Advanced TRMNL users who can generate screens themselves, can make use of our Alias plugin.

As the name indicates, this plugin simply passes along your own (hosted) image to your TRMNL device. This may sound similar to our Image Display plugin, but with one key difference: Alias lets you encrypt + decrypt the content, making it impossible for TRMNL to know what's being displayed.

TRMNL expects image content to be publicly accessible over the internet. This image content may then be plugged into the TRMNL web application in either plain text or encrypted format.

The diagram below explains how each of the Alias plugin strategies differ.

To set up an Alias plugin, first provide the absolute URL of your image.

Make sure the image is Bitmap, 800x480 pixels, 1-bit sRGB 2c, and of size 48062B. See here for a hint on generating this format with ImageMagick.

Type - Plain Text

When your TRMNL device requests content from your Alias plugin instance, TRMNL will respond with the data you provided in the TRMNL web application. For example, https://yourwebserver.com/image1.bmp as per the screenshot above.

Type - Encrypted

For an alias with type Encrypted, encrypt your image_url using <TBD> algorithm.

Next, provide a decryption key to your TRMNL device via the captive WiFi portal. You can instantiate WiFi pairing mode by holding the boot button on the back of your TRMNL for 5-6 seconds, then letting go, while the device is turned on.

Your TRMNL device will store this decryption key onboard, and never share it over the internet.

The Alias plugin provides a secure way to generate and consume content without sharing any information with the TRMNL servers, while still leveraging the convenience and power of the TRMNL web application.