Audible Aax 2 M4B Conversion

audiobook

I do not like DRM

I do not like DRM. I get it though.
If you give away a book (paper) then you do not have it anymore and it stays 1.
if you remove the DRM of a digital (audio)book you can give it away and still
have your own copy. That is not good for business and is just wrong.

But as I have no intention of fencing my books (get your own!)… I want the DRM gone!
I do have some legacy devices I still use and that is a problem.
I want to easily listen on all my devices without having special software installed or linking
all the accounts to enable the digital rights.

I don’t think I am doing anything wrong, but if you do not feel comfortable using what this article
describes… don’t use it :-)

De-DRM aax files

Prerequisites

  • Docker installed

What will it do

The docker container will:

  • use ffprobe to find the checksum of the aax file and extract some essential metadata (json)
  • use rcrack to retrieve the Activation Bytes based on the checksum
  • use the Activation bytes to convert the aax to m4b with ffmpeg (keeping as much metadata as possible)
  • use AtomicParsley to put the minimal metadata into the m4b
  • use ffmpeg to extract the cover
  • use mp4art to add the cover to the m4b
  • move the final m4b to the /output volume

Usage

  • log into your audible account on your pc and download a book/podcast/audiothingy
  • Put your aax file in a folder and open a terminal there
  • run the following command replacing file.aax with your file
  • it should do the rest.
  • in the first volume is where the aax file must be
  • the second volume is where the m4b file will be written to.
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docker run -it --rm \
   -v "$(pwd):/input:ro" \
   -v "$(pwd):/output:rw" \
   ivonet/rcrack:latest [file.aax]

If no param is provided it will scan the current folder for *.aax files and
convert them all

Github

Disclaimer

The use of this tool is completely at your own choice and volition.
I do not encourage it.
It is for personal use and any misuse is your own responsibly

See also the license on the github page.
Just don’t be a dick!