Writerdeck for reMarkable 1
July 23, 2026 · View on GitHub
A distraction-free word processor for the first generation reMarkable. Supports Bluetooth and USB keyboards. Optionally syncs your documents to a private GitHub repository of your choice. Optionally encrypts files. Saves files as Markdown.
Natively, the reMarkable 1 supports the "draw", "write by hand" and "read" use cases. With this app, "use as typewriter" is also supported.
The reMarkable 1 has a large e-ink screen and a quiet OS, but no word processor and no keyboard support. This fills the gap.
Bluetooth keyboards pair to your phone and bridge over Wi-Fi. USB keyboards use an OTG cable.
Project status
A usable appliance. As with any software there's improvement potential, but a whole lot is working as intended. Latest: five languages supported, both in UI and as USB keyboard layouts. Various keyboard shortcuts, e.g. Esc toggles Markdown preview when editing. So far a one-person activity. All contributions, including user testing, is highly appreciated! :-)
Install
Need: a reMarkable 1 (not 2), a Mac or Linux computer on the same Wi-Fi, and the tablet awake.
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Download the installer. Unzip it and open a terminal in that folder.
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Run:
bash scripts/install.sh --start
If Writerdeck is stuck or something looks wrong after a bad install:
systemctl disable --now writerdeck && systemctl start xochitl
Optional GitHub sync
As suggested during install: Create a private, personal GitHub repo for your notes. Set a fine-grained access token with Contents read/write on that repo only. See img/create-token.png for details. When the install is finished, use the phone interface to submit the token. For security reasons, is never stored on the reMarkable.
Starting and quitting
Launch by mashing both page buttons simultaneously. Quit by pressing the home/ middle button (from editor to documents, and from documents to main reMarkable UI).
For developers
Feel free to contribute in every way!
Primary source: keywriter by Singleton (dps). Forked as Writerdeck-keywriter (separate repo from this one). The improved modifier key / chord handling lives there. Maybe part can be a usable element for other keywriter-derived projects.
Also ideas from crazy-cow.
The project is heavily LLM-assisted and only partly human-reviewed.
Pieces
- Writerdeck — full-screen editor from our keywriter fork
- Writerdeck-server — e.g. serves the phone page
- Phone page — captures Bluetooth keyboard keystrokes
License
MIT © 2026 Bjørn Tennøe. Keywriter is third-party with its own license.