Kobo Highlights to Anki
KoboReader.sqlite · Client-side · No upload
A Kobo keeps every highlight and note you've made in one database file, and offers no way to get them out. Drop that file here, pick the books, and download a flashcard deck or a Markdown file of quotes.
Drop KoboReader.sqlite here
.kobo folder on the e-reader's drive. Read in your browser — never uploaded.From e-reader to review
No Calibre, no plugin. The usual route is a desktop app plus an annotations plugin. This reads the Kobo's own database directly, so it works from any computer with a browser.
Cards built for recall. The passage is the question; the book, chapter and your note are the answer. In review that asks “where was this, and why did I mark it?”, which is the point of having marked it.
Markdown for a commonplace book. One heading per book, each passage as a quote with its chapter, your notes beneath. It drops into Obsidian, Notion or any notes app. Keeping a commonplace book on your phone.
Or skip the export next time. GemReader opens the same DRM-free EPUBs on your phone, and every highlight you make there is already a flashcard. How highlights become cards. Kindle owner too? The Kindle version reads My Clippings.txt.
Questions
Where is KoboReader.sqlite?
Connect the Kobo to a computer with a USB cable and tap Connect on its screen. It appears as a drive called KOBOeReader. The file is in a hidden folder named .kobo at the drive's root. On a Mac, press Cmd+Shift+. in Finder to show hidden folders; on Windows, turn on View → Show → Hidden items in File Explorer. Copy the file to your desktop first if you prefer; the converter only reads it.
Which highlights are included?
Every highlight and note stored on the e-reader, for Kobo Store books and sideloaded EPUBs alike, since the database records them the same way. Notes are attached to the passage they were typed against. Dog-ear bookmarks have no text and are skipped, as are highlights you deleted on the device.
Some recent highlights are missing.
If there is a file named KoboReader.sqlite-wal next to the database, drop it in together with KoboReader.sqlite: it can hold changes the main file hasn't absorbed yet. Ejecting the Kobo properly and reconnecting usually folds them in.
How do I import the deck into Anki?
In Anki desktop, choose File → Import and pick the downloaded .txt. The file declares its own separator and tag column: the passage goes on the front, the book, chapter and your note on the back, and each card is tagged kobo::Book_Title so every book can be studied on its own.
What about handwritten notes on a Kobo Elipsa or Sage?
Pen markups are stored as drawings, not text, so there is nothing for a flashcard to show. Typed notes and highlights from those models export normally.
Is the database uploaded?
No. It is read with JavaScript in your browser tab by a small built-in SQLite reader, and the deck is built there too. Nothing leaves your device, and the file is never modified.