I’ve had my Kobo Clara Colour for about three months now, and I’m really happy with it. It’s perfect sized, fits in the side pockets on my favorite pants, lasts a long time, and does everything I need it to do. I even have it on my tailnet.

What I’ve done to it

I’ve mostly kept my modifications light, at least after my initial obsession period. Kobo devices are just Linux machines running Alpine, which makes doing whatever you want to them pretty easy.

1. Bypassing registration

Annoyingly, the Kobo doesn’t come with an easy option to bypass registration, but with a computer, all it takes is editing one file.

2. SSH and Tailscale

Tailscale is an absolute must for me. My main use for it on the Kobo has been for using taildrop to get books onto the device, from my computer and even my phone.

This¹ Reddit post has simple instructions on getting it all set up (including the most succinct instructions on enabling ssh that I’ve found). I made sure to enable tailscale ssh when running tailscale up, so I never have to think about or find the device’s IP.

3. Nickel Menu

I’m running Nickel Menu, which lets you add additional menu options to the software. I’m adding a couple options.²

1. Activate USB - kicks the reader into USB mass storage mode, where it makes its internal storage accessible to whatever it’s plugged into. This saves me from having to unplug and plug it back in repeatedly when connecting it to my computer. I don’t use this much since I can use Tailscale ssh, but it’s nice to have.
2. IP Address - just shows the current IP addresses of the reader, on the network and on my tailnet.
3. Receive Drop - runs tailscale file get to receive whatever I’m taildropping and put it in my root folder, where the reader can find it when I use the built in Import Books function.
4. ts status - just prints the output of tailscale status.
5. Restart - what it says on the tin.

4. Dev mode

Enabling developer mode, which adds a couple extra options, is as simple as searching devmodeon from the library screen. Then Settings > Device Information > Developer options.

5. Screensavers

I have my Kobo showing a bunch of nice old posters and ads as screensavers. All it took was putting some images in the /mnt/onboard/screensaver directory. It randomly choses one every time the screen turns off. The color screen shows some old railroad and airline ads nicely, plus some early scans of stringlines.³

Happy?

Yes, happy. I really don’t have any complaints about the reader. My friends laugh at me for putting in my tailnet, but it means I can decide I want a book on it while out and about and do it with only my phone. I did this all in the first couple days of owning the Kobo, and haven’t really touched it since then. I did install KOReader for a bit, but decided I hate it, and have no problems with Nickel reader, the built in book reader.

  menu_item :main    :Activate USB       :nickel_misc        :force_usb_connection
  menu_item :main    :IP Address         :cmd_output         :500:/sbin/ifconfig | /usr/bin/awk '/inet addr/{print substr($2,6)}'
  menu_item :main    :Recieve Drop       :cmd_spawn          :tailscale file get /mnt/onboard
  menu_item :main    :ts status          :cmd_output         :500:tailscale status  menu_item :main    :Restart            :power              :reboot
  menu_item :reader  :Invert Screen      :nickel_setting     :toggle :invert
  menu_item :reader  :Invert Orientation :nickel_orientation :invert
  menu_item :library :Import books       :nickel_misc        :rescan_books_full
  menu_item :browser :Invert Screen      :nickel_setting     :toggle :invert
  menu_item :browser :Open Pop-Up        :nickel_browser     :modal