If I remember correctly the process is described in the README of the DeDRM plugin that can be downloaded from GitHub: https://github.com/apprenticeharper/DeDRM_tools/blob/master/... (and I am talking about the README file inside the zip you download there).
In Backing Up My Kindle Ebooks (2018)apprenticeharper
DeDRM_tools
Python2015–2025
apprenticeharper / DeDRM_tools
DeDRM_tools
DeDRM tools for ebooks
27Distinct people
30Mentions
0Explicit recommenders
15.4KGitHub stars
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What it is
DeDRM tools for ebooks
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Observed mentions: 2015-10-16 16:16:19 UTC to 2025-10-17 00:02:33 UTC.
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| Period | Start (UTC) | End (exclusive, UTC) | Mentions | Submissions | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 2015-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2016-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 2016 | 2016-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2017-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2017 | 2017-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2018-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 2018 | 2018-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2019-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2019 | 2019-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2020-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 2020 | 2020-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2021-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 9 | 0 | 9 |
| 2021 | 2021-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2022-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 8 | 0 | 8 |
| 2022 | 2022-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2023-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| 2023 | 2023-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2024-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 3 | 1 | 2 |
| 2024 | 2024-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2025-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2025 | 2025-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2026-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 1 | 0 | 1 |
From the project README
An excerpt from the repository, fetched Nov 13, 2026.
Read the project’s introduction
No Longer Maintained
I have not had the time to devote to this project in recent years that I would have liked. I am delighted to find that someone else has taken on the task of keeping the tools updated, and making releases. I shall be using noDRM's version of the tools from now on.
[Guide] How to remove DRM
Refer to Wiki Page
DeDRM_tools
DeDRM tools for ebooks
This is a repository that tracks all the scripts and other tools for removing DRM from ebooks that I could find, committed in date order as best as I could manage. (Except for the Requiem tools for Apple's iBooks, and Convert LIT for Microsoft's .lit ebooks.) This includes the tools from a time before Apprentice Alf had a blog, and continues through to when Apprentice Harper (with help) took over maintenance of the tools.
The individual scripts are now released as two plugins for calibre: DeDRM and Obok.
The DeDRM plugin handles books that use Amazon DRM, Adobe Digital Editions DRM (version 1), Barnes & Noble DRM, and some historical formats.
The Obok plugin handles Kobo DRM.
Users with calibre 5.x or later should use release 7.2.0 or later of the tools.
Users with calibe 4.x or earlier should use release 6.8.x of the tools.
For the latest Amazon KFX format, users of the calibre plugin should also install the KFX Input plugin from the standard calibre plugin menu. It's also available from the MobileRead thread here: https://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=291290
Note that Amazon changes the DRM for KFX files frequently. What works for KFX today might not work tomorrow.
I welcome contributions from others to improve these tools, from expanding the range of books handled, improving key retrieval, to just general bug fixes, speed improvements and UI enhancements.
I urge people to read the FAQs. But to cover the most common: Use ADE 2.0.1 to be sure not to get the new DRM scheme that these tools can't handle. Do remember to unzip the downloaded archive to get the plugin (beta versions may be just the plugin don't unzip that). You can't load the whole tools archive into calibre.
My special thanks to all those developers who have done the hard work of reverse engineering to provide the initial tools.
Apprentice Harper.
Read the full README on GitHubWhat Hacker News says
2 sourcesIf you are already using Calibre, it's not hard to protect yourself from Amazon. I have a Kindle PaperWhite that's about ~3 years old and it only connected to the Internet once during initial setup. I've put it in flight mode after that and it will never go online again.
As for books, when I buy them on Amazon I select "transfer via USB" which let's me download it and when I add it to Calibre, the DRM is stripped by DEDRM_tools [1][2] before transfering into the Kindle.
[1] https://github.com/apprenticeharper/DeDRM_tools
[2] Note that the tool only removes the DRM, it doesn't anonymise the file. It's still associated with your account.
In When Microsoft's eBook store closes, your books disappear too