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KoboFrotz Build Guide

Build KoboFrotz for Kobo E-Readers (including Kobo Libra Colour with Firmware 4.44+).

Prerequisites

  • Docker (required)
    • macOS: brew install --cask docker
    • Linux: sudo apt install docker.io
    • Windows: Docker Desktop with WSL2

Quick Build

# Clone repository
git clone https://github.com/timboettiger/KoboFrotz.git
cd KoboFrotz

# Build (creates dist/ folder with everything needed)
./build.sh

# Build and deploy directly to connected Kobo
./build.sh --deploy /media/$USER/KOBOeReader   # Linux
./build.sh --deploy /Volumes/KOBOeReader       # macOS

What Gets Built

The build.sh script creates a complete distribution package in dist/:

dist/
├── KoboFrotz/
│   ├── KoboFrotz           # ARM binary
│   ├── KoboFrotz.sh        # Launcher script
│   ├── lib/
│   │   ├── libQt5Core.so.5
│   │   ├── libQt5Gui.so.5
│   │   └── libQt5Widgets.so.5
│   ├── plugins/
│   │   └── platforms/
│   │       ├── libkobo.so      # Kobo E-Ink platform plugin
│   │       └── libqlinuxfb.so  # Fallback framebuffer plugin
│   ├── games/              # Put your .z3/.z5/.z8 files here
│   └── saves/              # Save files will be stored here
└── nm/
    └── kobofrotz           # NickelMenu configuration

Manual Deployment

If you prefer to deploy manually:

  1. Connect your Kobo via USB
  2. Copy dist/KoboFrotz/ to .adds/KoboFrotz/ on the Kobo
  3. Copy dist/nm/kobofrotz to .adds/nm/ on the Kobo
  4. Safely eject the Kobo and restart it

KoboFrotz will appear in the NickelMenu.

Interactive Docker Build (Alternative)

For debugging or manual builds:

# Start interactive Docker session
docker run --rm -it \
  -v "$PWD":/work \
  -w /work \
  rain92/kobo-qt-dev

# Inside container:
mkdir -p build-kobo && cd build-kobo
/home/user/qt-bin/qt-linux-5.15-kde-kobo/bin/qmake ../KoboFrotz.pro CONFIG+=release
make -j$(nproc)

# Exit with Ctrl+D, binary is at build-kobo/KoboFrotz

NickelMenu

KoboFrotz requires NickelMenu to launch.

Install NickelMenu (if not installed)

  1. Download from https://pgaskin.net/NickelMenu/
  2. Copy KoboRoot.tgz to .kobo/ on your Kobo
  3. Safely eject and restart

Troubleshooting

App doesn't start

  • Ensure NickelMenu is installed
  • Check that all files are in .adds/KoboFrotz/
  • Verify KoboFrotz.sh is executable

Touch not working

  • Edit KoboFrotz.sh and adjust QT_QPA_EVDEV_TOUCHSCREEN_PARAMETERS
  • Try different rotation values: rotate=0, rotate=90, rotate=180, rotate=270

Libraries missing

The distribution includes all required Qt libraries. If you still get errors, ensure the complete lib/ folder was copied.

Version

Current version: V1.0.0 with auto-incrementing build number. Version is displayed in the window title.