Kobo Note Sync

繁體中文

An Obsidian plugin that imports highlights and annotations from your Kobo e-reader into Obsidian notes.

Features

• Import highlights and annotations from Kobo Desktop App's SQLite database or a custom Kobo SQLite file
• Customizable note and highlight templates using Eta.js syntax
• Append-only sync — existing highlights in Obsidian are preserved even if deleted on Kobo
• Rich metadata support (23 book variables + 5 highlight variables)
• Cross-platform: macOS and Windows
• i18n: English and Traditional Chinese (follows Obsidian language setting)

How It Works

Kobo Device / App → Kobo Cloud → Kobo Desktop App → Kobo.sqlite → This Plugin → Obsidian Notes
Kobo Device → copied KoboReader.sqlite → This Plugin → Obsidian Notes

The plugin can read the local Kobo.sqlite database created by the Kobo Desktop App, or a Kobo SQLite database file you copied to a path of your choice, and generates Markdown notes in your vault.

Installation

Manual Installation

1. Download main.js and manifest.json from the latest release
2. Create a folder kobo-note-sync in your vault's .obsidian/plugins/ directory
3. Copy the downloaded files into that folder
4. Restart Obsidian and enable the plugin in Settings → Community Plugins

Prerequisites

• For Desktop App sync: Kobo Desktop App installed and signed in with your Kobo account
• For custom SQLite sync: copy the Kobo SQLite database file from your device, such as .kobo/KoboReader.sqlite, to a stable local path

Usage

1. In plugin settings, choose a sync source: Kobo Desktop App or Custom SQLite file
2. Confirm the database path for that source. In Custom SQLite file mode on macOS or Windows, you can use Detect Kobo reader to fill the path automatically.
3. Open Command Palette (Cmd/Ctrl + P) and run Kobo Note Sync
4. Or click the book icon in the left sidebar

Highlights will be created as Markdown files in the configured output folder (default: Kobo Note Sync/).

Privacy

This plugin reads the local Kobo SQLite database selected in settings and creates or updates notes in your Obsidian vault. It does not send your reading data to any external server.

Third Party Notices

This plugin includes sql.js, which is licensed under the MIT License. See THIRD_PARTY_NOTICES.md.

Settings

Setting	Description
Sync source	Choose Kobo Desktop App or a custom SQLite file
Kobo Desktop database path	Path to Kobo.sqlite. Auto-detected based on your OS.
Custom database file path	Path to a copied Kobo SQLite database, such as .kobo/KoboReader.sqlite
Detect Kobo reader	Finds /Volumes/*/.kobo/KoboReader.sqlite on macOS or ?:\.kobo\KoboReader.sqlite on Windows and fills the custom database path
Output folder	Folder in your vault for highlight notes
Note template	Eta.js template for each book note
Highlight template	Eta.js template for each highlight

Default Database Paths

OS	Path
macOS	~/Library/Application Support/Kobo/Kobo Desktop Edition/Kobo.sqlite
Windows	%LOCALAPPDATA%\Kobo\Kobo Desktop Edition\Kobo.sqlite

Templates

Templates use Eta.js syntax: <%= it.variableName %> for output, <% if (it.condition) { %> for logic.

Note Template Variables

Variable	Description
it.bookTitle	Book title
it.bookAuthor	Author
it.publisher	Publisher
it.isbn	ISBN
it.series	Series name
it.seriesNumber	Series number
it.subtitle	Subtitle
it.language	Language
it.description	Book description (HTML stripped)
it.progress	Reading progress %
it.status	Reading status (unread / reading / finished)
it.numPages	Number of pages
it.wordCount	Word count
it.averageRating	Average rating on Kobo
it.ratingCount	Rating count
it.timeSpentReading	Time spent reading (seconds)
it.timesStartedReading	Times started reading
it.dateAdded	Date added to library
it.dateCreated	Book creation date
it.lastRead	Last read date
it.lastFinished	Finished reading date
it.highlightCount	Number of highlights
it.highlights	Rendered highlights content

Highlight Template Variables

Variable	Description
it.highlightText	Highlighted text
it.annotation	Your note/annotation
it.dateCreated	Highlight date
it.chapter	Chapter title
it.chapterProgress	Progress within chapter (0-1)

Example Templates

Note template:

---
title: "<%= it.bookTitle %>"
author: "<%= it.bookAuthor %>"
publisher: "<%= it.publisher %>"
last_read: <%= it.lastRead %>
highlight_count: <%= it.highlightCount %>
source: Kobo
---
<%= it.highlights %>

Highlight template:

*<%= it.dateCreated %>*<% if (it.chapter) { %> | <%= it.chapter %><% } %>

> <%= it.highlightText %>
<% if (it.annotation) { %>
**Note:** <%= it.annotation %>
<% } %>
---