xszwow/smartread — explained in plain English
Analysis updated 2026-08-10 · repo last pushed 2026-05-24
Import EPUB, PDF, or TXT books and read them with AI-powered page explanations and summaries.
Listen to your books read aloud using your device's built-in text-to-speech while following along with subtitle mode.
Chat with an AI about the current page to get plain-language explanations of difficult passages.
Read scanned PDFs and comics with a built-in magnifier tool for small text.
| xszwow/smartread | abhagsain/bayut-maps-ratings | abhishek-kumar09/who-is-imposter | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stars | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Language | JavaScript | JavaScript | JavaScript |
| Last pushed | 2026-05-24 | — | 2021-04-12 |
| Maintenance | Maintained | — | Dormant |
| Setup difficulty | moderate | moderate | easy |
| Complexity | 3/5 | 2/5 | 3/5 |
| Audience | vibe coder | general | general |
Figures from each repo's GitHub metadata at analysis time.
Requires you to bring your own OpenAI-compatible API key and configure the URL, key, and model name manually.
SmartRead is a reading app for Android phones and Windows computers that combines a personal book library with AI-powered features. You import your own EPUB, PDF, or TXT files, and the app gives you a single interface for reading those books, listening to them read aloud, and asking an AI to explain or summarize what's on the current page. It's built for people who want all of this in one place, without relying on a cloud account or handing their personal library over to a third-party service. The app stores your books and reading progress locally on your device. When you want AI features, like page-by-page explanations, chatting about the text, or AI-generated audio summaries, you plug in your own API key from any service that speaks the OpenAI-compatible protocol. The app doesn't lock you into one AI provider, you configure the URL, key, and model name yourself. For text-to-speech, it leans on your device's built-in voice capabilities. There's also a magnifier tool for small text in scanned PDFs, a subtitle mode for reading along while you listen, and special handling for comics and image-heavy content. This is for someone who reads dense or complex material, technical books, long novels, manga, scanned documents, and wants an AI assistant in the reading experience itself. If you've ever wanted to tap a page and get a plain-language explanation of a tricky paragraph, or listen to an AI-generated summary of a chapter while commuting, this aims to put both in your hands. It's also for privacy-minded users who want their reading data on their own device rather than synced through someone else's servers. One notable tradeoff is the setup. You need to bring your own AI API key, which means a bit of configuration beyond just installing the app. The project also includes a built-in book search feature that pulls from external sources, though its usefulness depends on whether those sources are available at any given time.
SmartRead is a reading app for Android and Windows that lets you import your own ebooks and use AI to explain, summarize, or read them aloud, all stored locally on your device with no cloud account required.
Mainly JavaScript. The stack also includes JavaScript, Android, Windows.
Maintained — commit in last 6 months (last push 2026-05-24).
No license information is provided, so usage rights are unclear.
Setup difficulty is rated moderate, with roughly 30min to a first successful run.
Mainly vibe coder.
This repo across BitVibe Labs
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