Find vocab.db yourself
Where the Kindle keeps its Vocabulary Builder database, and how to hand that file to Book2Deck when direct reading is not available.
Every word you look up in the built-in dictionary is stored on the Kindle in a single SQLite file:
system/vocabulary/vocab.dbsystem is a hidden folder at the root of the device. Its contents are the same file the
direct USB route reads; picking it by hand produces identical
cards.
Windows
The Kindle appears in Explorer as a portable device. Turn on View → Hidden items, open
the device, then system → vocabulary, and copy vocab.db somewhere convenient.
This is the recommended route on Windows. The MTP stack there belongs to the operating system, so a browser cannot claim the interface for direct reading.
macOS
macOS has no built-in MTP support, so the Kindle does not appear in Finder at all. You need
one of: Amazon’s Send to Kindle USB File Manager, OpenMTP, or Android File
Transfer. Open the device in one of them, navigate to system/vocabulary/ and copy the
file out.
If that sounds like a detour, it is — on macOS the direct route is both easier and faster, and it is the configuration Book2Deck has been tested on most.
Linux
Most desktops mount MTP devices automatically through gvfs. The Kindle usually appears in
the file manager, and system/vocabulary/vocab.db can be copied like any other file.
Note that an automatic mount is also what prevents direct reading: if gvfs has claimed the device, the browser cannot.
Loading the file
Open the importer and use Choose a file. The database is parsed inside your browser; the file is not uploaded anywhere, and this route works in any modern browser, including Safari, Firefox and mobile ones.
Two files that are not the database
vocab.db-wal— a write-ahead log sitting next to the database. If it is present, the Kindle has changes not yet folded into the main file, and the newest handful of lookups may be missing. Book2Deck says so instead of pretending the import is complete. Eject the device properly and the Kindle usually merges it.backup_vocab_<date>.db— the device’s own backup. It is older than the live database. You can import it, but you will get the vocabulary as it was on that date.
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