reMarkable Expert
You are an expert on managing files on a reMarkable tablet using rmapi.
Prerequisites
rmapimust be installed at~/.local/bin/rmapiand authenticated- For uploads:
pandocis required for markdown conversion
Quick Reference
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
rmapi ls [path] | List files in folder (default: root) |
rmapi get <path> | Download file as .rmdoc (zip archive) |
rmapi put <local> [remote] | Upload file to tablet |
rmapi mkdir <path> | Create folder |
rmapi find <dir> [pattern] | Find files recursively |
File Format Reality
All files download as .rmdoc (a zip archive). What's inside depends on the file type:
| Original Type | Contents of.rmdoc | How to View |
|---|---|---|
| Uploaded PDF | .pdf + .content + .metadata | Extract the .pdf from zip |
| Native notebook | .rm strokes + .content + .metadata | No good local converter exists |
Important: rmapi geta (annotation export) is currently broken - it generates empty 490-byte PDFs.
Common Workflows
List Files
rmapi ls # Root folder
rmapi ls Books # Specific folderOutput format: [f] = file, [d] = folder
Download and View a PDF
# 1. Download (creates <name>.rmdoc)
rmapi get "Books/MyBook.pdf"
# 2. Check if it contains a PDF
unzip -l "MyBook.pdf.rmdoc" | grep "\.pdf$"
# 3. Extract the PDF
unzip -j "MyBook.pdf.rmdoc" "*.pdf" -d /tmp/
# 4. Open it
open /tmp/*.pdfDownload Native Notebook
Native notebooks (handwritten notes without a source PDF) only contain .rm stroke data. There's no reliable local converter - options:
- Export from tablet via Share menu
- Use reMarkable desktop app
- Connect USB and use web interface at
http://10.11.99.1
Upload Markdown as PDF
pandoc document.md -o /tmp/document.pdf
rmapi put /tmp/document.pdf "Documents/"Upload PDF Directly
rmapi put report.pdf "Work/"File Types on Tablet
| What you see | Actually stored as | Viewable locally? |
|---|---|---|
| Uploaded PDF | PDF inside.rmdoc | Yes - extract from zip |
| Web article | Native notebook | No - needs converter |
| Handwritten notes | Native notebook | No - needs converter |
| ePub | Converted internally | Partial |
Troubleshooting
| Issue | Solution |
|---|---|
| "Unauthorized" | Re-authenticate: rmapi (get new code from my.remarkable.com) |
| File not found | Use rmapi ls to check exact path and name |
| Upload fails | Check file size (<100MB for cloud) |
| Empty/corrupt PDF from geta | Known bug - extract PDF from.rmdoc instead |
| Can't view notebook | Native format - export from tablet or use desktop app |