E-Ink Sync

Local-first bridge between your reMarkable tablet and Obsidian. Extract PDF highlights as linked markdown -- no cloud, no subscription, no data leaving your network.

What it does

1. Syncs your reMarkable's document files to your computer via Syncthing (local network only)
2. Extracts text highlights from PDFs into Obsidian markdown notes with backlinks
3. Renders pen stroke annotations as PNG images embedded in your notes
4. Manages your tablet library from an Obsidian sidebar -- browse, search, archive, delete

Works with reMarkable 1 (512MB RAM) and reMarkable 2. Supports firmware 3.0+ (v6 .rm format) and legacy firmware (v3/v5 format).

Why this plugin needs Python

Most Obsidian plugins are pure JavaScript. This one isn't — and the answer to "why?" is short: the reMarkable's v6 .rm binary format has exactly one mature parser, rmscene, and it's Python. There's no JavaScript port. Similarly, PyMuPDF is the only library that reliably extracts PDF text together with its bounding-box coordinates — which is what makes correlating a highlight rectangle back to the underlying text actually work. pdf.js exposes text but not coordinates cleanly.

The plugin spawns Python only when you trigger sync or extraction; if Python isn't installed, the plugin still loads and surfaces a clear error in the setup wizard rather than silently breaking.

Prerequisites

Install Python dependencies

pip install rmscene PyMuPDF

Windows users: disable Python Store aliases

Windows ships with python.exe and python3.exe aliases that open the Microsoft Store instead of running Python. The plugin will silently fail to extract highlights if these are active.

Fix: Settings > Apps > Advanced app settings > App execution aliases -- turn off python.exe and python3.exe.

Installation

From source (development)

git clone <repo-url>
cd remarkable-obsidian
npm install
npm run build

Then install the plugin into your vault using the install script:

# Interactive (prompts for vault path)
npm run install-plugin

# With vault path argument
npm run install-plugin -- /path/to/your/vault

# Or via environment variable
OBSIDIAN_VAULT=/path/to/your/vault npm run install-plugin

The script copies main.js, manifest.json, styles.css, extraction/, and templates/ into <vault>/.obsidian/plugins/eink-sync/. Re-run it after each npm run build to update.

Alternative: symlink for live development

If you prefer changes to appear immediately without re-running the install script:

# Mac/Linux
ln -s "$(pwd)" "<vault>/.obsidian/plugins/eink-sync"

# Windows (PowerShell, run as Admin)
New-Item -ItemType Junction -Path "<vault>\.obsidian\plugins\eink-sync" -Target "$(Get-Location)"

First-time setup

1. Enable the plugin in Obsidian settings
2. A setup wizard opens automatically -- follow the steps to configure:
   • SSH connection to your tablet (USB or WiFi)
   • Syncthing sync folder
   • Output folder for highlight notes
3. The plugin creates three folders in your vault:

Usage

Extracting highlights

Click the reMarkable icon in the sidebar to open the library view, then click the refresh button (top-right). This:

1. Asks Syncthing to check for new files from the tablet
2. Waits for the sync to settle
3. Runs the Python extraction pipeline
4. Updates your highlight notes

You can also use the command palette: E-Ink Sync: Extract highlights.

What gets extracted

Note: Text-selection highlights produce the best results -- you get the actual text as searchable markdown. Pen strokes (including the pen-style highlighter) are rendered as images only. The extractor does not currently OCR pen-stroke annotations to recover text.

Output format

Each document produces a markdown file like:

---
title: "Paper Title"
source_pdf: "[[uuid.pdf]]"
source_type: pdf
highlight_count: 3
remarkable_uuid: abc-123
---

<!-- eink-sync:start -->
### Page 5

> The highlighted text passage
> -- [[uuid.pdf#page=5|Page 5]]

![[Paper Title_p5.png|500]]
<!-- eink-sync:end -->

Everything between the <!-- eink-sync:start/end --> markers is managed by the plugin. Content outside the markers (your own notes) is preserved across re-extractions. Notes written by the pre-rename plugin (which used <!-- remarkable-bridge:start/end -->) are still recognised and migrated to the new markers on the next extraction.

How sync works

reMarkable tablet
    |
    | Syncthing (local WiFi / USB)
    v
Vault/reMarkable/Sync/          <-- raw xochitl files (UUIDs)
    |
    | Python extraction pipeline
    v
Vault/reMarkable/Highlights/     <-- readable markdown + PNGs

All data stays on your local network. The plugin never contacts reMarkable Cloud or any external server.

Incremental extraction

By default, the plugin only processes documents modified since the last extraction (based on the lastModified timestamp in each document's .metadata file). To force a full re-extraction of all documents, use the Sync button in the library view or the command palette.

Important: folder configuration

Changing folder paths

When you change any folder path in settings, a migration dialog appears:

• Shows how many files exist at the old path
• Offers three options: Move to new location, Keep in old location, or Cancel
• If you choose Move, all files (including subdirectories like drawings/) are relocated
• If the sync folder changes, the extraction timestamp is automatically reset so all documents in the new folder are re-processed

The file watcher and Syncthing configuration are updated automatically.

Archive folder location

The archive folder must not be inside the sync folder. If it is, Syncthing will sync archived documents back to the tablet, defeating the purpose of archiving.

Multiple tablets / sync sources

The plugin supports multiple sync sources -- each with its own sync folder, Syncthing folder ID, and independent extraction timestamp.

To add a second tablet:

1. Open plugin settings and scroll to Sync Sources
2. Click Add source and enter a label (e.g., "Partner's rM2"), sync folder path, and Syncthing folder ID
3. Each source extracts independently -- extracting one does not affect the other
4. Highlight notes include a source field in frontmatter so you can tell which tablet produced them
5. The library view has a source filter dropdown (hidden when only one source exists)

Existing single-source setups are migrated automatically to a "Default" source on upgrade -- no reconfiguration needed.

Each source can optionally specify its own highlights subfolder to keep notes organized per tablet.

Multiple computers (same vault via Syncthing)

If you sync your Obsidian vault between computers via Syncthing, the plugin is designed to avoid conflicts:

• Extraction timestamps are device-scoped -- each computer writes its own timestamp keyed by hostname, so two machines extracting at different times don't conflict on data.json
• Highlight note output is deterministic -- date_highlighted uses the document's modification date from the tablet (same on both machines), not the extraction date
• No plugin files in synced folders -- claim files and internal state are stored in .obsidian/plugins/ (not synced by default), not in the sync/highlights folders

If you already have sync-conflict files from before this fix, you can safely delete them:

find /path/to/vault -name "*sync-conflict*" -delete

Subvaults and vault isolation

All folder paths are resolved relative to the vault root. The plugin detects when multiple vault instances use overlapping folders:

• On load, the plugin checks for folder collisions with other vault instances
• If another vault is using the same sync or highlights folder, a warning banner appears in settings
• Warnings are dismissible and persisted -- they never block actions
• If a configured folder resolves to a path outside the vault root, a warning is shown

When you disable and re-enable the plugin (e.g., in a subvault), it re-reads settings from that vault's data.json, re-creates folders if needed, and restarts watchers. Each vault's state is fully independent.

Troubleshooting

"No new highlights found" but I added highlights

1. Check Syncthing -- open http://127.0.0.1:8384 and verify the folder is "Up to Date"
2. Check Python -- run python --version (or python3 --version) in a terminal. If it opens the Microsoft Store, disable the aliases (see Prerequisites above)
3. Check annotation type -- text-selection highlights (long-press to select) produce text. Pen/highlighter strokes produce only images. If you only drew with a pen, the extraction may report 0 highlights but should still generate page drawings.
4. Force full extraction -- incremental mode may skip documents if their lastModified timestamp hasn't changed. Use the Sync button in the library or the command palette to force a full run.

Documents not appearing in library

• Documents must have a .metadata and .content file in the sync folder
• Documents uploaded to the tablet but never opened will have pageCount: 0 and empty page lists -- they appear in the library but cannot produce highlights until opened on the tablet
• Check that the sync folder path in settings matches where Syncthing actually writes files

Old highlights still showing after deletion

When you delete highlights on the tablet and re-sync, the extraction finds 0 highlights for that document. If the document also has no pen stroke drawings, the pipeline skips updating the file (it treats "nothing to show" as "nothing to do"). The old highlight note remains unchanged.

Workaround: manually delete the stale highlight note, or enable overwriteExisting in settings to force a fresh write every time.

Development

npm install          # install dependencies
npm run dev          # watch mode (rebuilds on file change)
npm run build        # production build
npm test             # run test suite
npm run test:watch   # run tests in watch mode
npm run lint         # lint TypeScript source

Project structure

src/
  plugin/             # Obsidian plugin lifecycle, settings, library view
  pipeline/           # Extraction pipeline, document discovery, markdown rendering
  ssh/                # SSH client for tablet communication
  device/             # Firmware detection, device management
  sync/               # Syncthing configuration and sync orchestration
  utils/              # Logger, shared utilities
extraction/           # Python scripts (called via child_process)
  extract.py          # Main entry point for highlight extraction
  metadata_parser.py  # xochitl .metadata/.content file parsing
  highlight_extractor.py  # GlyphRange and legacy highlight parsing
  render_pages.py     # PNG rendering of annotated pages
  legacy_rm_parser.py # v3/v5 .rm file format parser
templates/            # Handlebars template for highlight notes

Architecture

The plugin has three layers:

1. Device layer (ssh/, device/) -- SSH connection, firmware detection, Syncthing installation on the tablet
2. Sync layer (sync/) -- Syncthing configuration, file sync orchestration
3. Pipeline layer (pipeline/, extraction/) -- Document discovery, Python-based highlight extraction, markdown rendering

The pipeline delegates to Python for two tasks: (1) parsing .rm files via rmscene and extracting highlight text via PyMuPDF, and (2) rendering annotated pages as PNGs. Communication is one-directional: TypeScript spawns Python with CLI arguments, Python returns JSON on stdout.

Permissions & data access

This plugin requests broader access than a typical Obsidian plugin because it bridges your tablet (an external device on your local network) to your vault. Here's exactly what it does and why:

The plugin never makes external network requests. All sync happens over your local network via Syncthing or SSH to your tablet. No data goes to reMarkable Cloud, no telemetry, no analytics, no third-party servers.

Known limitations

• Pen-stroke text extraction: Highlights drawn with a pen or the pen-style highlighter tool are captured as images, not text. Only text-selection highlights (GlyphRange) produce searchable text.
• Stale notes on highlight deletion: Documents with 0 highlights and 0 drawings are skipped, leaving old notes unchanged (see Troubleshooting above).
• Incremental extraction uses document timestamp: The lastModified field in .metadata may not update when annotations change, causing incremental mode to miss updates. Use full re-extraction if highlights seem stuck.
• Same-name documents across sources: If two tablets have a document with the same visible name, their highlight notes will overwrite each other (unless per-source subfolders are configured).

License

MIT