kinduino
Turn end-of-life Kindles into an Arduino-programmable e-ink platform.
- Add-on
- Beta
- High brick risk
This project hasn't been claimed by its maintainer yet, so its details come from the community. Is it yours? Claim it
Private-beta build. Assets: the Boards-Manager index (package_kindle_index.json) + host CLIs (macOS arm64/x86_64, Linux, Windows), the pinned Zig toolchain, the platform archive, and the on-device runtime zip (kinduino-device-*.zip, installed via KUAL). See docs/getting-started.md and docs/building-from-source.md.
Before you start
- How hard is it?
- MediumInstall an app on your computer and follow its steps.
- What you need
- Comfort with the command line
- A computer
- Another hack installed first
- Can it break my device?
- Could leave your device unusable.
- Can I undo it?
- The project doesn't say. Assume you can't.
Did it work for you?
Did kinduino v0.5.2 work on your Amazon Kindle 4?
No reports yet for v0.5.2.
One-tap reports from owners. Bricked reports are checked before they count.
Compatibility
Devices: Amazon Kindle 4.
No compatibility information yet.
Getting started
From the project's README ("Quick start"):
> New here? The getting-started guide picks up once your Kindle is > jailbroken (with KUAL + usbnet) — install the runtime → your first sketch → a guided tour of the > examples. Jailbreaking the Kindle itself is a separate community effort kinduino doesn't cover; the > guide points you at where that's documented. The terse version for people who've done this before is > right below.
Use it from the Arduino IDE
First, the device prerequisites: your Kindle must already be jailbroken, with KUAL and the usbnet hackpack (which provides fbink) installed — kinduino is a KUAL extension that rides on top of these, it doesn't replace your firmware. See docs/device-prerequisites.md for the full list and how to verify it.
Install via Boards Manager (recommended): in Preferences → Additional Boards Manager URLs add
https://github.com/best-effort-labs/kinduino/releases/latest/download/packagekindleindex.json
then Tools → Board → Boards Manager, search Kinduino, and Install. That URL always tracks the newest release. Separately install the device runtime (Boards Manager does not do this): download kinduino-device-.zip from the latest release, unzip it and copy the kinduino/ folder into the Kindle's extensions/ folder over USB, then on the Kindle run KUAL → Kinduino → Install / Update Kinduino — this activates the runtime on the device and is required before any sketch will run (copying the folder alone is not enough; full steps in docs/device-prerequisites.md). Then pick …
Risk and recovery
- Brick risk
- High
- Requires opening the device
- No
From the project's README ("Safety & expectations"):
kinduino is experimental software for jailbroken devices, provided as-is with no warranty (see LICENSE). It stops and restarts your Kindle's reader framework and installs a root-run supervisor into /var/local — it can leave the device in a bad state or, worst case, brick it. Use it entirely at your own risk.
What we do try to do: be reasonably robust against honest mistakes — sketches run unprivileged (nobody) by default, the launcher always tries to restore the framework even if a sketch crashes, and kinduino-recover is provided to un-wedge a device. What we do not claim: this is not hardened against malicious sketches or attackers. A sketch is code you compile and install yourself; the privilege drop limits the blast radius of a buggy sketch, not a hostile one — only run sketches you understand. If a device gets stuck, see recovery in device/launcher/README.md.
Releases
| Version | Name | Released |
|---|---|---|
| v0.5.2 | kinduino v0.5.2Latest | 15 July 2026 |
Credits, license and support
- License
- MIT