LIT Commands Reference

Purpose

Complete command-line reference for all LIT (eBook) format operations. This document provides detailed syntax, options, and examples for the 3 LIT commands.

References

• Getting Started Guide

• LIT Format Guide

• Ruby API Reference

Concepts

LIT commands operate on Microsoft Reader eBook files with LZX compression. Commands handle DRM detection and operate only on unencrypted files.

Command Overview

Command	Purpose
lit-extract	Extract files from LIT eBook
lit-create	Create LIT eBook file
lit-info	Show LIT file information

---

lit-extract - Extract LIT Files

Extract all files from a Microsoft Reader LIT eBook file.

Syntax

cabriolet lit-extract [OPTIONS] FILE [OUTPUT_DIR]

Parameters

FILE

(required) Path to the LIT file to extract

OUTPUT_DIR

(optional) Directory to extract files to (default: current directory)

Options

--output, -o

Output directory (alternative to positional argument)

--verbose, -v

Show extraction progress for each file

Returns

• Exit code 0 on success

• Exit code 1 on error (including DRM-encrypted files)

• Exit code 3 if file not found

• Exit code 4 if permission denied

Description

The lit-extract command extracts all files from a LIT eBook archive. Files compressed with LZX are automatically decompressed. DRM-encrypted files cannot be extracted and will result in an error.

Examples

Extract to current directory

cabriolet lit-extract book.lit

Output

Extracted 15 file(s) to .

Extract to specific directory

cabriolet lit-extract book.lit output/

Extract with verbose output

cabriolet lit-extract --verbose book.lit extracted/

Output

Extracting 15 files from book.lit

  content.html (524,288 bytes, LZX)... OK
  chapter01.html (65,536 bytes, LZX)... OK
  chapter02.html (65,536 bytes, LZX)... OK
  style.css (2,048 bytes, LZX)... OK
  metadata.xml (1,024 bytes, LZX)... OK
  cover.jpg (32,768 bytes, uncompressed)... OK
  image01.png (16,384 bytes, uncompressed)... OK
  ...

Extracted 15 file(s) to extracted/

DRM-encrypted file (error)

cabriolet lit-extract encrypted-book.lit

Output

Error: LIT file is DRM-encrypted. Decryption not yet supported.

Using output option

cabriolet lit-extract -o ebook-content/ book.lit

Common Errors

• LIT file is DRM-encrypted: File has DRM protection, decryption not supported

• Invalid LIT signature: File is not a valid LIT file

• LZX decompression failed: Compressed content is corrupted

• Cannot create output directory: Verify write permissions

See Also

• lit-info - Check for DRM before extraction

• lit-create - Create LIT files

• LIT Format Guide - Extracting

---

lit-create - Create LIT File

Create a new Microsoft Reader LIT eBook file from HTML and resources.

Syntax

cabriolet lit-create [OPTIONS] OUTPUT FILES...

Parameters

OUTPUT

(required) Path for the new LIT file

FILES…​

(required) One or more files to add (HTML, images, etc.)

Options

--compress

Compress files with LZX (default: true)

--no-compress

Do not compress files

--verbose, -v

Show creation progress

Returns

• Exit code 0 on success

• Exit code 1 on error

• Exit code 2 if no files specified

• Exit code 3 if source files not found

• Exit code 4 if permission denied

Description

The lit-create command builds a new LIT eBook file from HTML content and resources. HTML and text files are compressed with LZX by default, while images and media remain uncompressed.

Examples

Create with default compression

cabriolet lit-create book.lit content.html cover.jpg style.css

Output

Created book.lit (128,512 bytes, 3 files)

Create without compression

cabriolet lit-create --no-compress book.lit content.html

Create with verbose output

cabriolet lit-create --verbose book.lit *.html *.css cover.jpg

Output

Creating book.lit with 5 file(s)

Adding files:
  content.html -> content.html (compressed)
    Original: 524,288 bytes
    Compressed: 131,072 bytes
    Ratio: 75.0%

  chapter01.html -> chapter01.html (compressed)
    Original: 65,536 bytes
    Compressed: 16,384 bytes
    Ratio: 75.0%

  style.css -> style.css (compressed)
    Original: 2,048 bytes
    Compressed: 512 bytes
    Ratio: 75.0%

  cover.jpg -> cover.jpg (uncompressed)
    Size: 32,768 bytes

  metadata.xml -> metadata.xml (compressed)
    Original: 1,024 bytes
    Compressed: 256 bytes
    Ratio: 75.0%

Writing LIT structure...
  Header: 96 bytes
  Manifest: 2,048 bytes
  Content streams: 180,224 bytes

Created book.lit (182,368 bytes, 5 files)
Overall compression: 71.2%

Create from directory

cabriolet lit-create mybook.lit chapters/*.html images/*.png

Common Errors

• No files specified: Provide at least one file to add

• Cannot create output file: Verify write permissions and disk space

• Source file not found: Check all file paths are correct

• Compression failed: Input file may be unreadable

See Also

• lit-extract - Extract LIT files

• LIT Format Guide - Creating

• Creating Archives Guide

---

lit-info - Show LIT Information

Display detailed information about a Microsoft Reader LIT file.

Syntax

cabriolet lit-info [OPTIONS] FILE

Parameters

FILE

(required) Path to the LIT file to analyze

Options

--verbose, -v

Show additional technical details

Returns

• Exit code 0 on success

• Exit code 1 on error

• Exit code 3 if file not found

Description

The lit-info command displays metadata about a LIT file, including version, encryption status, file count, and individual file information.

Examples

Basic information

cabriolet lit-info book.lit

Output

LIT File Information
==================================================
Filename: book.lit
Version: 1
Encrypted: No
Files: 15

Files:
  content.html
    Size: 524,288 bytes
    Compression: LZX
  cover.jpg
    Size: 32,768 bytes
    Compression: none
  metadata.xml
    Size: 1,024 bytes
    Compression: LZX

DRM-encrypted file

cabriolet lit-info encrypted-book.lit

Output

LIT File Information
==================================================
Filename: encrypted-book.lit
Version: 1
Encrypted: Yes (DES)
Files: 20

WARNING: This file is DRM-encrypted.
Decryption is not supported.

Files:
  content.html
    Size: 524,288 bytes
    Compression: LZX [encrypted]
  cover.jpg
    Size: 32,768 bytes
    Compression: none [encrypted]
  ...

Verbose information

cabriolet lit-info --verbose book.lit

Output

LIT File Information
==================================================
Filename: book.lit
Version: 1
Encrypted: No
Total files: 15

File Statistics:
  Compressed (LZX): 12 files
  Uncompressed: 3 files

Files:
  content.html
    Size: 524,288 bytes
    Compression: LZX
    Compressed size: 131,072 bytes
    Compression ratio: 75.0%

  chapter01.html
    Size: 65,536 bytes
    Compression: LZX
    Compressed size: 16,384 bytes
    Compression ratio: 75.0%

  style.css
    Size: 2,048 bytes
    Compression: LZX
    Compressed size: 512 bytes
    Compression ratio: 75.0%

  cover.jpg
    Size: 32,768 bytes
    Compression: none
    Format: JPEG

  image01.png
    Size: 16,384 bytes
    Compression: none
    Format: PNG

Overall Statistics:
  Total uncompressed: 626,688 bytes
  Total compressed: 180,224 bytes
  Overall compression: 71.2%

Check multiple files

for file in ebooks/*.lit; do
  echo "=== $file ==="
  cabriolet lit-info "$file"
  echo
done

Common Errors

• Invalid LIT signature: File is not a valid LIT file

• Unsupported LIT version: LIT version not recognized

See Also

• lit-extract - Extract LIT files

• LIT Format Guide - Checking Files

---

Global Options

All LIT commands support these global options:

--verbose, -v

Enable verbose output with detailed progress

--help, -h

Display command help

--version

Show Cabriolet version

See Global Options for complete details.

Exit codes

Code	Meaning
0	Success
1	General error (including DRM-encrypted files)
2	Invalid arguments
3	File not found
4	Permission denied
5	Corrupt file
6	Unsupported format

DRM Limitations

Cabriolet cannot decrypt DRM-protected LIT files. DRM decryption requires:

• Original Microsoft Reader installation

• Valid activation key

• Owner-specific decryption key

Always check encryption status with lit-info before attempting extraction.

Common Workflows

Check for DRM Before Extraction

# Safely extract only non-DRM books
for file in ebooks/*.lit; do
  if cabriolet lit-info "$file" | grep -q "Encrypted: No"; then
    echo "Extracting $file (no DRM)"
    cabriolet lit-extract "$file" "extracted/$(basename "$file" .lit)"
  else
    echo "Skipping $file (DRM-encrypted)"
  fi
done

Convert LIT to Other Formats

# Extract LIT and convert to EPUB/HTML
for file in *.lit; do
  base=$(basename "$file" .lit)

  # Check for DRM
  if cabriolet lit-info "$file" | grep -q "Encrypted: Yes"; then
    echo "Cannot convert $file: DRM-encrypted"
    continue
  fi

  # Extract
  cabriolet lit-extract "$file" "temp/$base"

  # Convert HTML to other format (using external tools)
  # pandoc "temp/$base/content.html" -o "$base.epub"

  echo "Converted: $file -> $base.epub"
done

Create eBook Collection

# Create LIT eBooks from HTML chapters
for book_dir in content/*/; do
  book_name=$(basename "$book_dir")

  # Gather files
  html_files=("$book_dir"chapters/*.html)
  images=("$book_dir"images/*)

  # Create LIT file
  cabriolet lit-create \
    "ebooks/$book_name.lit" \
    "${html_files[@]}" \
    "${images[@]}"

  echo "Created: $book_name.lit"
done

Validate eBook Library

# Validate all LIT files in library
echo "eBook Library Validation Report" > report.txt
echo "===============================" >> report.txt
echo >> report.txt

total=0
encrypted=0
corrupted=0

for file in library/*.lit; do
  total=$((total + 1))

  if ! cabriolet lit-info "$file" > /dev/null 2>&1; then
    echo "CORRUPTED: $file" >> report.txt
    corrupted=$((corrupted + 1))
  elif cabriolet lit-info "$file" | grep -q "Encrypted: Yes"; then
    echo "DRM: $file" >> report.txt
    encrypted=$((encrypted + 1))
  else
    echo "OK: $file" >> report.txt
  fi
done

echo >> report.txt
echo "Summary:" >> report.txt
echo "  Total: $total" >> report.txt
echo "  DRM-encrypted: $encrypted" >> report.txt
echo "  Corrupted: $corrupted" >> report.txt
echo "  Valid unencrypted: $((total - encrypted - corrupted))" >> report.txt

cat report.txt

Next steps

• Review Basic Usage Guide for usage examples

• Study Ruby API Reference for Ruby integration

• Learn about LZX compression

• Understand DRM limitations

Bibliography

• Cabriolet on GitHub

• Wikipedia: Microsoft Reader

• ConvertLIT - LIT Conversion Tool