reMarkable Dictionary & Translate Extension

Adds two buttons — Dictionary and Translate — to the text selection popup menu in reMarkable's xochitl interface. When you select a word or phrase, you can instantly get its definition or an English translation, powered by the Anthropic Claude API.

⚠️ Compatible with reMarkable software version 3.25.1.1 and 3.27.1.0

⚠️ Feel free to take this file and adapt it for other reMarkable software versions!

⚠️ The original file (without hash pointers) is in the "original" folder.

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Demo

RemarkableDictionary_small.mp4

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Screenshots

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How It Works

This extension uses the xovi framework and its qt-resource-rebuilder plugin to inject new buttons into xochitl's text selection menu.

When you select text and tap Dictionary or Translate, the tablet sends the selected text to the Anthropic Claude API (claude-haiku-4-5) over Wi-Fi and displays the result directly on screen.

• Dictionary: returns a concise definition (max ~300 characters)
• Translate: translates the selected text into English

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Prerequisites

1. reMarkable software version 3.25.1.1 (other versions are not supported)
2. SSH access to your reMarkable (via USB or Wi-Fi)
3. xovi installed on the device
4. qt-resource-rebuilder xovi extension installed
5. An Anthropic API key — see below for how to get one
6. Wi-Fi enabled on your reMarkable during use

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Getting an Anthropic API Key

1. Go to console.anthropic.com and create an account (or log in).
2. In the left sidebar, click API Keys.
3. Click Create Key, give it a name (e.g. remarkable-dictionary), and confirm.
4. Copy the key immediately — it won't be shown again.
5. Store it somewhere safe (e.g. a password manager).

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Installation

Step 1 — Install xovi

Follow the official xovi installation instructions. The quickest method if you have Vellum installed is:

vellum add xovi

Or install manually via SSH by following the instructions in the xovi repository.

Step 2 — Install qt-resource-rebuilder

The qt-resource-rebuilder is the xovi plugin that loads .qmd extension files. Install it by copying the qt-resource-rebuilder.xovi file to the xovi extensions directory:

# On your reMarkable (via SSH)
cp qt-resource-rebuilder.xovi /home/root/xovi/extensions/

Refer to the qt-resource-rebuilder README for full details.

Step 3 — Enable GlyphSelection in xochitl.conf

To enable text selection, you must enable GlyphSelection in the xochitl configuration file.

Connect via SSH and edit the file:

# File location:
/home/root/.config/remarkable/xochitl.conf

Find or add the following line in the [General] section:

[Experimental]
GlyphSelection=true

Step 4 — Add your API key to the QMD file

Open 3.25.1.1/dictionaryEnglish.qmd in a text editor and replace both occurrences of YOUR_ANTHROPIC_API_KEY with your actual Anthropic API key:

xhr.setRequestHeader("x-api-key", "YOUR_ANTHROPIC_API_KEY");

→ becomes:

xhr.setRequestHeader("x-api-key", "sk-ant-api03-...");

Step 5 — Copy the QMD file to the tablet

Transfer the modified .qmd file to the qt-resource-rebuilder directory via SSH (replace <your-tablet-ip> with your device's IP address):

scp 3.25.1.1/dictionaryEnglish.qmd root@<your-tablet-ip>:/home/root/xovi/exthome/qt-resource-rebuilder/

Or if you're already in an SSH session on the device, copy it from wherever you transferred it:

cp /path/to/dictionaryEnglish.qmd /home/root/xovi/exthome/qt-resource-rebuilder/

Step 6 — Restart xovi and xochitl

# Restart xovi
~/xovi/start

# Then restart xochitl to apply xochitl.conf changes
systemctl restart xochitl

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Usage

1. Open any document (PDF, notebook, etc.) on your reMarkable.
2. Select a word, or drag to select a phrase.
3. The text selection popup will appear with the new Dictionary and Translate buttons.
4. Tap Dictionary to get the definition, or Translate to get an English translation.
5. A "Processing…" message appears while the request is in progress.
6. The result is shown inline. Tap Close to dismiss it.

Wi-Fi must be enabled for the API call to succeed. If you see "Network error", check your connection. If you see "401 Unauthorized", check YOUR_ANTHROPIC_API_KEY value on the qmd file.

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Credits & References

• xovi by @asivery — the extension framework
• rm-xovi-extensions — qt-resource-rebuilder and other extensions
• xovi-qmd-extensions — community QMD extensions
• remarkable.guide — community documentation

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License

MIT