Table of Contents
The reMarkable is a great piece of hardware. It is a paper-like e-ink tablet, and it runs a full Linux system under the hood. The entry price is steep for what the stock software gives you. But the device is open, so you can add a lot to it. It has the same do-it-yourself spirit as extending your browser with JavaScript bookmarklets.
Connecting via SSH
The reMarkable firmware uses the GPLv3 license. To meet it, SSH access is on for the user by default. You can find the login details at the bottom of the page under Settings > Help > Copyright and licenses. Store them in a CLI password manager, not a sticky note. The root password is short and easy to lose.
With those details, it is easy to connect to the tablet. It just has to be on the same network as your computer:
ssh root@<tablet-ip>
Once you connect, neofetch shows the system under the hood: Codex Linux on a Freescale i.MX6 SoloLite CPU.
Toltec
Toltec is a community-run package store for the reMarkable. It opens two things through the opkg package manager. First, the Entware repository, which holds plain Linux packages. Second, packages made just for the reMarkable.
Installation instructions are on the Toltec website.
Once it is set up, you can add a graphical package manager (nao). It lets you browse and install packages without SSH:
opkg install nao
A quick task manager (remux) makes switching between running apps easier:
opkg install remux
Press the middle button on the tablet to open the task manager. From there you can switch between the apps you have installed.
The nao interface exposes three repositories:
entware— generic Linux packagestoltec-rm1— packages specific to the reMarkable 1toltec-rmall— packages compatible with all reMarkable devices
From here you can install apps like KOReader right away, without touching SSH. The stock device reads PDF and EPUB. KOReader adds CBR, CBZ, and Mobi e-book formats on top of that.
In all, more than 1500 packages are on offer. They range from Apache and Node.js to, of course, Doom.
Interesting packages
- harmony — a sketching app with procedural drawing support
- fingerterm — a terminal emulator for the reMarkable
- recrossable — a crossword puzzle game
- Puzzles — a collection of logic puzzle games
- wordlet — a Wordle port for the tablet
- Dumbskull — a dungeon crawler
- minesweeper — classic Minesweeper
The awesome-reMarkable repository on GitHub keeps an up-to-date list of tools. It covers Git-based backup tools and custom calendar makers.
Reviewed 2026
The core steps above still hold as of 2026. SSH access is still on by default. Toltec is still the main community package source. The device opens root SSH with a vendor-set password. That is worth weighing in your home network threat model.
One catch: reMarkable's OTA firmware updates have broken Toltec setups in the past. The community has built scripts to limit the damage. Still, check the Toltec compatibility matrix before you update firmware. reMarkable 2 users should also note one thing. Some packages that only target the reMarkable 1 will not run on their device.
Are you buying a used reMarkable just to run third-party software? The reMarkable 1 still has wider Toltec package coverage than the reMarkable 2.
