python based software to unpack Amazon / Kindlegen generated ebooks
KindleUnpack unpacks a non-DRM Kindle/MobiPocket ebook into its component parts which change depending on the type of Kindle/Mobi ebook being processed
- MobiPocket and early Kindle version 7 or less ebooks are unpacked to the
original html 3.2 and images folder that can then be edited and reprocessed by
MobiPocketCreator.
- Kindle Print Replica ebook are unpacked to the original PDF and any associated images.
- Kindle KF8 only ebooks (.azw3) are unpacked into an epub-like structure that may or
may not be a fully valid epub depending on if a fully valid epub was
originally provided to kindlegen as input. NOTE: The generated epub should be
validated using an epub validator and should changes be needed, it should load
properly into Sigil and Calibre either of which can be used to edit the result
to create a fully valid epub.
- Newer Kindle ebooks which have both KF8 and older versions inside are unpacked into
two different parts: the first being the older MobiPocket format ebook parts
and the second being an epub-like structure that can be edited using Sigil
The KindleUnpack program requires Python 2.7.X or Python 3.4 or later to function properly.
On Windows machines we strongly recommend you install the free version of ActiveState's Active Python 2.7.X or 3.4.X or later as it properly installs all of the required parts including the tk widget kit and updates the system path on Windows machines. The official installer from python.org sometimes does not properly handle this for Windows machines.
On Mac OS X 10.6.X and later and almost all recent Linux versions, the required version of Python is already installed as part of the official OS installation so Mac OS X and Linux users need install nothing extra.
To install KindleUnpack, simply find a nice location on your machine and fully unzip it.
Do not move the KindleUnpack.pyw program away from its associated "lib" folder. If you
have a proper Python 2.7 or later installation on your machine, you should be able to
simply double-click the KindleUnpack.pyw icon and the gui interface should start
If you would prefer a command-line interface, simply look inside KindleUnpack's "lib" folder for the KindleUnpack.py python program and its support modules. You should then be able to run KindleUnpack.py by the following command:
python kindleunpack.py [-r -s -d -h -i] [-p APNX_FILE] INPUT_FILE OUTPUT_FOLDERwhere you replace:
INPUT_FILE - path to the desired Kindle/MobiPocket ebook
OUTPUT_FOLDER - path to folder where the ebook will be unpacked
-h print this help message
-i use HDImages to overwrite lower resolution versions, if present
-s split combination mobis into older mobi and mobi KF8 ebooks
-p APNX_FILE path to a .apnx file that contains real page numbers associated
with an azw3 ebook (optional). Note: many apnx files have
arbitrarily assigned page offsets that will confuse KindleUnpack
if used
--epub_version= specify EPUB version to unpack to: 2, 3 or A (for automatic) or
F for Force to EPUB2, default is 2
-r write raw data to the output folder
-d dump headers and other debug info to output and extra files
Please report any bugs or comments/requests our sticky forum on the Mobileread website.
It can be found at http://www.mobileread.com/forums.
Look under E-Book Formats > Kindle Formats > KindleUnpack (MobiUnpack).
License Information
KindleUnpack Based on initial mobipocket version Copyright © 2009 Charles M. Hannum root@ihack.net Extensive Extensions and Improvements Copyright © 2009-2014 By P. Durrant, K. Hendricks, S. Siebert, fandrieu, DiapDealer, nickredding, tkeo. This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation, version 3.