Inkwell project runs Alpine Linux and on-device chatbot on a 2015 Kindle
The GitHub project by Pragyaan Gaur includes a terminal, chess and DOOM, and its Quill chatbot runs SmolLM2 locally without sending data off the device.
A GitHub project called Inkwell runs an Alpine Linux userspace on a jailbroken 2015 Kindle Paperwhite, according to the developer, Pragyaan Gaur. The build also includes a terminal, a chess game and DOOM.
Inkwell ships with a chatbot called Quill that runs the SmolLM2 model through llama.cpp on the Kindle's own processor. In its quick mode, Quill produces output at roughly 1.7 words per second; an optional smart mode slows that to about 0.7 words per second.
According to Gaur, nothing leaves the device when Quill runs, so the chat stays entirely local to the e-reader.
The project was spotted by Hackaday. It joins a line of experiments that push older hardware beyond its original purpose, in this case a decade-old e-reader running Linux and a small language model on-device.
Quick answers
What is Inkwell?
It is a GitHub project by Pragyaan Gaur that runs an Alpine Linux userspace on a jailbroken 2015 Kindle Paperwhite, including a terminal, chess, DOOM and a chatbot.
How fast is Quill on the Kindle?
Quill outputs at about 1.7 words per second in quick mode and about 0.7 words per second in the optional smart mode.
Does Quill send data off the device?
No. According to Gaur, nothing leaves the device when Quill runs.