# kindle2notes

`kindle2notes` is a small C++17 command-line utility that converts Amazon
Kindle `My Clippings.txt` exports into structured notes.

Supported output formats:

- LaTeX (`--type=latex`)
- Markdown (`--type=md`)

Highlights are grouped by book title while preserving the order in which
books first appear in the input file.

## Input format

Each Kindle clipping is expected to have the following structure:

```text
Book Title
- Your Highlight on Location 123-125 | Added on ...

Highlighted text line 1
Highlighted text line 2
==========
```

The final clipping is processed even when the file does not end with the
`==========` separator. Incomplete clipping blocks are ignored.

## Output formats

### LaTeX

Books become sections, clipping metadata becomes subsections, and every
highlight receives an empty notes subsection:

```latex
\section {Book Title}
  \subsection {- Your Highlight on Location 123-125 | Added on ...}
    Highlighted text line 1
    Highlighted text line 2
      \subsubsection{notes}
```

LaTeX special characters are escaped automatically.

### Markdown

Books and clipping metadata become headings. Highlight text is emitted as a
Markdown block quote, followed by an empty notes heading:

```markdown
# Book Title

## - Your Highlight on Location 123-125 | Added on ...

> Highlighted text line 1
> Highlighted text line 2

### Notes
```

Empty lines inside highlights are preserved as `>` lines, and Markdown syntax
characters are escaped automatically.

## Architecture

Input parsing is implemented as a stage-driven pipeline with one handler for
each stage: title, metadata, and body. Handlers are registered and created
through the generic `TypeFactory` template, then cached for reuse while the
input is read.

Output generation uses a common abstract `Converter` interface. Concrete
converters are registered in another `TypeFactory` under their command-line
type names. The selected converter is created at runtime and invoked through
the common virtual `save()` method. Adding a new output format requires a new
`Converter` subclass and a corresponding factory registration.

## Build

The project has no Qt dependency. It requires a C++17 compiler and CMake 3.16
or newer.

```bash
cmake -S . -B build -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release
cmake --build build --parallel
```

The resulting executable is:

```text
build/kindle2notes
```

## Usage

Generate LaTeX:

```bash
./build/kindle2notes \
  --input "My Clippings.txt" \
  --output notes.tex \
  --type=latex
```

Generate Markdown:

```bash
./build/kindle2notes \
  --input "My Clippings.txt" \
  --output notes.md \
  --type=md
```

Short options are also available:

```bash
./build/kindle2notes -i input.txt -o notes.md -t md
```

| Argument | Short form | Description |
| --- | --- | --- |
| `--input` | `-i` | Path to the Kindle clippings file |
| `--output` | `-o` | Path to the generated file |
| `--type` | `-t` | Output format: `latex` or `md` |
| `--help` | `-h` | Show usage information |

If an unsupported output type is requested, the program prints the list of
available formats and exits without creating an output file.