how to export notes and highlights from kobo

how-to-enable-notes-export-from-kobo.md

Steps

1. connect kobo to your device
2. open a file browser and navigate to the mounted kobo folder
3. navigate to the hidden folder .kobo/Kobo
4. open the file Kobo eReader.conf
5. navigate to the section [FeatureSettings], if it doesn't exist, create it.
6. add the line ExportHighlights=true and save
7. disconnect the device
8. now you can long press on a book and export the note file into a .txt file which will be saved alongside your books. to get it connect your ereader.

Tested on

Working

• Kobo Clara HD
• Kobo Libra
• Kobo Libra 2
• Kobo Nia
• Kobo Glo

Not Working

• Kobo Elipsa (not necessary, default functionality)
• Kobo Libra Colour

Source

https://www.matteopezzi.com/how-to-export-annotations-on-kobo-aura/

Further reading

See also Export-Kobo.

Tested with Kobo Libra 2 and it works like a charm.

not working on the Elipsa. I tried to just add the lines myself just in case, but no go.
Seems like the file gets overwritten after USB ejection as well.

Edit: Updated the OS and it now I can export notes (from a kepub at least). I checked the .conf file and the [FeatureSettings] isn't there, but I can still export. It must be default functionality now.

If it doesn't work on Libra 2, make sure to first create [FeatureSettings] (if you don't have that category) and then add ExportHighlights=true under that. I don't know if the next step matters but I added [FeatureSettings] where it would naturally fall in alphabetic sort (after [DialogSettings] and before [OneStoreServices]). Files are saved under "/Exported Annotations/" in the root directory. Works great =)

Works on Kobo Libra, Thank you!

hi thank you so much i now have an Export annotations option on my Kobo nia, i saved it like you said and when i tested and opened the file on my computer the highlights came in txt format! thanks so much!!!!!!!

I've worked on a repository that manage all exports for Kobo: https://github.com/eliascotto/export-kobo

Working perfectly on a Kobo Glo

Just wanted to share what finally worked for me:
Initially. I would make the edit, save the file, and safely eject, but Kobo kept reverting the changes. I found that if, after making the changes to the Kobo ereader.conf file and saving it, THEN openening and merely just saving the Analytics file that is in the same directory (without making any changes), Kobo wouldn't wouldn't revert the change and the edit would stick.

On kobo libra colour is a no go. The changes are saved, but the option is nowhere to be seen

I can confirm that this works on the Kobo Aura H2O (edition 1).

Tried and tested with Kobo Libra Colour and it works.
Connect device to computer and .txt file can be found in Exported Annotations folder

I tested it in Kobo Clara HD and it works. Annotations are exported to the Exported Annotations folder.

I tested it, Kobo Elipsa 2e, and it works perfectly, to see exported annotations, I needed to connect to the computer

I can confirm it works on Kobo Libra Colour. No issues.

Kobo Libra Color does work

Thank you for this comprehensive script. As a fellow Kobo lover, I’ve tried many of these methods, but I often found them either too complicated or requiring additional installations. Inspired by these challenges, I built a simple web app to make exporting Kobo highlights and notes easier: Kobo Note Up. https://kobo-up.runawayup.com/

With this tool, there’s:

• No software to install: Everything works directly in your browser.
• No hidden file hunting: Just connect your Kobo device, select the folder, and the app will automatically locate the database.
• Organized output: Export notes and highlights combined with section headers, available in TXT or Markdown formats. Markdown makes it easy to import directly into Notion!

I’d love for you to try it out and see how it compares to the methods in the article. It’s free and designed to save time for anyone who enjoys using their Kobo for knowledge-rich reading. Let me know if you have any feedback to improve it further! 😊

Hey I made a tool to export highlights from an ereader and made it available for free on www.kobohighlightsexport.com. Let me know what you think :)

Nice job, @hi-upchen and @mamvangils. Is your code open source by any chance? If it is, it'd be cool if you could link to the repos in your comments.

Edit: hi-upchen's project: https://github.com/hi-upchen/kobo-up

Hey, I made a desktop app to manage all my books highlights, and it's compatible with Kobo. Features include favorite quotes, search, tags, edit quotes and comments, all local on your pc, no cloud or subscription involved.
Check it out at liture.co
It's all open source!

(Solution below) Tried it on my Kobo Clara BW and in the beginning it seemed to work, I got the exported file and everything, but when I opened it I couldn't read the text. I thought that there must be something wrong with the encoding, but I tried many different ones (I opened the file on Word and tried all the options there) and nothing worked. I'm attaching a picture of the output for reference. Do you know if there's something I could do about this?

Update: I was trying this on epub files that I had imported into the device myself by simply dropping them into the device folder on my computer. I thought I would try it with a book that I purchased in the Kobo store and it works. This made me think that maybe the file itself is the problem, and decided to test it with an epub file that wasn't purchased through the Kobo store, but sent to the device via send.djazz.se and with the kepubify option selected. Thankfully it works! So if anyone is planning on working with their own epub files, I'd make sure to import the files that way.

Worked perfectly on the Kobo Aura (edition 2)