Instructions for patching firmware 4.33.19759

[geek1011]

This patch thread is for firmware 4.33.19759 (5240404f16e9ce22a98c6912c0fe22e22f41f0d9):

Instructions for patching on Windows, Linux, or macOS with kobopatch:

1. Download the Kobo firmware release
   You can find the download links here here.
2. Download and extract the patch zip
   Download and unzip kobopatch_4.33.19759.zip from here.
3. Copy the firmware file to the src folder
   Copy the original firmware you just downloaded into the kobopatch src folder.
4. Install the firmware if needed
   Install the firmware on your kobo BEFORE proceeding with the next steps. You can do this by extracting the contents of the firmware zip into the .kobo folder and ejecting.
5. Choose your patches from the files in the src folder
   Enable patches in the files in the src folder (or use the overrides in kobopatch.yaml to keep your options separate).
6. Run kobopatch
   Double-click kobopatch.bat on Windows, or run ./kobopatch.sh on Linux or macOS. On macOS, you can drag it into the terminal and press enter (you may need to go to System Preferences - Security and Privacy - General to confirm that you actually want to run it).
7. Install the patches by copying KoboRoot.tgz into the .kobo folder of your device
   If the patching succeeded, a file named KoboRoot.tgz will be created in the out folder. Copy it to the .kobo folder of your device. Safely remove your device once you are finished. On Linux, you may have to press Ctrl+H to show the .kobo folder.

Download

[geek1011]

Changes to the kobopatch zip:
v79 (2022-09-20): Font patch updates (jackie_w).
v78 (2022-07-21): Initial release for 4.33.19759.

Missing patches:
- GeoffR: KePub constant font sharpness
- GeoffR: Ignore .otf fonts

[Deobulakenyo]

noob question: I can delete the patches that i do not use and just retain all that i do use in the nickel.yaml and libnickel.so.1.0.0.yaml, right?

[Skydog]

Originally Posted by Deobulakenyo

noob question: I can delete the patches that i do not use and just retain all that i do use in the nickel.yaml and libnickel.so.1.0.0.yaml, right?

No need to do that. That's the purpose of the kobopatch.yaml file that you can customize with your preferences and can apply to other firmware upgrades/downgrades.

[Deobulakenyo]

Originally Posted by Skydog

No need to do that. That's the purpose of the kobopatch.yaml file that you can customize with your preferences and can apply to other firmware upgrades/downgrades.

I sometimes change/customize specific values in the patches that is why i was thinking of deleting patches that i do not use so when i need to go back and forth to the patches with values I need to test/tweak, I won't have to sort through everything everytime.

[Skydog]

Originally Posted by Deobulakenyo

I sometimes changed/customize specific values in the patches that is why i was thinking of deleting patches that i do not use so when i need to go back and forth to the patches with values I need to test/tweak, I won't have to sort though everything everytime.

I, too, have some specific values customized but not enough of them to bother me. I understand your reason for the question though.

[asettico]

Originally Posted by Deobulakenyo

I sometimes change/customize specific values in the patches that is why i was thinking of deleting patches that i do not use so when i need to go back and forth to the patches with values I need to test/tweak, I won't have to sort through everything everytime.

I store my patch selections and values' customization in a .patch file I build running the command:

diff -ru "original patches folder" "my patches folder" > mycustom.patch

When new firmware and patches are released, I apply mycustom.patch to the new patch folder, fixing possible conflicts.

My 2 cents.

[JSWolf]

Thanks for the quick firmware patches.

[rtiangha]

Originally Posted by asettico

I store my patch selections and values' customization in a .patch file I build running the command:

diff -ru "original patches folder" "my patches folder" > mycustom.patch

When new firmware and patches are released, I apply mycustom.patch to the new patch folder, fixing possible conflicts.

My 2 cents.

That is the most geeky way I've seen to manage this. Respect.

For those on Windows or who don't have access to the diff/patch commandline utilities, you can separate any patches where you need to edit values into their own file and maintain those; that way, when a new patch set comes out, you can copy over everything in the folder (except for kobopatch.yaml) without having to worry about your customizations getting overwritten. You may need to update your customized patches if things like offsets change later on, but that's usually rare, especially for patches that affect CSS.

To do this, first you need to map your overrides file to the binary being patched. For example, this is what I have near the top of kobopatch.yaml for customized libnickel patches:

patches:
  src/libnickel.so.1.0.0.yaml: usr/local/Kobo/libnickel.so.1.0.0
  src/libnickel.so.1.0.0_custom.yaml: usr/local/Kobo/libnickel.so.1.0.0

I put all of the libnickel patches that I need to edit into src/libnickel.so.1.0.0_custom.yaml (you can name it whatever you want).

Let's say I want my own values for the Dictionary text font-family/font-size/line-height patch. I would copy/paste that patch from src/libnickel.so.1.0.0.yaml into src/libnickel.so.1.0.0_custom.yaml and make my edits. Then in my overrides section, I have this:

overrides:
  src/libnickel.so.1.0.0.yaml:
    Dictionary text font-family/font-size/line-height: no
  src/libnickel.so.1.0.0_custom.yaml:
    Dictionary text font-family/font-size/line-height: yes

This makes kobopatch use my customized version of the dictionary patch, rather than the default one. The first entry is optional since all the stock patches ship as 'no' for enabled by default, but I like setting it explicitly for completeness sake.

If my customized dictionary patch fails in future versions because something changed in the firmware, then all I need to do to update it is to copy over the updated stock patch and reapply my edits.

Many paths up the mountain, lol.

[GlenRunciter]

THX geek1011!
Everything runs smoothly after patching.

[JSWolf]

What I do is put comments in kobopatch.yaml so I know which patches I modify. Then I can compare just those patches from the previous patches and adjust these.

I put the comment in front of the patch.

## Customized
     Dictionary text font-family/font-size/line-height: yes

[BiliBug]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

What I do is put comments in kobopatch.yaml so I know which patches I modify. Then I can compare just those patches from the previous patches and adjust these.

I put the comment in front of the patch.

## Customized
     Dictionary text font-family/font-size/line-height: yes

I do the same, though I actually note the custom changes made.

I've started migrating stuff to a custom yaml file. Much easier.

[JSWolf]

It seems there's an advertisement for KoboPlus in this firmware. Can a patch be created so this does not display? Thanks.

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

It seems there's an advertisement for KoboPlus in this firmware. Can a patch be created so this does not display? Thanks.

Yes there is an popup for KoboPlus. And just like a lot of other popups, if you have seen it, then you won't see it again. If it worries you that much, find the entry in the config file that is set when it is shown, and add that yourself on other devices.

[Deobulakenyo]

Can this notification (see attached picture) be somehow controlled in a patch whereby one can fix it here in the stat as a shortcut to that; or in the other notification like one for pocket, etc?