PDF to Ebook Converter

Convert a PDF to one or more ebook formats using Calibre's ebook-convert.

Arguments

$ARGUMENTS — space-separated: first arg is the PDF path, optional second arg is the format(s).

• Format options: epub, mobi, azw3, all
• If no format is provided, ask the user which formats they want before proceeding.

Workflow

Step 1 — Parse arguments

Extract the PDF path from $ARGUMENTS. If a format argument is also present, use it. If not, ask:

Which formats would you like to export?

1. epub
2. mobi
3. azw3 (Kindle, recommended over mobi)
4. all (epub + mobi + azw3)

Wait for the user's response before continuing.

Step 2 — Validate inputs

1. Confirm the PDF file exists. If not, report the error and stop.
2. Check Calibre is installed:
   bashCopy

   which ebook-convert
   

   If missing, tell the user to install it:
   • Linux: sudo apt install calibre
   • macOS: brew install calibre
   • Then stop.

Step 3 — Check for scanned/image-only PDF (optional but recommended)

Run a quick text extraction check:

ebook-convert "<input.pdf>" /tmp/pdf_text_check.txt 2>/dev/null && wc -c /tmp/pdf_text_check.txt

If the output is fewer than 500 characters, the PDF is likely image-based (scanned). Warn the user:

This PDF appears to be scanned or image-based and may convert poorly. Would you like to run OCR first using ocrmypdf? (Requires: pip install ocrmypdf and tesseract)

If they say yes:

ocrmypdf "<input.pdf>" "<input_ocr.pdf>"

Use the OCR'd file for all subsequent conversions.

Step 4 — Convert

Derive the output base name from the input file (strip .pdf extension).

For each requested format, run:

ebook-convert "<input.pdf>" "<basename>.<format>" \
  --output-profile kindle_oasis \
  --enable-heuristics

Format-specific notes:

• epub: drop --output-profile; use --output-profile tablet instead
• mobi: use --output-profile kindle
• azw3: use --output-profile kindle_oasis (best Kindle compatibility)

Run conversions sequentially. Report each one as it completes.

Step 5 — Report results

List each output file with its path and size:

ls -lh "<basename>.epub" "<basename>.mobi" "<basename>.azw3" 2>/dev/null

If any conversion failed, show the error output from ebook-convert.

Example invocations

/pdf-to-ebook book.pdf
/pdf-to-ebook book.pdf epub
/pdf-to-ebook book.pdf all
/pdf-to-ebook /path/to/document.pdf azw3