Batch processing with kindlegen

[Blunaigel]

Hi all,

how can I convert multiple epub files in a batch using kindlegen?


... well yeah the question is as simple as this.

[Doitsu]

Originally Posted by Blunaigel

how can I convert multiple epub files in a batch using kindlegen?

Create a text file with the following one liner in it and save it with the extension .CMD or .BAT:

FOR %%f IN ("*.epub") DO ( kindlegen "%%f" >> conversion.log )

Then copy the batch file and Kindlegen.exe to the folder with your epubs in it and double-click the batch file. If files fail to convert check the error messages in conversion.log.

Note that KindleGen will attach the source files to the .mobi files. If space is an issue, you'll need to use KindleStrip to strip off the source files.

EDIT: You can also use the undocumented -dont_append_source parameter to prevent kindlegen from attaching the source files to the .mobi file:

FOR %%f IN ("*.epub") DO ( kindlegen -dont_append_source "%%f" >> conversion.log )

[Blunaigel]

Thank you very much!

Can I include a command to tell kindlegen to use the "-c2" format?

(Sorry, I'm not really used to .bat-files. :/ )


EDIT: oh and how about batch-processing with kindlestrip?

[HarryT]

You can include any flags you want on the command line.

[Doitsu]

Originally Posted by Blunaigel

Can I include a command to tell kindlegen to use the "-c2" format?

As HarryT has already correctly pointed out, you can simply add the -c2 switch after Kindlegen, however, since Kindlegen will run several optimization passes for each file, I wouldn't recommend using the -c2 switch in batch files.

Originally Posted by Blunaigel

EDIT: oh and how about batch-processing with kindlestrip?

Assuming that you have ActivePython (or another Python 2.7 build) installed and Kindlestrip.py is the same folder as the batch file, you could use the following very simple batch file:

DEL conversion.log
FOR %%f IN ("*.epub") DO  (
	kindlegen "%%f" >> conversion.log
	IF EXIST "%%~nf.mobi" (
		ECHO ******************************* >> conversion.log
		kindlestrip "%%~nf.mobi" "%%~nf.new" >> conversion.log
		IF EXIST "%%~nf.new" (	
			DEL "%%~nf.mobi"
			REN "%%~nf.new" "%%~nf.mobi"
		)
	) 
)

The batch file works with KindleGen 2.9 and Kindlestrip 1.35.

[RbnJrg]

Originally Posted by Doitsu

As HarryT has already correctly pointed out, you can simply add the -c2 switch after Kindlegen, however, since Kindlegen will run several optimization passes for each file, I wouldn't recommend using the -c2 switch in batch files.



Assuming that you have ActivePython (or another Python 2.7 build) installed and Kindlestrip.py is the same folder as the batch file, you could use the following very simple batch file:

DEL conversion.log
FOR %%f IN ("*.epub") DO  (
	kindlegen "%%f" >> conversion.log
	IF EXIST "%%~nf.mobi" (
		ECHO ******************************* >> conversion.log
		kindlestrip "%%~nf.mobi" "%%~nf.new" >> conversion.log
		IF EXIST "%%~nf.new" (	
			DEL "%%~nf.mobi"
			REN "%%~nf.new" "%%~nf.mobi"
		)
	) 
)

The batch file works with KindleGen 2.9 and Kindlestrip 1.35.

Very nice script! And if you have a folder only with .mobi books and want to apply kindlestrip, how would it be the .bat file? Many thanks in advance.

[Doitsu]

Originally Posted by RbnJrg

Very nice script! And if you have a folder only with .mobi books and want to apply kindlestrip, how would it be the .bat file? Many thanks in advance.

That's very easy. You simply omit the KindleGen part, change the file selector to .mobi and end up with this very simple script.

DEL conversion.log
FOR %%f IN ("*.mobi") DO  (
		ECHO ******************************* >> conversion.log
		kindlestrip "%%~nf.mobi" "%%~nf.new" >> conversion.log
		IF EXIST "%%~nf.new" (	
			DEL "%%~nf.mobi"
			REN "%%~nf.new" "%%~nf.mobi"
		) ELSE ( 
		ECHO  "%%~nf.mobi" was NOT stripped! >> conversion.log
		)
)

Hopefully, none of the "real programmers" will see this, because it's a quick & dirty solution that doesn't follow the traditional programming guidelines.

BTW, as with the other batch file there's always the possibility that something might go horribly wrong.
Always keep backups and don't use it with the original files.

[RbnJrg]

Originally Posted by Doitsu

That's very easy. You simply omit the KindleGen part, change the file selector to .mobi and end up with this very simple script.

DEL conversion.log
FOR %%f IN ("*.mobi") DO  (
		ECHO ******************************* >> conversion.log
		kindlestrip "%%~nf.mobi" "%%~nf.new" >> conversion.log
		IF EXIST "%%~nf.new" (	
			DEL "%%~nf.mobi"
			REN "%%~nf.new" "%%~nf.mobi"
		) ELSE ( 
		ECHO  "%%~nf.mobi" was NOT stripped! >> conversion.log
		)
)

Hopefully, none of the "real programmers" will see this, because it's a quick & dirty solution that doesn't follow the traditional programming guidelines.

BTW, as with the other batch file there's always the possibility that something might go horribly wrong.
Always keep backups and don't use it with the original files.

Thank you very much Doitsu!!

[radius]

Originally Posted by Doitsu

As HarryT has already correctly pointed out, you can simply add the -c2 switch after Kindlegen, however, since Kindlegen will run several optimization passes for each file, I wouldn't recommend using the -c2 switch in batch files.

Why not? If this is a batch, then presumably you aren't running it in anything like an interactive mode. So if it takes longer, that just means you have time for two cups of coffee instead of one.

Is there any reason other than time/CPU+disk usage not to use the higher compression?

[Thalia Helikon]

how would the code be different in a Linux terminal?

[eschwartz]

Originally Posted by Thalia Helikon

how would the code be different in a Linux terminal?

Try this:

rm conversion.log
for file in $@; do

	echo "*******************************" >> conversion.log

	if $(kindlestrip "$file" "$file">> conversion.log); then
		echo "$file was successfully stripped!" >> conversion.log
	else 
		echo "$file was NOT stripped!" >> conversion.log
	fi
done

[Doitsu]

@eschwartz:

Unfortunately, your script doesn't work, because kindlestrip.py requires two parameters: the original file and the stripped file. It also doesn't work with file names that contain spaces.

This script actually works:

#!/bin/bash

# IFS change for file names with spaces in them
SAVEIFS=$IFS
IFS=$(echo -en "\n\b")

# delete old log
rm -f conversion.log

# process all .mobi files in folder
for i in *.mobi; do
  python kindlestrip.py "$i" ${i%%.*}.new
  ret=$?
	if [ $ret -ne 0 ]; then
		echo "$i" was NOT stripped >> conversion.log
	else
		rm $i
		mv ${i%%.*}.new  ${i%%.*}.mobi
		echo "$i" was stripped >> conversion.log
	fi
done

# restore default IFS
IFS=$SAVEIFS

@Thalia Helikon: You no longer need to use kindlestrip.py, because there's a recently discovered undocumented kindlegen parameter that'll prevent kindlegen from attaching the source files, -dont_append_source. You could use it in a shell script file to convert multiple .epubs with KindleGen:

#!/bin/bash

# IFS change for file names with spaces in them
SAVEIFS=$IFS
IFS=$(echo -en "\n\b")

# delete old log
rm -f conversion.log

# process all .epub files in folder
for i in *.epub; do
  kindlegen -dont_append_source "$i" >> conversion.log
  ret=$?
	if [ $ret -ne 0 ]; then
		echo "$i" was NOT compiled. Error code: $ret >> conversion.log
	fi
done

# restore default IFS
IFS=$SAVEIFS

(Of course, you'll also need to copy the kindlegen binary to ~/bin (or create a symbolic ink) and make the shell script executable.)

[eschwartz]

So I added in the second parameter. Thanks, I didn't realize it required two. According to this post

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Download and install 32-bit (x86) ActivePython from here.
Download the kindlestrip 1.2.zip file. Unzip to give kindlestrip.py
Copy the book you want stripped to the same directory as kindlestrip.
Open a command window
use the cd command to switch to the same directory as kindlestrip
type python kindlestrip.py [BOOKNAME]
where [BOOKNAME] is the name of the ebook to be stripped.

it isn't required. I had scrolled through the kindlestrip thread for the first cli example.

Shouldn't this work just as well?

rm conversion.log

#fix for() loop not handling witespace
SAVEIFS=$IFS
IFS=$(echo -en "\n\b")

for file in $@; do

	echo "*******************************" >> conversion.log

	if $(kindlestrip "$file" "$file">> conversion.log); then
		echo "$file was successfully stripped!" >> conversion.log
	else 
		echo "$file was NOT stripped!" >> conversion.log
	fi
done

#restore default IFS
IFS=$SAVEIFS

I am unsure why you need to backup to filename.new

EDIT: Just realized what you meant when you said whitespaced files won't work -- because of the for loop. Fixed.

[Doitsu]

You may want to test your scripts before posting them. If you had done so, you'd have found out that they don't work, because had you actually executed kindlestrip.py you'd gotten the following syntax warning:

kindlestrip.py <infile> <outfile> <strippeddatafile>
<strippeddatafile> is optional.

Originally Posted by eschwartz

I am unsure why you need to backup to filename.new

I didn't backup the file to filename.new; filename.new is the stripped .mobi file, which obviously needs to be saved under a different file name.

EDIT: Apparently the <infile> <outfile> parameters can be identical. Since most command line utilities require different names for input and output files, I assumed that this was the case for this script also.

[eschwartz]

Originally Posted by Doitsu

You may want to test your scripts before posting them. If you had done so, you'd have found out that they don't work, because had you actually executed kindlestrip.py you'd gotten the following syntax warning:

kindlestrip.py <infile> <outfile> <strippeddatafile>
<strippeddatafile> is optional.

I didn't backup the file to filename.new; filename.new is the stripped .mobi file, which obviously needs to be saved under a different file name.

Unless I am typing this on my Kindle Touch, or indeed any other mobile device.

And why must the input file differ from the output? It looked to me like some artifact of the windows code to check for success by the presence of the .new file. I merely thought to cut out the middleman and do it with the if() test itself.