Speed Reader
approvedby madhusudan-kulkarni
This plugin has not been manually reviewed by Obsidian staff. RSVP-based speed reading for your notes - flash one word at a time with optimal recognition point highlighting.
Speed Reader
Read long Obsidian notes faster without losing focus.
Speed Reader uses RSVP (rapid serial visual presentation) to turn your notes into a focused word-by-word reading flow, so you can move through dense writing, saved articles, drafts, and study notes with less eye movement and fewer distractions.
Why Speed Reader?
Long notes are easy to skim badly and hard to read deeply. Speed Reader helps you stay locked on one word at a time, control your pace, and finish notes without constantly losing your place.
Use it when you want to:
- Get through long notes faster
- Review research or study material
- Read drafts without visual clutter
- Stay focused when your attention keeps jumping
- Read selected passages without leaving Obsidian
Features
- Word-by-word reading — Read in a focused RSVP view instead of scanning full paragraphs.
- Optimal recognition point highlighting — Highlights the key letter in each word to help your eyes recognize words faster.
- Markdown-aware cleanup — Removes formatting noise like links, bold text, code, frontmatter, and comments before reading.
- Natural pacing — Adds small pauses at punctuation, numbers, and longer words so the flow feels less robotic.
- Live speed control — Change WPM, skip forward or backward, and jump between sections while reading.
- Focus mode — Hide controls and keep only the current word on screen.
- Selection support — Read selected text, or start from the whole note.
How it works
- Open a note in Obsidian.
- Select text, or leave nothing selected to read the full note.
- Run Speed Reader: Start speed reading.
- Press Space to start, pause, or resume.
Keyboard shortcuts
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
Space | Play / pause |
← / → | Skip 10 words |
↑ / ↓ | Change speed by 25 WPM |
F | Toggle focus mode |
Esc | Close reader |
Install
From Community Plugins
Open Settings → Community plugins → Browse, search for Speed Reader, then install and enable it.
Manual install
Download main.js, manifest.json, and styles.css from the latest release, then place them in:
<vault>/.obsidian/plugins/speed-reader/
Good for
- Students reviewing notes
- Writers reading drafts
- Researchers going through saved material
- Anyone who wants a calmer way to read inside Obsidian
License
For plugin developers
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