Is it possible to just have Koreader on a Kobo (N613) and erase everything else ?

[Igor13]

I love koreader, it has become my only way of reading files in a screen and organizing an extensive collection of epubs, pdfs, .txt files and rss feeds. I love Koreader so much that i would like to have ONLY it show up on my Kobo N613 when turning on and off.

I don't care about other extensions, and i proactivelly want to erase all rakuten code stuff from my device for privacy concerns, and also having only or almost only Libre Software in it. Not to mention that turning directly into Koreader would be much faster than dealing with the home screen. I only side-load to it, or download from wikipedia or rss through koreader.

So, is there any way to have only Koreader stuff on my Kobo ?

I asked this same question in the Github of Koreader, and a person there recommended me to install a project named OKreader (https://github.com/lgeek/okreader). The problem is it seems to be an abandoned project, and i was not able to follow the instructions set on the git page. Has anyone here ever installed it on a Kobo ? If yes, can you describe it better. Or has someone found another way to have a full KoreaderOS ?

[pazos]

It is possible but not recommended.

okreader might be abandoned but what it does still stands. KOReader runs on top of the linux kernel and needs a couple of blobs to figure out it runs on kobos. okReader reimplements those blobs as free software.

Other than that, you'll only need to hook in the init scripts of the kobo system (or deploy your own init scripts in your rootfs)

If your kobo has an internal sdcard and you're not worried of open it, making a backup and solder into the serial header you're free to go. You can also try without a serial port if you forget about erasing rakuten kobo or tweak the rootfs in any way other than lauching KO after the dots animation.

You can expect no support during your endeavour, which is a big plus for me on the world of hacking for fun, but most people want to avoid that to squeeze 5 seconds each boot.

[pazos]

For instance the cervantes platform runs standalone with just https://github.com/koreader/koreader...-standalone.sh.

But that's because we don't touch there the rest of the init scripts, so udev/mdev and a few other things (like running the agetty service that lets you login on the serial console) are still system code. Even then the script contains a fallback path, in case something went wrong during an update, to let you recover with either usbnet or usb mass storage.

You should do the same on your kobo, if you go that route.

[Igor13]

Thanks for the response and useful information. I tried to install OKreader today again, but i gave up, i'm more on the lazy side of the force. I just inserted the original microsd back and will be using Kobo+Koreader for a while. Maybe i will try again soon.

[Frenzie]

For reference: https://github.com/koreader/koreader/discussions/12006