Bold the start of every word.
Skimbold is a free browser extension that bolds the first letters of each word. The heavy starts give your eyes an anchor on every line, so it's easier to focus, keep your place and glide through long text.
Free and open source. Works in Chrome, Edge, Brave and other Chromium browsers (version 122 or later), and in Firefox 140 or later (the addons.mozilla.org listing is on the way).
Try it on your own words
Sample from Henry David Thoreau, Walden (1854). Replace it with anything.
How it works
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Turn it on
Press Alt + R on any page, or click the Skimbold button in your toolbar. On a Mac the shortcut is Control + Shift + R.
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Read
The start of every word turns bold. Short words get one letter and longer words get more, and you can change how much in the toolbar panel.
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Turn it off
Press the shortcut again and the page goes back exactly as it was. Nothing on the site is saved or changed for anyone else.
Made for real reading
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Works on almost any site
News, docs, wikis, blogs and web apps. It leaves search boxes, editors, code and math alone, so sites keep working.
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One shortcut
Alt + R turns it on and off. You can pick a different shortcut in your browser's extension settings.
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A Reader for PDFs and pasted text
Open a PDF, a text, Markdown or HTML file, or paste anything you copied. Choose a light, sepia or dark page, a serif or sans font, and your own size and width.
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Always on where you want it
Switch it on for good on the sites you read most, or everywhere with a few sites skipped. It asks for access to a site only when you choose this.
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Tuned to your eyes
Bold one, two or three letters, or let Auto scale with the length of each word. Set the strength and boldness, and fade the rest of each word if you like.
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Private by design
No account, no ads, no analytics. Text is changed inside your browser and never sent anywhere. Read the privacy policy.
Install
Skimbold is free. Download the latest release from GitHub and add it to your browser in about a minute.
Chrome, Edge and Brave
Version 122 or later, and other Chromium browsers too.
- From the release page, download
skimbold-<version>-chromium.zipand unzip it into a folder you'll keep. - Open the extensions page:
chrome://extensions,edge://extensionsorbrave://extensions. Type it into the address bar. - Switch on Developer mode. It's in the top-right corner in Chrome and Brave, and in the left sidebar in Edge.
- Click Load unpacked and choose the unzipped folder, the one that contains
manifest.json. - Pin Skimbold from the puzzle-piece menu so its button stays in your toolbar.
To update, unzip the new release over the same folder and click the reload arrow on Skimbold's card.
Firefox
The Firefox version is being prepared for addons.mozilla.org. To try it today:
- Download
skimbold-<version>-firefox.zipfrom the release page. - Open
about:debugging#/runtime/this-firefoxand click Load Temporary Add-on. - Choose the zip file. Firefox removes temporary add-ons when it restarts.
No install at all
The Skimbold Reader runs right here in your browser. Paste text or open a file, and it stays on your device.
Reading a PDF, or something you copied?
The Skimbold Reader opens PDFs, text and web pages you saved, and sets them in a calm column with the same bold starts. It's built into the extension, and it works on the web too.