absorb

Quickly read a file without moving your eyes.

How it works

RSVP displays one word at a time at a fixed point on screen. Each word is aligned on its Optimal Recognition Point (ORP) — the character your eye naturally fixates on — highlighted in red. This eliminates saccadic eye movements and lets you read significantly faster than traditional left-to-right scanning.

The reading speed eases in gradually over the first few words (configurable with --ramp), starting at one third of your target WPM and ramping up smoothly. This gives your brain time to settle into the flow.

Install

Binaries

Check Releases for binaries and installers

crates.io

cargo install absorb --locked

Usage

# Read a file
absorb document.txt

# Pipe text from stdin
cat article.md | absorb

# Set speed to 400 words per minute
absorb -w 400 document.txt

# See options
absorb --help

Configuration

Absorb reads defaults from ~/.config/absorb/config.toml. All fields are optional — CLI flags override config values.

wpm = 450
color = "cyan"
big_text = true
ramp = 5
pause = 1.5