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What is InkBox?

InkBox is an open-source, fully-functional standalone operating system for Rakuten Kobo eReaders. It makes use of Alpine Linux 3.10 and a custom user interface based on QT. Here are some of its features:

  • Fully integrated KoBox X11 subsystem
  • ePUB, PDF, picture and plain text display support
  • Versatile configuration options for reading
  • muPDF rendering engine for ePUBs and PDFs
  • Wi-Fi support and web browser
  • Encrypted storage with EncFS
  • Fast dictionary & local storage search
  • Dark mode
  • Full factory reset option if needed
  • Seamless update process
  • VNC viewer app
  • Search function
  • 10 built-in fonts
  • Auto-suspend
  • Lock screen/passcode
  • User-friendly experience


Currently Supported Devices

  • Kobo Mini N705
  • Kobo Touch N905B
  • Kobo Touch N905C
  • Kobo Glo N613
  • Kobo Aura (2nd Edition) N236
  • Kobo Glo HD N437
  • Kobo Nia N306


Installation

Download the latest distribution image for your device.

To flash InkBox to your eReader we need access to the internal microSD card.

Warning: Be careful! There is a risk of causing physical damage to your device. When in doubt, search for disassembly guides online.

Take off the back cover of your device and remove the internal microSD card. Confirm it has at least 4GB capacity. Insert the card into your computer.

Warning: If you proceed with the next steps using this card, all data on your ereader will be permanently wiped. To prevent this, you can make a full backup of the microSD card or use a different microSD card instead.

Use balenaEtcher to flash the InkBox image file to the card.

To setup InkBox, eject the microSD card from your PC and insert it in the ereader. Put the back cover on and power it on. It might take a while to boot, so be patient. Setting InkBox up is easy; just follow the instructions on the screen.

Once that is done, it is strongly recommended to update to the latest version.


Update

Note: If your device image ships with version 1.5, you need to update to version 1.6 before finally updating to the latest release. Download both files for your device from this directory and use those to update as described below first. If your device image ships with version 1.6 or higher, you can simply install the latest update.

Download the latest release for your device. Connect your ereader to your PC. Copy the *.upd.isa file to [onboard storage]/.inkbox , eject the device, then unplug the USB cable. InkBox should prompt you with an update dialog. Click on "Update". If you pressed "Cancel" by accident, you can continue by going to Settings -> Page 2 -> Update. The Kobo will reboot and the update process will begin.

Note: If your Kobo gets stuck longer than 2 minutes on the "Updating" screen and the dots no longer move, hold the power button for 10 seconds and restart the device. The update process should continue normally.

Extend USB Partition

By default, InkBox comes with a ~500MB virtual partition that can be accessed by PC via USB and be used to store ebooks and other user data. If you are using a microSD >4GB and need more space it is possible to make this partition larger.

Remove the microSD card from your ereader and connect it to a PC. Now the system partition needs to be expanded to fill your card. Find the correct partition name first:

$ lsblk -o NAME,SIZE

You should find a device tree that looks like similar to this:

sdx 3,6G
├─sdxp1 19M
├─sdxp2 500M
├─sdxp3 128M
└─sdxp4 2,9G

Note: It is vital to select the right partition or you risk data loss. Make sure the partition sizes match the ones in bold above. Make sure to replace sdxp4 with the correct partition name in all following steps.

Resize the fourth partition:

# growpart /dev/sdxp4
# resize2fs /dev/sdxp4

Run lsblk again to confirm the partition has been grown as planned.

$ lsblk -o NAME,SIZE

Take the new size of sdxp4 and substract 2,5GB, the result is the new size you want the USB storage partition file to be and will be needed later.

Now mount the same partition, for example like this:

$ mkdir inkbox && sudo mount -t ext4 /dev/sdxp4 inkboxusb

And finally, expand the USB storage partition file. Take the new size for the partition file from the step before and replace it in this command:

# qemu-img resize ./inkboxusb/onboard X.XG

Unmount the partition:

# umount /dev/sdxp4

Eject the microSD card, insert it into the ereader and put the cover back on. Power on the device. Now you should have the maximum possible space available for USB mode.


Documentation

A good place to learn about how InkBox works is the general information page. See Category:InkBox for all related documentation. See Category:Porting for all documentation related to porting InkBox to new devices.


Community

Join the official Matrix space or Discord server if you'd like to chat a bit.


Current Development Goals

InkBox's main developer currently plans to extend support to the Kobo Clara HD. Tolino devices that are rebranded Kobos might work at some point in the future, or not.


How to Help

Contributions to the the wiki and on github are always welcome, as well as donations on PayPal or LiberaPay.

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