ReadLater

A self-hosted read-it-later app with text-to-speech support. Save articles, read them later with a clean dark reader interface, and listen to them with high-quality TTS.

Features

• Save Articles: Paste URLs or use the bookmarklet to save articles
• Clean Reader: Distraction-free reading with dark mode (black background, white text)
• Customizable: Adjust font size, font family, line height, and content width
• Favorites & Archive: Organize your reading list
• Text-to-Speech:
  • Browser TTS (built-in, works offline)
  • Kokoro TTS (high-quality, self-hosted)
  • Speed control up to 3x
• Bookmarklet: One-click saving from any browser

Quick Start

Using Docker (Recommended)

# Clone or download the project
cd /root/projects/readlater

# Start with Docker Compose
docker compose up -d

# Access at http://localhost:3000

Manual Installation

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Run database migrations
npm run db:migrate

# Start development server
npm run dev

# Or build for production
npm run build
npm start

Usage

Adding Articles

1. Paste URL: Use the input field at the top of the app
2. Bookmarklet: Go to /bookmarklet and drag the button to your bookmarks bar

Reading

• Click any article to open the reader
• Use the settings panel (gear icon) to customize:
  • Theme: Dark (default), Light, or Sepia
  • Font Size: 14-32px
  • Font Family: Serif, Sans, Mono, or System
  • Line Height: Tight to Loose
  • Content Width: Narrow to Wide

Text-to-Speech

• Click the speaker icon to start reading
• Control playback with pause/resume/stop buttons
• Adjust speed in settings (0.5x to 3x)

Browser TTS

Works out of the box using your browser's built-in speech synthesis.

Kokoro TTS (Optional)

For higher quality TTS, uncomment the kokoro service in docker-compose.yml:

kokoro:
  image: ghcr.io/remsky/kokoro-fastapi:latest
  container_name: kokoro-tts
  restart: unless-stopped
  ports:
    - "8880:8880"

Then select "Kokoro" in the TTS settings.

Configuration

Environment Variables

Variable	Default	Description
DATABASE_PATH	./data/readlater.db	Path to SQLite database
PORT	3000	Server port

Data Persistence

The SQLite database is stored in ./data/readlater.db. Mount this directory as a volume when using Docker.

Tech Stack

• Framework: Next.js 16 with App Router
• Language: TypeScript
• Database: SQLite with Drizzle ORM
• Styling: Tailwind CSS
• Article Extraction: Mozilla Readability
• TTS: Web Speech API + Kokoro-FastAPI

API Endpoints

Endpoint	Method	Description
/api/articles	GET	List articles (query: filter=all|favorites|archived)
/api/articles	POST	Save new article (body: {url})
/api/articles/[id]	GET	Get single article
/api/articles/[id]	PATCH	Update article
/api/articles/[id]	DELETE	Delete article
/api/save	GET	Bookmarklet endpoint (query: url)

Development

# Start dev server
npm run dev

# Generate new migration after schema changes
npm run db:generate

# Run migrations
npm run db:migrate

# Open Drizzle Studio (database GUI)
npm run db:studio

# Lint
npm run lint

License

MIT