How to Add Custom Templates to Your reMarkable

Adding a custom PNG template to your reMarkable takes under two minutes once you know the steps. There are three methods: the official desktop app, USB transfer, and SSH. This guide covers all three, starting with the easiest.

Method 1: reMarkable Desktop App (Recommended)

This is the official method supported by reMarkable. It requires the free desktop app installed on your Mac or Windows computer.

1. Download your PNG template from our free templates page. Save it somewhere easy to find — your Desktop or Downloads folder works fine.
2. Open the reMarkable desktop app and make sure your device is connected via USB or on the same Wi-Fi network.
3. In the desktop app, click the three-dot menu next to your profile name in the top left.
4. Select My templates from the dropdown menu.
5. Click Add template and browse to your downloaded PNG file. Give it a name (e.g. "Weekly Budget") and choose an icon.
6. Click Save. The template will sync to your device within seconds.

On your reMarkable, open a new notebook. When prompted to choose a template, scroll to the bottom of the list — your custom template will appear under My templates.

Method 2: USB Transfer (Advanced)

If you prefer direct file access or the desktop app method is not working, you can transfer templates via USB using your operating system's file manager.

Windows

1. Connect your reMarkable via USB. It will appear as a drive in File Explorer.
2. Navigate to .local/share/remarkable/templates/ on the device.
3. Copy your PNG file into that folder. The filename becomes the template name, so name it clearly: Weekly Budget.png
4. You also need to add a matching entry to templates.json in the same folder. Open the file, copy an existing entry, and change the filename, name, and iconCode values to match your new template.
5. Safely eject the device and restart it. Your template will appear in the template picker.

Mac

The same process applies on Mac, but your reMarkable may not appear automatically in Finder. You may need to use Android File Transfer or a similar utility to access the device filesystem.

Method 3: SSH Transfer (Power Users)

If you have SSH enabled on your reMarkable (via Developer Mode in Settings), you can transfer templates directly over Wi-Fi without any cables.

1. Enable Developer Mode in Settings → Security on your device. Note the SSH password shown on screen.
2. Find your device's IP address in Settings → Wi-Fi.
3. Open a terminal on your computer and run:
   scp ~/Downloads/your-template.png root@[DEVICE-IP]:/usr/share/remarkable/templates/
4. Enter the SSH password when prompted.
5. Update templates.json on the device the same way as the USB method, then restart the device.

Troubleshooting

Template not appearing after sync

Close and reopen the reMarkable desktop app, then trigger a manual sync. On the device, a hard restart (hold power button for 3 seconds) usually resolves display issues after template import.

Template appears blurry or wrong size

Our templates are exported at 1404×1872px — the native reMarkable 2 resolution. If another template source is causing blurriness, check that the PNG is not being resized on import. The reMarkable app should import PNGs at their native resolution without scaling.

Template picker shows no custom templates

On older firmware versions, custom templates only appear if the templates.json entry is correctly formatted. Verify the JSON is valid (no trailing commas, matching brackets) using a free online JSON validator.