pdf2rmnotebook

October 16, 2025 · View on GitHub

rm1 rm2 rmPro rmProMove Discord

Creates a reMarkable Notebook from multiple PDF or PNG files compatible with RCU and rmapi.

Changelog

Version

  • V1.1 - All pdf pages are converted, no need to split file ( needs pdfinfo command )
  • V1.2.0 - Some options added: Verbosity, Usage, Version; Cleanup and Checks
  • V2.1.0 - Image formats png/jpg can be directly converted
    • -s option to scale notebook page size to ~A4
  • V2.2.0 - Convert to rmn files compatible with RCU
    • -r option to create rmn files
  • V2.2.1 - Fix duplicate pages. The .json file is not needed (anymore?) to give a name to the layer. Name is embedded in .rm file for each page.
  • V3.0.0 - DEV branch - Adding options for rM Pro, default to .rmdoc format, convert more filetypes
  • V3.1.0 - Convert text files using rmc
  • V3.2.0 - Merge aestethic, RMC and Color features ...
  • V3.3.0 - Optimize Size for rM Pro Move

Example

Combine multiple PDFs into a single, editable reMarkable (.rmn) document

$ ./pdf2rmnotebook.sh -r ./example/2d-3.pdf ./example/3d-1.pdf

The two PDFs are now combined and can be edited on the remarkable using all the standard tools: Combined PDF Example

Requirements

  • drawj2d
  • pdfinfo: from your distribution package manager:
    • Debian: poppler-utils
    • Homebrew: poppler
  • rmc optional converter, install via pip

Installation

Clone this repo locally and run the pdf2rmnotebook.sh script. Optionally, add the script and the ./var directory somewhere in your $PATH.

Optional *nix install:

sudo cp -r ./var/lib/pdf2rmnotebook /var/lib

Usage

Run the script followed by the list of PDF files, it will create a file that can be sent to the reMarkable using rmapi or RCU.

Original rmapi is unmantained but there is a new mantainer who forked it.

The .rmdoc format is directly uploadable using the USB Web interface of the tablet. See Guide

  pdf2rmnotebook [options] file.pdf [...]

Create multi-page reMarkable Notebook file from PDF files
  * Creates .zip files by default for use with rmapi
  * Use -r option to create a reMarkable Notebook .rmn file for use with RCU

Options:
  Switches (no arguments required):
    -h    Display this help and exit
    -q    Produce fewer messages to stdout
    -r    Create a reMarkable Notebook .rmn file
    -R    Create a reMarkable Notebook .rmdoc file
    -v    Produce more messages to stdout
    -V    Display version information and exit

  With arguments:
    -n NAME    Set the rmn Notebook Display Name (default: Notebook-<yyyymmdd_hhmm.ss>)
               Only used with -r option
    -o FILE    Set the output filename (default: Notebook-<yyyymmdd_hhmm.ss>.zip)
    -s SCALE   Set the scale value (default: 0.75) - 0.75 is a good value for A4/Letter PDFs

Example:
  pdf2rmnotebook -n "My Notebook" -o mynotebook.zip -s 1.0 file.pdf

Common Recipes:

Create a .zip file compatible with rmapi:

$ ./pdf2rmnotebook.sh ./example/2d-3.pdf ./example/3d-1.pdf

Create a .rmn file compatible with RCU:

$ ./pdf2rmnotebook.sh -r ./example/2d-3.pdf ./example/3d-1.pdf

Create a .rmn file, set the output filename and set the name that will be displayed on the reMarkable:

$ ./pdf2rmnotebook.sh -r -o combined_shapes -n "Shapes Notebook" ./example/2d-3.pdf ./example/3d-1.pdf

Create a scaled notebook from a png: $ ./pdf2rmnotebook.sh -s 2 ./example/flower.png

Acknowledgements