Speed Read It!

A command line tool to speed read any text using RSVP (Rapid Serial Visual Presentation).

Installation

npm i -g @yurug-js/srit

Requires Node.js 18 or higher.

Features

• Read text, markdown, PDF, Word documents (.doc/.docx), and web pages
• Adjustable reading speed (words per minute)
• Median letter highlighting for optimal eye fixation
• Progress bar showing position in text
• Pipe mode for reading from stdin
• AI-powered adaptive pacing (slows on complex words)
• AI-powered comprehension testing

Usage

srit document.txt          # Plain text file
srit article.md            # Markdown (rendered to plain text)
srit report.pdf            # PDF document
srit paper.doc             # Word document
srit paper.docx            # Word document (modern format)
srit https://example.com   # Web page
cat file.txt | srit -      # Read from stdin

The terminal clears and displays one word at a time, centered on screen. The median letter is highlighted in red to provide an optimal fixation point. Punctuation introduces a brief pause for natural reading rhythm.

Keyboard Controls

| Key | Action | |-----|--------| | ← | Previous word | | → | Next word | | ↑ | Increase speed | | ↓ | Decrease speed | | Esc | Exit |

Adaptive Pacing Mode

Let AI adjust your reading speed based on text complexity:

srit --auto document.txt

Uses LLM token surprisal to slow down on complex or unusual words, with a smooth "halo" effect around surprising content. Results are cached for instant re-runs.

| Option | Description | |--------|-------------| | --gamma N | Slowdown intensity (0.0-2.0, default: 0.6) | | --target-wpm N | Base target WPM (default: 360) | | --max-cost N | Cost threshold before confirmation (default: $1) |

Controls: +/- adjust gamma, ↑/↓ adjust speed.

Comprehension Check Mode

Test your reading comprehension with AI-generated questions:

srit --check document.txt

Questions appear throughout your reading, placed at sentence boundaries to avoid interrupting the flow. Answer with number keys (1-4). At the end, you'll see your score and total reading time.

| Option | Description | |--------|-------------| | --questions N | Number of questions (default: 10) | | --frequency N | Target words between questions |

API Keys

Both --auto and --check modes require an LLM provider.

Cloud providers (require API key):

export OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-...
export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=sk-ant-...
export GEMINI_API_KEY=...

Local with Ollama (free, no API key):

srit --auto --provider ollama document.txt

Requires Ollama running locally. Set OLLAMA_HOST to override the default http://localhost:11434.

Additional options: --provider NAME and --model NAME to override defaults.

Configuration

Settings are stored in ~/.srit.json:

{
  "wpm": 300,
  "highlightColor": "red",
  "textColor": "white"
}

Available colors: black, red, green, yellow, blue, magenta, cyan, white.

Other Options

srit --version    # Show version number
srit --help       # Show help (use -h)

License

MIT

Philosophy

This program follows the KISS principle: it does one specific thing and aims to do it right, with minimal dependencies and clear semantics. Contributions are welcome as long as they adhere to this philosophy!