📚 Archive.org Book Liberator

A complete tool to extract and convert "Borrow Only" books from Internet Archive into local PDFs, bypassing timeout errors and download limitations.

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🌟 Why Use This?

Have you ever tried downloading a book from Internet Archive and encountered:

• ❌ Timeout errors (file too large)
• ❌ Corrupted or incomplete PDFs
• ❌ "Borrow Only" with no download option
• ❌ CSP/BLOB protections blocking traditional tools

This tool solves ALL these problems with a two-step approach:

1. Browser Script: Captures pages visually directly from the browser (bypassing blob/CSP protections)
2. PDF Binder: Combines all downloaded images into a clean, organized PDF file

⚠️ Legal Notice: This tool is intended for personal archival and research purposes. Respect copyright laws and Internet Archive's Terms of Service.

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🚀 Complete Usage Guide

Step 1: Extract Images (In Browser)

1. Visit Internet Archive and log in
2. Find your desired book and click "Borrow for 1 hour" (or 14 days)
3. Open the book viewer
4. Switch to "One-page view" - single page icon at the top
5. Open Developer Console:
   • Windows/Linux: F12 or Ctrl + Shift + I
   • Mac: Cmd + Option + I
   • Then click the "Console" tab
6. Copy the script from browser-script.js file (or see here)
7. Paste into console and press Enter

What will happen:

• 🔄 Script will automatically turn pages
• 📥 Each page downloads as .jpg to your Downloads folder
• ⏳ Waits for complete loading before proceeding (resilient to slow internet)
• 📊 Shows real-time progress in console

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Step 2: Generate PDF (On Your Computer)

1. Clone this repository:

   git clone https://github.com/YuriTheCoder/archive-book-liberator.git
   cd archive-book-liberator

2. Install dependencies:

   npm install

3. Organize images:

   • Move all downloaded images to the images/ folder (already exists)
   • Script automatically sorts them (even if filenames are out of order)

4. Run the converter:

   npm start

5. Done! 🎉
   The book.pdf file will be generated in the project root.

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🛠️ How It Works (Technical Explanation)

The Browser Script (browser-script.js)

Many Archive.org books use CSP protections (Content Security Policy) and BLOBs that prevent simple downloads via fetch or direct download.

Our solution:

1. Renders the protected image on an invisible <canvas> in memory
2. Exports pixels to Base64 using toDataURL()
3. Forces local download, bypassing network restrictions
4. Automatically detects when page finishes loading to avoid:
   • ❌ Blank images
   • ❌ Duplicates
   • ❌ Cropped pages

Technologies:

• HTML5 Canvas API
• Async/Await for flow control
• KeyboardEvent API for navigation

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The Converter (src/index.js)

Uses Node.js to process images with:

• ✅ Natural Sort Algorithm (smart ordering): ensures page_10.jpg comes after page_9.jpg (not after page_1.jpg)
• ✅ Multiple format support: .jpg, .jpeg, .png
• ✅ Robust validation: checks if folder exists and contains valid images
• ✅ Visual feedback: shows progress and detailed errors

Technologies:

• Node.js fs module
• images-to-pdf library
• Natural number sorting regex

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📦 Project Structure

archive-book-liberator/
├── browser-script.js   ← 📋 Copy this code to browser console
├── src/
│   └── index.js        ← 🔧 Node.js script that generates the PDF
├── images/             ← 📁 Put your images here (ignored by Git)
├── .gitignore          ← 🚫 Prevents upload of images and node_modules
├── package.json        ← 📦 Project dependencies
└── README.md           ← 📖 You are here!

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🎯 Browser Script

See the browser-script.js file for the most up-to-date version. Example snippet:

// ⚙️ CONFIGURATION - Change here!
let START_PAGE = 1;      // First page to download
let END_PAGE = 688;      // Last page to download
let BOOK_NAME = "book";  // Base filename

// The rest is automatic! 🚀

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💡 Tips and Troubleshooting

Problem: "No images found"

• ✅ Make sure you're in "One-page view" mode
• ✅ Wait for page to fully load before running script

Problem: Blank pages

• ✅ Increase timeout in script (IMAGE_TIMEOUT variable)
• ✅ Slow internet? Script already waits up to 15s automatically

Problem: PDF out of order

• ✅ Script already sorts automatically! If still having issues, rename images with sequential numbers: 001.jpg, 002.jpg, etc.

Problem: Too many pages (500+)

• ✅ Split into batches (e.g., pages 1-300, then 301-600)
• ✅ Browser may limit simultaneous downloads

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🤝 Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Feel free to:

• 🐛 Report bugs
• 💡 Suggest new features
• 🔧 Submit Pull Requests
• ⭐ Star this project if it helped you!

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📄 License

This project is under the MIT license - see the LICENSE file for details.

Disclaimer: This tool is for educational and personal archival use. Users are responsible for complying with copyright laws in their jurisdiction.

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⭐ Credits

Developed with ❤️ by YuriTheCoder

Built to help researchers, students, and book enthusiasts worldwide.

If this project saved you hours of frustration, consider:

• ⭐ Giving it a star on GitHub
• 🔄 Sharing with others who need it

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Happy reading! 📖✨