KoboPatch Web UI
Customize your Kobo e-reader with various mods and community patches.
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How do you want to start?
Unlike some other e-readers, Kobo devices don't need a jailbreak for you to be able to install mods on your device. All it takes is copying some files, but it can get difficult fairly quickly if you want more mods. I hope this site makes all of it easier.
Note: Your browser does not support direct device access via the native filesystem API, which is required for a seamless patching experience. Directly connecting to your Kobo is not available because of this. Use Chrome, Edge or Opera to connect your Kobo directly, or choose the manual download option.
Connect your Kobo
Your Kobo's model and version number can be automatically identified. Based on this information, certain options will be presented to you as part of the next step.
- Connect your Kobo to this computer using a USB cable.
- Your Kobo will show a "Computer detected" screen. Tap Connect to continue.
- In your file manager, you should now see KOBOeReader appear as a drive.
- When you press the button below, your browser will open a folder picker. Select the KOBOeReader volume, then click "Allow" when your browser asks if you want to give this site permission to write to this folder.
Since you have chosen not to connect your device, you will need to look up the software version and firmware channel for the device you want to patch.
Select the version number currently installed on your device. If it does not appear in this list, your software version is not supported for custom patching. You can go back and choose NickelMenu instead, which works with all versions.
You can find the version number on your Kobo under More > Settings > Device information > Software version. Make sure it's a complete match, or you may encounter issues!
Select the firmware channel that matches your device family and first few digits of your serial number. If you are not sure, connect your Kobo directly using a compatible browser so the hardware UUID can be checked automatically.
This Kobo hardware UUID is not recognized yet. Custom patches are disabled because the matching firmware channel cannot be verified. Please file an issue on GitHub so the developer can add this device to the list.
Do you want to tweak your device or apply system patches? You cannot do both at once, so you will need to choose.
Custom patches are not available for your software version. You can still install NickelMenu and choose what you want to do with your Kobo.
If you installed NickelMenu manually from a downloaded ZIP, remove it manually by following these instructions. Some folders may be hidden, so you may need to make hidden files and folders visible.
- Connect your Kobo via USB so it appears as a removable drive.
- Create an empty file named uninstall inside .adds/nm. This signals to NickelMenu it should remove itself when the device reboots. If the folder is missing, create .adds/nm first.
- Safely eject the Kobo, then restart it by long-pressing the power button until it turns off. Press the power button again to turn it back on. NickelMenu will finish removing itself during startup.
- If you installed this tool's preset, you can remove .adds/scripts.
- If there are no other folders inside .adds besides nm and scripts, open .kobo/Kobo/Kobo eReader.conf and remove the line that starts with
ExcludeSyncFolders=.
You can always restart the entire flow by reloading the page, if you want to try again for another configuration or undo the changes that were made.
In most cases that is fine, but if any of these installed mods are too old, they may conflict with the preset or with each other. Please update them to their latest versions first if you can. These mods were detected:
Select which features you'd like to enable.
Before continuing, choose whether you want to create a local backup from your Kobo first. This happens entirely in your browser on this computer and is never uploaded to any server.
A backup of your files is only created locally via your browser. Your backup is never uploaded anywhere. Once ready, your browser will "download" an archive that you can use to restore files. Store this archive in a safe location, in the unlikely event that something goes wrong.
- Connect your Kobo via USB so it appears as a removable drive.
- Copy the hidden .kobo folder to a safe folder on your computer.
- When the files have been copied, you can continue with the wizard. Make sure to store this copy in a safe location, in the unlikely event something goes wrong.
Before continuing, make sure these are the changes you want. You can always use the wizard again to uninstall NickelMenu, if you want to.
Starting...
Please keep this tab open until it's done.
Files have been written to your Kobo. Safely eject the device before unplugging the USB cable — it will reboot and install NickelMenu automatically.
- Connect your Kobo via USB so it appears as a removable drive.
- Open .kobo/Kobo/Kobo eReader.conf in a text editor.
Find the[FeatureSettings]section (or add it at the end of the file) and add the following line inside that section (do not replace the entire file):
- In the same .kobo/Kobo/Kobo eReader.conf, apply the following settings (replace any existing lines that have the same key):
- Safely eject the Kobo, then power it off by holding the power button until it says "Powered off". Press the power button again to boot it back up. The config change takes effect after reboot. Reconnect the Kobo via USB afterwards.
- Extract the downloaded ZIP to the root of the Kobo drive, preserving the folder structure. Make sure hidden folders like
.koboand.addsare also copied. - Safely eject the Kobo before unplugging the USB cable — it will reboot and install NickelMenu automatically.
The downloaded ZIP also contains an instructions.txt file with these steps for offline reference.
Safely eject your Kobo and let it reboot. Please be patient, NickelMenu will be automatically removed during the reboot. A "glitchy" horizontal line may briefly appear on screen after restarting — this is normal, as NickelMenu removes itself.
You can always restart the entire flow by reloading the page, if you want to try again for another configuration or undo the changes that were made.
Enable or disable patches below. Patches in the same group are mutually exclusive.
Customize Patch List
Additional Files
These are inserted into the generated KoboRoot.tgz and written to the Kobo system during the update. Only add files when you know the exact destination path and have a recovery plan!
No additional files selected.
Software update for will be downloaded automatically from Kobo's servers and will be patched after the download completes.
The following patches will be applied:
The following additional files will be included:
Software download URL
Starting...
Please wait while the patch is being applied...
Build log
KoboRoot.tgz has been written to your Kobo. The required Kobo eReader.conf settings are in place too. Safely eject the device before unplugging the USB cable — it will reboot and apply the patches automatically.
- Connect your Kobo via USB so it appears as a removable drive.
- Open .kobo/Kobo/Kobo eReader.conf in a text editor and apply the following settings (replace any existing lines that have the same key):
- Extract the downloaded ZIP to the root of the Kobo drive, preserving the folder structure. Make sure the hidden
.kobofolder is also copied. - Safely eject the Kobo before unplugging the USB cable — it will reboot and apply the patches automatically.
The downloaded ZIP also contains an instructions.txt file with these steps for offline reference.
You can always restart the entire flow by reloading the page, if you want to try again for another configuration or undo the changes that were made.
Something went wrong
Some patches may not work correctly with your software version. You can go back and try a different selection.
This is almost always a problem with the USB connection between your computer and your Kobo, not with the patches or options you picked.
- Reconnect your Kobo. Safely eject the Kobo, unplug the cable, turn the Kobo off and on again, then plug it back in and try once more.
- Try a different cable or port. Some USB cables can only charge and can’t transfer files. Use another cable, and try a different USB port on your computer.
- Copy the files yourself instead. Use “Start Over”, then pick “Build downloadable archive” on the first screen to save a ZIP file. Carefully follow the included instructions to copy its contents onto your Kobo. Following each step closely is important to avoid damaging your device.
Still stuck, or your Kobo is misbehaving? A factory reset returns it to its original out-of-the-box state. Treat this as a last resort: it erases the books and settings stored on the device, so make sure your backup is OK before doing this.