rm-pad

This is a simple program that takes input from a reMarkable tablet (only for rm2 right now, might work on rmpp too but untested) and converts it into libinput devices. This project only works on linux, and is only tested on wayland.

Features:

• Pen input (position, pressure and tilt)
• Touch input (multi-touch gestures, tapping and moving)
• Configurable palm rejection (disables touch input for a configurable grace period if any pen input is detected, default 500ms)
• Screen orientation support (portrait, landscape-right, landscape-left, inverted)
• Input grab (enabled by default): A small helper binary is uploaded to /tmp on the tablet and uses EVIOCGRAB to exclusively grab the input devices. The tablet UI (xochitl) keeps running but receives no pen/touch events. The grab is automatically released when rm-pad exits or the SSH connection drops — no reboot or manual cleanup needed. Use --no-grab-input to disable.
• Works over both wifi and USB
• Very low latency (as long as your connection to the tablet is fast)
• Runs in userspace (as long as your user is allowed to create input devices)
• Debug mode: rm-pad dump touch or rm-pad dump pen to dump raw input events

Installation

Either build it yourself, use the prebuilt binaries from GitHub releases.

Arch Linux

I haven't added this to the AUR yet, but I've created a PKGBUILD, so you can install it easily on arch:

git clone https://aur.archlinux.org/rm-pad.git
cd rm-pad
makepkg -si

The package includes a udev rule for uinput access and a systemd user service. After installation, follow the setup instructions below.

Building from source

You'll need Rust and C cross-compilers for ARM:

Ubuntu/Debian:

sudo apt install gcc-arm-linux-gnueabihf gcc-aarch64-linux-gnu

Arch Linux:

sudo pacman -S arm-linux-gnueabihf-gcc aarch64-linux-gnu-gcc

You can also set ARMV7_CC and AARCH64_CC environment variables to point to your cross-compilers.

Then build with:

cargo build --release

Setup

SSH Authentication

For passwordless SSH access, copy your SSH key to the tablet:

ssh-copy-id root@10.11.99.1

If connecting over WiFi, replace 10.11.99.1 with your tablet's IP address. The default password is usually root (or check your reMarkable documentation).

Udev Rules (required for userspace operation)

To allow rm-pad to create virtual input devices, you need to set up udev rules:

sudo cp data/50-uinput.rules /etc/udev/rules.d/
sudo groupadd -f uinput
sudo usermod -aG uinput $USER

Then log out and back in (or reboot), and reload udev rules:

sudo udevadm control --reload-rules

Systemd Service (optional, for automatic startup)

rm-pad can run as a persistent user service that automatically reconnects whenever the tablet becomes reachable:

1. Install the systemd service:

mkdir -p ~/.config/systemd/user
cp data/rm-pad.service ~/.config/systemd/user/

2. Enable and start the service:

systemctl --user enable --now rm-pad.service

The service runs in the background and handles connection/disconnection automatically — just plug in your tablet and it starts forwarding input. When you unplug, it detects the disconnection and waits for the next connection.

This defaults to only running when connected over USB. You can modify the service file if you want it to work over wifi, but then you can't use your remarkable while on wifi and the experience is often subpar over a wireless connection.

Configuration

Config file search order:

1. RMPAD_CONFIG environment variable (if set)
2. ./rm-pad.toml (current directory)
3. ~/.config/rm-pad.toml (user config directory)

Copy the rm-pad.toml.example file to one of these locations (recommended: ~/.config/rm-pad.toml) and change the options to your preferences.

Connection settings

• host: reMarkable tablet IP address or hostname. Default is 10.11.99.1 (USB connection). For WiFi, use your tablet's IP address.
• key_path: Path to SSH private key for authentication. Defaults to your default SSH key (~/.ssh/id_ed25519, ~/.ssh/id_rsa, etc.). Only used if password is not set.
• password: Root password for SSH authentication. If set, key_path is ignored. Warning: Restrict file permissions with chmod 600 if storing password in config file.

You can also use environment variables:

• RMPAD_HOST: Override host
• RMPAD_PASSWORD: Override password
• RMPAD_CONFIG: Override config file path

Behavior options

• touch_only: Run touch input only (no pen)
• pen_only: Run pen input only (no touch)
• grab_input: Grab input exclusively (prevents tablet UI from seeing input, default: true)
• no_palm_rejection: Disable palm rejection
• palm_grace_ms: Palm rejection grace period in milliseconds (default: 500)
• orientation: Screen orientation - portrait, landscape-right (default), landscape-left, or inverted

All options can also be set via command-line flags. Run rm-pad --help for details.

Usage

Run rm-pad to start forwarding input. The program will automatically reconnect if the connection drops.

For debugging, use the dump command:

rm-pad dump touch  # Dump raw touch events
rm-pad dump pen    # Dump raw pen events