https://brtkwr.com/tags/kobo/Recent content in Kobo on brtkwr.comHugoenTue, 18 Aug 2026 17:34:26 +0000https://brtkwr.com/posts/2026-08-18-sideloading-a-library-loan-onto-a-kobo-without-adobe-digital-editions/Tue, 18 Aug 2026 17:34:26 +0000https://brtkwr.com/posts/2026-08-18-sideloading-a-library-loan-onto-a-kobo-without-adobe-digital-editions/<h2 id="tldr"> TL;DR <a class="heading-link" href="#tldr"> <i class="fa-solid fa-link" aria-hidden="true" title="Link to heading"></i> <span class="sr-only">Link to heading</span> </a> </h2> <p>Library lending apps hand out <code>.acsm</code> files, which normally need Adobe Digital Editions to turn into a readable epub. ADE doesn&rsquo;t run on Apple Silicon macOS. I built <a href="https://forge.soutade.fr/soutade/libgourou" class="external-link" target="_blank" rel="noopener">libgourou</a> from source instead, activated it against my Adobe ID, and downloaded the loan with its <code>acsmdownloader</code> tool. Copying the encrypted epub straight to the Kobo didn&rsquo;t work: newer Kobo firmware dropped Adobe DRM support entirely, so the device ignores ADEPT-encrypted files with no error and no log line. libgourou also ships <code>adept_remove</code>, a DRM-removal utility, for exactly this kind of dead end. Getting the book to <em>look</em> right in the library then needed a second fix, because Nickel never generates cover thumbnails for sideloaded books.</p>