TUI Reader

A Terminal User Interface (TUI) reader for text files, Markdown documents, and PDFs with progress tracking, bookmarking,library and voice control.

Features

Core Reading

• All Format Support: Read .txt, .md, .pdf files and many more but mainly these 3 only hehe
• Progress Tracking: Automatic save/restore of reading position
• Resume Prompt: Pick up where you left off with progress percentage display
• Cache Files: Saves parsed text from pdfs into json into paras so we don't need to parse the whole pdf everytime we open
• Lazy PDF Loading: Efficient memory usage for large PDF files

Navigation

• Accelerated Scrolling: Hold j or k for progressive speed acceleration
• Bookmark System: Create and manage multiple bookmarks per file ( m to open bookmarks and b to create a bookmark at current line )
• Table of Contents: Navigate Markdown files by headers
• PDF Page Navigation: Jump directly to specific page numbers in PDFs
• Library Management: Centralized library view with recent files and progress

Customization

• Multiple Themes: I added only dark paper and sepia but you can add as many as you want :D
• Theme Selector: Browse and preview themes with keyboard navigation

Voice Control (Optional)

• Offline Recognition: Uses Vosk for local speech recognition
• Hands-Free Reading: Auto-scroll with voice commands
• Speed Control: Adjust scrolling speed via voice
• Cross-Platform: Works on Windows, macOS, and Linux

Data Management

• Smart Caching: Parsed content cached for fast reloading
• Progress Persistence: Reading position saved every 10 scrolls
• Library Sync: Automatic tracking of all opened files
• Search Functionality: Filter library by filename

Installation

Basic Installation

pip install textual pdfminer.six

Voice Control (Optional)

pip install vosk pyaudio

Download a Vosk model from https://alphacephei.com/vosk/models (recommended: vosk-model-small-en-us-0.15)

Extract to: ~/.reader_app/vosk-model/

Note: Pressing v will automatically install dependencies if not present.

Usage

Launch

python main.py document.txt

python main.py

Keyboard Commands

Reading View

j Scroll down one line (hold for acceleration) k Scroll up one line (hold for acceleration) t Show TOC (Markdown only) b Add/update bookmark at current position m Show all bookmarks for current file p Navigate PDF pages (PDF only) v Toggle voice control on/off T Toggle themes Ctrl+T Open theme selection screen q Exit and save progress Ctrl+C Traditional exit

Library Screen

↑/↓ Move selection up/down Enter Open selected file a Add single file to library f Scan and add all compatible files from folder / Filter library by filename Delete Delete selected file from library q/Esc Return to reading or exit

Bookmark/TOC/Pages Screen

↑/↓ Move selection up/down Enter Jump to selected location Delete Delete selected bookmark 0-9 Jump between pages q Close

Theme Selector

↑/↓ Move selection up/down Enter Apply selected theme q Close

Voice Commands

When voice control is active (v), the following commands are recognized: scroll Start scrolling stop Stop scrolling faster Increase auto scroll speed slower / slow Decrease auto scroll speed up Scroll up one line down Scroll down one line

Configuration

Storage Location

All data stored in: ~/.reader_app/

~/.reader_app/
├── state.json          # Reading progress and bookmarks
├── cache/
│   └── *.json         # Parsed file cache
└── vosk-model/        # Voice recognition model