Turn Your Amazon Kindle into a TRMNL

This is a tool to convert your Kindle into a personal dashboard with TRMNL.

As of June 10, 2025 this is a beta release. Issues and PRs are welcome. Tested on 10th gen, 12th gen Kindle e-ink displays.

Important

This fork was optimised specifically for a 10th gen Kindle Paperwhite (moonshine) running firmware 5.15.1.1. It may not work properly on other Kindles or 10th gen Kindles with a different firmware version.

Prerequisites

• A PC/Mac
• TRMNL BYOD license or BYOD/S client. No* purchase necessary.
• Registered Kindle (5th gen or later)
• Kindle connected to WiFi

* - for a 100% free DIY approach, modify our TRMNL_KINDLE Zip (Step 19 below) to point to your own server. (TRMNL BYOS Laravel is one of the most advanced free servers.)

Jailbreak

See JAILBREAK.md for instructions.

For easier debugging, you might also want to install KOSSH.

Install TRMNL

1. Set your device model to Kindle

(Skip this step if using a BYOS server and do not have a TRMNL account)

Inside TRMNL visit your BYOD device settings via the top-right > gear cog icon. Select your Kindle edition in the Device Model dropdown.

2. Configure your API key

Login to your TRMNL account and grab the API Key associated with your BYOD license. In the zip_example folder, copy the file TRMNL.conf.example to TRMNL.conf and edit it. Change the value of API_KEY to your API key.

3. Connect Kindle to computer

Connect USB and enter drag/drop mode.

4. Copy TRMNL to Kindle

On your Kindle, create a new folder TRMNL_KINDLE below the extensions folder. Then copy the files from zip_example into that newly created folder.

5. Disconnect Kindle

Safely eject (disconnect) your Kindle.

6. Open KUAL

Launch KUAL from your Kindle library.

7. Start TRMNL

• Press the TRMNL button, then select Start TRMNL.

Your Kindle is now successfully running TRMNL!

Troubleshooting

JSON error

You may see an error, such as Fetching JSON... error.. Retry in 60s. This likely means you are still in Airplane Mode. Disble Airplane Mode, then re-open KUAL > TRMNL > Start TRMNL.

Graphic not displayed

The Kindle expects a very specific graphics format. You can convert existing images using this ImageMagick command:

magick input.jpg -resize 1448x1072! -set colorspace Gray -define png:bit-depth=8 -define png:color-type=0 -rotate 90 output.png

Device hangs / unresponsive

Restart the Kindle by holding the power button until the backlight comes on or, if it was on already, the screen flashes.

Technical Insights

I've collected a few insights from tinkering with my Kindle Paperwhite 10th gen. here: INSIGHTS.md

Resources

• https://wiki.mobileread.com/wiki/Eips
• https://github.com/koreader/koreader/blob/c4f9c60742409c8edb2f13c50bbb7ab8d9997218/platform/kindle/koreader.sh
• https://github.com/Ectalite/trmnl-kindle/blob/main/zip_example/TRMNL.sh
• https://forum.fhem.de/index.php/topic,21821.0.html
• https://wiki.fhem.de/wiki/Kindle_Display
  • https://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=236104
  • https://www.mobileread.com/forums/showpost.php?p=4330142&postcount=93
  • https://github.com/64bits/Little-Langtale/tree/main/onlinescreensaver
  • https://github.com/avhm/onlinescreensaverPW2