Kobbie
Kobbie help

Help

Here is what Kobbie does today, what stays on your computer, and what still needs physical device validation.

What a Kobbie scan does

  • Runs in your browser. Detects a plugged-in Kobo, makes a temporary copy of the Kobo library index, and reads it read-only.
  • Never changes anything on the Kobo without you approving that specific change, and never uploads your e-book content.
  • Saves your chosen scan to your Kobbie account only when you ask it to, so your library, stats and alerts are available between visits.

What a scan sends to your Kobbie account

When you save a scan to your library, Kobbie sends a strict metadata payload called kobbie.scan-metadata.v1. It contains per-book fields Kobbie needs to reason about series and progress:

  • Title, author string, series name and position (as Kobo has them).
  • Read state and progress percentage.
  • Kobo-measured reading activity when the device supplies it.
  • A stable hash of the Kobo content identifier (not the raw id).

Aggregate diagnostic counts (per-row-shape distributions) may travel with the payload to help us diagnose adapter coverage. Raw firmware values, file paths, and any personal file contents stay on your computer.

What Kobbie Web does with it

  • Groups books into series and puts them in reading order.
  • Flags missing sequels and books you already own but haven't started.
  • Builds reading stats and release alerts from the data available in the scan.
  • Uses a fixed rule of >80% progress = finished for now. A per-account preference will land with the future Web account phase.

What demo mode means

The separate Demo preview uses a seeded library so you can explore the interface without connecting a Kobo. Anywhere you see a Demo preview label, it is intentionally not your personal library. The normal Kobbie environment uses your saved scan and live catalogue data.

Where things live

  • The scan: runs locally in your browser, read-only, and is discarded unless you save it.
  • Your Kobbie account (this site): keeps your saved library, presents your shelf, and hosts preferences and alerts.

Still being validated

  • A proper help centre with searchable articles.
  • Public device writeback after the direct-cable Kobo acceptance matrix passes.
  • Official Kobo-book writeback remains protected until its adapter proves that reading state, annotations and store status survive.

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