A minimal macOS speed reader that uses RSVP (Rapid Serial Visual Presentation). Select text anywhere, press a hotkey, and read it word-by-word in a floating frosted-glass overlay.

• macOS 13+
• Swift 5.9+

git clone https://github.com/chrisurline/rapid-read.git
cd rapid-read
swift run

The app runs as a menu bar utility (no dock icon). Look for the ⊞ icon in your menu bar.

1. Free up your hotkey — the default is ⌘Space, so disable Spotlight's shortcut: System Settings → Keyboard → Keyboard Shortcuts → Spotlight → uncheck "Show Spotlight search" (Or configure a different hotkey and skip this step.)

2. Grant Accessibility permissions The app will prompt on first launch. Required to capture the hotkey and copy selected text.

1. Select text in any app (browser, editor, PDF viewer, etc.)
2. Press your hotkey (default ⌘Space) — a reader appears near your cursor
3. Press the hotkey again or Esc to dismiss
4. Clicking outside the reader also dismisses it

Settings are stored at ~/.config/rapidread/settings.json (created on first launch). Open it from the menu bar icon → "Open Settings…"

{
  "corner_radius" : 16,
  "font_size" : 42,
  "hotkey" : "command+space",
  "skip_large" : 10,
  "skip_small" : 5,
  "start_delay" : 0.5,
  "window_height" : 160,
  "window_width" : 600,
  "wpm" : 425,
  "wpm_step" : 25
}

Changes take effect on next launch.

The hotkey setting is a +-separated string of modifiers and a key:

modifier+modifier+key

Modifiers: command (or cmd), shift, option (or opt/alt), control (or ctrl)

Keys: any letter or number, space, return, tab, delete, escape, f1–f12, left/right/up/down, common punctuation

Examples:

"hotkey": "command+space"
"hotkey": "command+shift+e"
"hotkey": "option+r"
"hotkey": "control+shift+f2"

If the value can't be parsed, it falls back to command+space.