The reMarkable tablet is excellent for reading and annotating PDFs, but by default it routes
everything through reMarkable's cloud. If you prefer to keep files local -- for privacy, or
simply because you do not want a subscription -- you can unpair the device and use the
built-in USB file server instead.
Table of Contents
- Unpairing from the Cloud
- Enabling the USB Web Interface
- Transferring Files via http://10.11.99.1/
- Tips and Limitations
1. Unpairing from the Cloud
Unpairing stops the device from syncing to reMarkable's servers. Your existing documents
remain on the device; they are simply no longer backed up or accessible from the reMarkable
apps on other devices.
On the tablet:
- Open Settings (gear icon, bottom-left of the home screen)
- Go to Storage
- Tap Unpair device
- Confirm when prompted
Once unpaired, the tablet no longer requires a reMarkable account or internet connection for
normal use. The cloud sync icon will disappear from the top bar.
Note: Unpairing is reversible. You can re-pair the device at any time from the same
Settings screen by signing back in to your reMarkable account.
2. Enabling the USB Web Interface
The reMarkable has a built-in HTTP file server that becomes accessible over USB. When enabled,
the tablet presents itself as a USB network adapter and serves files at http://10.11.99.1/.
On the tablet:
- Open Settings
- Go to Storage
- Enable USB transfer (the toggle may be labelled "USB web interface" depending on
firmware version)
Connect the tablet to your computer using the supplied USB-C cable. The tablet will
appear as a network device (USB Ethernet adapter) rather than a mass storage drive.
On Linux the interface typically appears as usb0 or enp0s20u1 and receives an address in
the 10.11.99.0/24 subnet automatically via DHCP from the tablet.
Verify connectivity:
3. Transferring Files
Open a browser and navigate to:
The web interface shows all documents and notebooks currently on the device, organised in
folders matching the tablet's home screen layout.
Uploading PDFs
- Click Import (or the upload button, top-right)
- Select one or more PDF files from your computer
- The files appear on the tablet home screen immediately -- no restart required
Supported formats: PDF and EPUB.
Downloading annotated files
- Click on any document in the web interface
- Select Download to save the annotated PDF to your computer
The downloaded file includes all pencil annotations, highlights, and notes made on the tablet.
Command-line upload with curl
For scripting or batch uploads:
curl -X POST http://10.11.99.1/documents/ \
-F "file=@/path/to/document.pdf"
To upload into a specific folder, first find the folder UUID from the web interface URL, then:
curl -X POST "http://10.11.99.1/documents/{folder-uuid}" \
-F "file=@/path/to/document.pdf"
4. Tips and Limitations
- No Wi-Fi required. The USB file server works entirely over the USB cable with no network
connection needed.
- Cable must stay connected. The web interface is only available while the tablet is
plugged in. Unplugging immediately drops the
10.11.99.1 address.
- One client at a time. The built-in server is minimal; avoid opening multiple browser
tabs uploading simultaneously.
- Folder structure is flat internally. The reMarkable stores documents with UUIDs
internally; the folder hierarchy you see in the web interface is a virtual view maintained
by the device.
- Firmware updates still work offline. Updates are downloaded over Wi-Fi separately from
the cloud sync; unpairing does not block firmware updates if Wi-Fi is available.
- Annotations on existing PDFs are exported as a new annotated PDF -- the original on-
device file is not modified.