Download Install Calibre DRM Removal to Remove DRM from Ebooks
Tips and Tricks • May 6, 2022
Both Mac and Windows users are reporting Calibre can’t remove DRM from ebooks or just failed to load the ebooks they have. The primary reason is the lack of De-DRM plugin that help Calibre remove DRM from ebooks.
This article contains all the info on Calibre DRM Removal plugins, including where to get De-DRM for Calibre, how Calibre DRM Removal worked, how to handle Calibre DRM Removal errors, how to configure DeDRM plugin for Nook or E-Ink based Kindle, etc.
Note: This guide is provided for personal use only. I would like to emphasize that please do not send the (DRM-Free) ebooks to anybody else.
Part 1: Calibre DRM Removal plugins DeDRM 7.2.1 Free Download for Windows/Mac
As of April 11, 2021, the latest version of the tools is 7.2.1
DeDRM_tools_7.2.1.zip can be downloaded from
https://github.com/apprenticeharper/DeDRM_tools/releases
Changes in 7.2.1:
1. Small bug fixes
2. Support the latest KFX encryption used by the latest Kindle for PC and Kindle for Mac
Part 2: How Does Calibre DRM Removal Work?
As a plugin, DeDRM works in the background. It removes DRM protection from ebooks when they imported into Calibre. So, if you have added DRM protected books to Calibre before installing the DeDRM plugin. you will need to remove the book and import it to Calibre again. Also, the DRM removing procedure may vary depending on the type of ebook DRM.
For Google Play books, Overdrive books, and other books that use Adobe DRM. Adobe Digital Editions is required to download the real book before adding to Calibre. For Nook book, you need to get the hash key, and for Kindle eInk reader, you need to input the serial number of the device.
The Simple procedure to remove DRM with Calibre & DeDRM
- Download and install Calibre
- Download DeDRM and install it on Calibre
- Add ebooks to Calibre for removing DRM
- Transfer and read e-books on your Device.
Part 3: Install Calibre DRM Removal on Windows/Mac (30 minutes effort)
Step 1: Download and install Calibre. （Windows/Mac/Linux）
Step 2: Download the DeDRM_plugin.zip 7.2.1
(Tips: No need to unzip it.)
Step 3: Add DeDRM_plugin.zip into Calibre.
Start Calibre and go to Preferences in the top menu bar.
Then at the new window, find “Plugin” at the bottom under the “Advanced” area. Click it. And then click “Load plugin from file”.
Find and import the DeDRM_plugin.zip you’ve downloaded previously and click “Open”.
Just say “Yes” to the security warning
Soon the DeDRM plugin will be shown under the “File type plugins”.
As per the message on the screen, restart Caliber to complete the “DeDRM” installation.
Part 4: How to Remove DRM from Ebooks with DeDRM Installed for Calibre?(20 minutes effort)
Step 1. Click Add books to add the ebook to Calibre. It will take some time to load, and after the book loaded, DRM will be removed automatically from the ebook.
Part 5: Configure DeDRM Plugin for Nook, E-Ink based Kindle
For most of the book you don’t need to configure anything. While, some books may need you to enter extra information for configuration.
You do not need to add any key information for eBooks
- Downloaded using Kindle for Mac/PC
- Downloaded using Adobe Digital Editions (v2.0.1)
- Downloaded using NOOK Study
You MUST enter extra information for ebooks
- Kindle ebooks from an E-Ink based Kindle (e.g. Voyage).
- Nook ebooks
- Mobipocket ebooks
- eReader PDB books
How to Configure DeDRM Plugin?
To add the needed key information Please follow the steps below:
Step 1. Run Calibre, go to Preferences> Plugins
Step 2. In the File type plugins highlight DeDRM by Apprentice Alf….scripts and click the “Customize Plugin” button. Then you just need to enter the required information according to the ebook source.
After you entering the configuration information, Just click the OK button to save it.
Part 7: Where to get help with Calibre DeDRM
Calibre is open source, when you met problem with using the app. You can first check the FAQs at the GitHub repository, or read Apprentice Alf’s Blog to find your answer.
To get better help, you can submit the bug report to Apprentice Alf’s Blog comment area. or post the report to Apprentice Harper’s GitHub.
How to post a log to Github
- Deleting the DRM protected ebook from Calibre.
- Click Preferences >> Restart in debug mode.
- After the restart, import the the ebook to Calibre again.
- Then close Calibre. It will then generate a log that you can copy and paste for online help requests.
Part 6: Calibre DRM Removal Download and Installation FAQs
1. How to check if a ebook has DRM?
To check whether a book is protected with DRM. we can load the book to Calibre and try to open the book. if you can open the book directly, then it is DRM free. if it brings a DRM protection message “This book is DRMed.” then you have to remove the DRM first.
Calibre DeDRM Plugin Will Remove DRM From?
1. Kindle ebooks (Files from Kindle for Mac/PC and eInk Kindles, but not rented Kindle ebooks).
2. ebooks using Adobe Digital Editions DRM. (including Kobo, Sony and Google ePubs downloaded to ADE)
3. Barnes and Noble ePubs (Need to input the hash key for removing DRM)
4. Adobe Digital Editions (v2.0.1) PDFs
5. Mobipocket ebooks
6. eReader PDB books
2. DeDRM failure to remove DRM from rented book
Calibre works well with my ebook collections. but I have a Amazon rented book, and Calibre DeDRM failed to remove DRM from this book. are there other ways to handle rented book?
Calibre DeDRM don’t support removing removing DRM from rented or library ebooks. And there is no workable way to remove DRM from rented ebooks.
3. Calibre Saying that the DeDRM plugin is invalid
I followed the guide, and downloading the DeDRM plugin. while I am trying to install the plugin, Calibre keeps saying that the plugin is invalid.
Please download the plugin from GitHub. Select the zip file in the “DeDRM_calibre_plugin” folder. not any other files inside the plugin’s zip archive.
4. Book Still have DRM after install the DeDRM Plugin
I installed the calibre DeDRM plugin, why my books still have DRM.
Calibre DeDRM plugin work when the ebook imported to Calibre. So, if the book have added before installing the plugin. you have to delete the book from Calibre the import the book again. Be noted that, you have to delete and add again. if you don’t delete the book before adding it again, Calibre will discard the added ebook as duplicate.
5. Removing DRM from KFX Files
Some ebooks I get from Kindle are in KFX format, and when I use DeDRM plugin to remove the DRM, it fails.
If the book are in KFX format, you have to installed the KFX Input plugin that help Calibre handle this format. Also, you’ll need to use Kindle for PC 1.26 or earlier. See this post on how to remove DRM from Kindle KFX Files.
6. Remove DRM from Adobe PDF files
I’m trying to remove DRM from Adobe PDF files, but The DeDRM plugin can’t remove the DRM.
For Adobe DRM protected files. Please make sure that the book is download via Adobe Digital Editions on the same machine. See this guide here on how to remove DRM from Adobe digit edition downloaded books.
7. Is DeDRM plugin compatible with macOS Monterey?
Yes. But DeDRM plugin can only remove DRM from ebooks downloaded via Kindle for 1.26 or earlier. which can’t work on macOS Monterey, as macOS Monterey only supports 64 bit apps.
8. DeDRMing Nook Books
I use DeDRM successfully on removing Kindle DRM, but I have never succeed in removing DRM from my Nook books. I’ve tried several times on different versions of DeDRM, all failed. Is it no longer possible remove Nook DRM with Calibre DeDRM plugin?
In fact, you can still remove Nook DRM with Calibre, and the key is finding the harsh key for it. I’ve tried to research this and write this article on removing Nook DRM with Calibre.
9. Supporting for CloudLibrary books
I have get some book from the CloudLibrary , and I would like to read it on my Kindle. Is the DeDRM plugin work with CloudLibrary books?
Yes, the DeDRM plugin work with CloudLibrar books. you can login with your Adobe ID and use Adobe digit editions to download the book. and you can then use Calibre with the DeDRM plugin to convert the epub files to Mobi or azw3 to be sent to your Kindle.
10. iBooks DRM Removal Calibre plugin
When I search for a way to remove DRM from Apple iBooks. some site say that there are plugins that help remove DRM from iBook with Calibre. Is it real or just a fake posting?
ebooks you get from Apple’s iBookstore are protected by Apple’s own Fairplay DRM. The only free tool that can remove Apple’s DRM is Requiem. but it has stopped upgrade for a very long time. and now the only workable solution at the moment is to use the TunesKit iBook DRM Removal Tool. If you are interest in this please read this guide on how to convert iBooks to PDF.
11. Remove DRM from mymustreads.com
I find some books that I need at mymustreads.com. After asking the support, I find that their books are in some sort of proprietary format. which required to read via it’s app or website. Will the DeDRM plugin work with books from mymustreads.com?
Sorry, DeDRM plugin can’t remove DRM from this kind of ebooks.
12. Use DeDRM with Kindle Fire
I want to remove DRM from my Kindle fire book and followed your guide. When I try to customize the plugin and enter the serial number of my Kindle fire which is 19 digits. Calibre says it only recognizes 16-digit numbers. So, Am I doing anything wrong? or the plugin not work with the Kindle Fire?
Kindle Fire is Android based. which is different from earlier Kindles. and at the moment, Calibre DeDRM can’t work with ebooks from Kindle Fire. The only solution here is to install Kindle for PC/Mac and use books from there instead.
Part 7: What if Calibre Can’t Remove DRM even with De-DRM Installed
Is it often the case that you will fail to remove DRM from ebooks. even though the Calibre DeDRM plugin has been successfully installed. Here, I’ll show you some common solutions which can solve most of the problems.
Workaround 1: Reload the ebook to Calibre
Most of the time, people failed to remove the DRM because they have added the book before installing the plugin. Simply loading the book again can’t resolve this problem, here is what you need to do:
Step 1: Select a e-book in the Caliber library and right-click → “Delete Book” → “Delete Selected Book”.
Step 2: Restart Calibre and add it to Calibre’s library again.
Workaround 2: Update Calibre DeDRM Plugin
Some times the plugin fails just because you are using the older version. In this case you can follow the below steps to update Calibre DeDRM again.
Step 1. Run Calibre, and click Preferences.
Step 2. Find Plugin at the bottom of the pop up window, then input DeDRM in the search box.
Step 3. Find the old version of the plugin under the file type plugins tab. and click Remove plugin to remove the old version of the plugin. then click apply.
Step 4. Close Calibre. and download the latest 6.8.0 version of DeDRM plugin.
Step 5. Run Calibre again. In the Preferences > Plugin and click Load plugin from file, and add the new DeDRM plugin to Calibre.
Step 6. Close Calibre and restart it.
Workaround 3: Instead of Calibre, Using Epubor Ultimate
For Mac, Kobo, and Nook users. Calibre DeDRM plugin will not so helpful, and we recommend using Epubor ultimate. Which is a very popular tool that can remove DRM from ebooks and convert it to other ebook formats. It differs from Calibre as it is very easy to use for beginners and their support is very good.
Why Choose Epubor Ultimate?
1. Remove DRM from Kindle, Adobe Adept(including Kobo, Sony and Google eBooks), Barnes & Noble, Mobipocket and eReader eBooks.
2. Automatically detect e-readers like Kindle, Kobo, Adobe Digital Editions, etc.
3. Convert ebooks to PDF, EPUB, MOBI, AZW3, TXT, etc.
4. Batch process multiple eBooks.
5. Can edit ebooks meta data like title, author, identifiers, publishing date, language, publisher, introduction and the book cover.
6. Available for Windows and MacOS.
As the above image shows, Epubor Ultimate will automatically recognize all your books and display them all at the left interface under different tabs. to remove the DRM from each books, you just need to drag the ebook from the left interface to the right pane. And to convert a ebook, you just need to click convert to PDF and choose a format you need.
Good luck and enjoy your ebooks on any device you prefer!
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Really informative article. I really like the Calibre FAQ section. Thanks so much for the time and effort you must have had to put into this!
will Calibre DRM removal work with Kobo books?
FYI you need to unzip the original zip file. Please update your directions to reflect this!
No, you don’t. If you unzip the file, it won’t work.
Unfortunately, DeDRM_plugin.zip 6.8.0 fails to install on Mac – gives a syntax error. Same issue when download from GithHub (need to unzip that one) or link to Epubor…
I found the same thing
When I try to install DeDRM, I get the following message. What does it mean? How do I fix it. Thanks.
calibre, version 4.23.0
ERROR: Unhandled exception: InvalidPlugin:The plugin in u’C:\\Users\\cooki\\Desktop\\DeDRM_tools_6.8.0.zip’ is invalid. It does not contain a top-level __init__.py file
calibre 4.23 [64bit] embedded-python: True is64bit: True
Windows-10-10.0.18362-SP0 Windows (’64bit’, ‘WindowsPE’)
(‘Windows’, ’10’, ‘10.0.18362’)
Python 2.7.16+
Windows: (’10’, ‘10.0.18362’, ‘SP0′, u’Multiprocessor Free’)
Interface language: None
Successfully initialized third party plugins: DeDRM (6, 6, 3) && Find Duplicates (1, 7, 2) && EpubMerge (2, 11, 0)
Traceback (most recent call last):
File “site-packages\calibre\gui2\preferences\plugins.py”, line 317, in add_plugin
File “site-packages\calibre\customize\ui.py”, line 472, in add_plugin
File “site-packages\calibre\customize\ui.py”, line 61, in load_plugin
File “site-packages\calibre\customize\zipplugin.py”, line 194, in load
File “site-packages\calibre\customize\zipplugin.py”, line 292, in _locate_code
InvalidPlugin: The plugin in u’C:\\Users\\cooki\\Desktop\\DeDRM_tools_6.8.0.zip’ is invalid. It does not contain a top-level __init__.py file
Hello, thanks for making and sharing this information… The quality of my output ebook it not so good, does it get better if I use epubor?
Awesome guide. Are Calibre DeDRM work with google play books?
good day
when trying to load the plug in, I receive a error message with the below message
what can be done to still be able to work the plug in?
brgds
calibre, version 5.2.0
ERROR: Unhandled exception: SyntaxError:invalid syntax (calibre_plugins.dedrm.__init__, line 168)
calibre 5.2 embedded-python: True is64bit: True
macOS-10.15.7-x86_64-i386-64bit Darwin (’64bit’, ”)
(‘Darwin’, ‘19.6.0’, ‘Darwin Kernel Version 19.6.0: Mon Aug 31 22:12:52 PDT 2020; root:xnu-6153.141.2~1/RELEASE_X86_64’)
Python 3.8.5
OSX: (‘10.15.7’, (”, ”, ”), ‘x86_64’)
Interface language: None
Successfully initialized third party plugins:
Traceback (most recent call last):
File “calibre/gui2/preferences/plugins.py”, line 317, in add_plugin
File “calibre/customize/ui.py”, line 472, in add_plugin
File “calibre/customize/ui.py”, line 61, in load_plugin
File “calibre/customize/zipplugin.py”, line 282, in load
File “importlib/__init__.py”, line 127, in import_module
File “”, line 1014, in _gcd_import
File “”, line 991, in _find_and_load
File “”, line 975, in _find_and_load_unlocked
File “”, line 671, in _load_unlocked
File “calibre/customize/zipplugin.py”, line 174, in exec_module
File “calibre/customize/zipplugin.py”, line 170, in get_code
File “calibre_plugins.dedrm.__init__”, line 168
print u”{0} v{1}: Copying needed library files from plugin’s zip”.format(PLUGIN_NAME, PLUGIN_VERSION)
^
SyntaxError: invalid syntax
This is the message I get. Have you found a solution?
I’m having a problem with the KFX file I just bought. It will not upload to calibre. It keeps getting kicked over. Any suggestions, before my head explodes?!
Really enjoyed this post.Thanks Again. Want more.
Really informative blog article. Really thank you! Cool. Belia Zacharias Benson
Hello. This post was really fascinating, especially since I was investigating for thoughts on this issue last Wednesday. Corliss Roddie Riti
I loved your blog article. Really thank you! Great. Mellie Eldon Naam
Good post! We are linking to this great article on our site. Keep up the great writing. Bobine Marion Xanthe
For what it’s worth, you can remove DRM from Kindle rented/library books. The trick is to NOT use the KFX file format. That means using either an older version of the Kindle for PC software, or preventing the newer versions from downloading KFX files. If you hobble the Kindle for PC software so that the KFX render test fails, it will download the eBooks in the AZW3 (file extension .azw) format instead. And deDRM can easily unlock those files.
Using either method #1 or #2 from here: https://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=283371 should work for you. I’m using Kindle for PC v 1.24 with method #2 on my home PC. A friend from work is running Kindle v1.17 (which just doesn’t support KFX). Both of us can import Kindle Unlimited books (library rentals) without any trouble. But when we were getting AWS6 and KFX files, Calibre (via deDRM) couldn’t get past the encryption.
Were you able to solve it ? I am also facing the same issue with kindle version 1.17.1 , calibre 5.14 and DeDrm 7.1.0 . Can decrypt Kindle Unlimited rental books but cant decrypt purchased Kindle Books.
Amazing! Its actually amazing article, I have got much clear idea regarding from this piece of writing.
[…] have an article explaining how to remove DRM with Calibre DRM Plugin and the common FAQ on using the app, so I won’t repeat it here. If you are interested, please […]
Pretty! This was a really wonderful article. Many thanks for supplying this information.
I am not really good with English but I get hold this very easy to read.
Thanks for this post, I am a big fan of this site would like to go on updated.
Unfortunately the DRM Removal Plugin still doesn’t support newer Calibre Versions based on Python 3!
Can’t remove the DRM now. What should I do? I used the newest version of Calibre and DeDRM.
With respect !!!
To those with “Syntax Error” problems: you should download the version 7 or higher of the DeDRM, you can find in the same github page (I don’t know if I’m allowed to put links here). This error happens ’cause the Calibre’s version compatible with the DeDRM 6 is the Calibre 4.2 (not sure), and if you have the Calibre 5, you should go with the DeDRM 7 (Pre-release)
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Great tutorial well explained and very understandable , enjoyed it very much
Thank you!!!! this helped me A LOT.
Excellent Work.. Amazing. .Detailed Tut.. Thanks
Please make a ACTION present for this 😂
Man, I love your work, but just want a tutorial in which you explain each and everything on how you remove DRM from kindle ebooks.
Thank you so much for making this guide. I learned the basics of using Calibre to remove drm, and I had fun at the same time too!!
Love your way of making the steps so simple to pick up! Thanks 😀
Hi, Really enjoy to follow the simple steps you show. you have a great way of teaching.
Thank you for helping old people like me! seriously , thank you .
Thank you so much for sharing. 😍❤️❤️❤️
I joined your group, loved it keep teaching. Tks
helps a lot thank you~~
I’d be super interested in hearing your thoughts on epubor ultimate
Excellent guide. You took your time and explained everything. I thank you.
And man, every time someone mentions how great Calibre is I get closer to trying it…well, I’m just going to do it.
I need to remove drm from a .VBK file, Can calibre work on this?
Tyvm works on Calibre for Mac
Thank you so much this definitely worked I tried it today and it is so easy!
Latest version of DeDRM (released April 11, 2021) works with Calibre 5. It also retained configuration from the previous version of DeDRM that stopped working for me.
https://github.com/apprenticeharper/DeDRM_tools/releases/tag/v7.2.1
Thanks to Apprentice Harper for fixing this!