable installing Calibre plugins and working with archives. If you can’t
do these things easily, you will probably struggle getting the job done here.
Disclaimer
The purpose of this guide is not to teach you how to hax0r your way around. The purpose is to allow
you to decrypt your own books and use them on your own devices. In fact, the DeDRM plugin listed above
does not work with rented or lent books – it only works for the books you have purchased yourself.
There are also numerous technical limitations on how well the tools listed above work, including the
version of Kindle software and such. In my test, I did not encounter any such problems. But please take
this into consideration as you read on.
Before you start … download non-KFX books
When you purchase a Kindle book, and then go to your Kindle library, you can choose different
delivery methods. You can send books directly to a Kindle device or reader, and you can also
transfer them via USB. This will effectively download the book to your
local computer, which you can then copy to the relevant device. For the time being, books downloaded
via USB come in the non-encrypted AZW format, but this may change. So this is your
first and best options, before doing any fancy conversions! If the book
is in your Kindle library, then you are all set.
Calibre plugins setup
After you install and start Calibre, you will need to install the two plugins (Calibre >
Preferences > Plugins). KFX Input is available in the list of plugins, although you can also
download it manually (see the linked forum thread at the beginning of the page). DeDRM is available
from
GitHub. Both plugins
come as ZIP files. The DeDRM plugin ZIP contains more than just the plugin itself – but it also has
what we need, the Calibre plugin.
To install KFX Input, click on Get new plugins, select, install, restart Calibre.
To install DeDRM, download the zip file from GitHub, extract it. Next, in Calibre, click on ‘Load
plugin from file’ in the plugins window, navigate to the Calibre sub-folder in the extracted archive
and then select the plugin zip. If you have chosen the “wrong” zip (such as the external zip archive),
you will see the
It does not contain a top level __init__.py file error. Once you’ve
installed this plugin too, restart Calibre.
DeDRM setup
Your next step is to configure the DeDRM plugin. Open the plugins list, search for DeDRM in the
list. Double-click on the plugin, and it will open the customization window. You must configure the
plugin, otherwise it will not work. And this is probably the most complex step. Because not everyone
has a Kindle device, and this is where it gets complex. There are various technical limitations on
different types of devices, like Kindle for Android or Kindle for Mac.
I selected
eInk Kindle books – please note I own a Kindle device, and I connected it
via USB to my Linux machine, and then copied my Decay book over (
all Decay* titled files, KFX plus folder). When you select this option in
the DeDRM customization screen, you need to add a serial number for your Kindle device. It’s a 16-digit
string composed of numbers and digits (no spaces).
Add KFX book to Calibre
The next step is to add your KFX book to Calibre. If you have already added it to Calibre, remove it
and then add it fresh. DeDRM runs on first import only. If you’ve configured everything correctly,
DeDRM will run now. This can take a few seconds.
While this was happening, in the background, DeDRM configured WINE for Linux, probably so it could
install various Windows-based tools it needs to create decryption keys. There’s no need for you to do
anything manually, but you should be aware of this, especially since it creates a new WINE
configuration directly in your home directory, and not as a hidden object (no dot prefix), so this may
pollute your home – you will suddenly see drive_c and various WINE reg files there.
And then, it was done. The book was imported. I noticed the cover image was black & white rather
than color, but that’s easily solvable. I opened the book in the Calibre ebook reader, to verify that I
indeed the DRM component was removed.
Convert to other formats
The next step is to convert the book using KFX Input. This is an optional step, but if you want to
have your book in AZW3 format, or maybe EPUB or alike, then you can use this plugin. This can be quite
useful if you have multiple ebook devices, or want to keep a backup of your own files – although they
should all be available in your Kindle library, but still.
I then opened the file in the Calibre ebook reader, to make sure everything is dandy:
And that’s it. We’re done. Happy times.
Various errors
In case things didn’t work as they should, then you will see various errors, apart from the DeDRM
plugin ZIP error we’ve already discussed. First, if you try to open a KFX file in Calibre without the
use of the DeDRM plugin, you won’t be able to do so. Moreover, if you try to use KFX Input before DeDRM
has run, you will not be able to convert the file, even if you did select the option to ignore errors
during the conversion process.
Conclusion
Hopefully, this guide was useful. I have never really needed the ability to open any KFX file in
Calibre before, because I’m happy using and reading them on my Kindle. But when it comes to my own
books, the books I’ve written myself and then published WITHOUT DRM, then I expect to actually be able
to work with these files, including any pre- and post-publication processing required – after all, this
allows me to test how the digital books render on different devices, and make sure that my readers get
the best experience.
This isn’t a trivial tutorial – it uses Linux (which may already be too much), requires two Calibre
plugins, and you need some tweaking to get things working. But in the end, we did succeed. For people
who can’t be bothered, my advice is to grab the files from your Kindle library using the USB option,
this way you won’t need to worry about the KFX conversion. Alternatively, this article outlines
the steps you need to get the job done. See you out there, and enjoy your books!