ListenUp - Text to Speech Reader 🎧

A Lightweight web-browser extension to read any selected text or AI chat into natural sounding audio with real-time word highlighting. Perfect for reading articles, documentation, and long conversations hands-free.

✨ Features

• 🎯 Instant Text-to-Speech - Convert selected text to speech with one click
• 🎨 Word-by-Word Highlighting - Visual tracking as words are spoken
• ⚡ Lightning Fast - No delays, works completely offline
• 🎛️ Smart Controls - Play, pause, stop with intuitive shortcuts
• 🌐 Universal Compatibility - Works on articles, chats, PDFs, and more
• 🆓 Completely Free - No subscriptions, no limits, no tracking

🚀 Installation

1. Download the latest zip file for Windows & tar.gz file for Linux from the releases section.
2. Extract the zip file in your convenient location.
3. Open Chrome and go to chrome://extensions/
4. Enable "Developer mode" in the top right
5. Click "Load unpacked" and select the extension folder
6. The ListenUp icon will appear in your toolbar

🎯 How to Use

Method 1: Right-Click Menu

1. Select any text on any webpage
2. Right-click and choose "Read Selected Text"
3. Sit back and listen!

Method 2: Keyboard Shortcuts

• ctrl + Shift + S - Read selected text
• Alt + X - Pause/Resume reading
• Ctrl + Shift + X - Stop reading

Method 3: Popup Controls

1. Click the ListenUp icon in your toolbar
2. Use the control buttons:
   • Start Reading - Read selected text
   • Pause/Resume - Toggle playback
   • Stop - Stop reading
   • Speed Slider - Adjust speech rate (0.5x to 2.0x)

🛠️ Technical Details

Architecture

• Background Script - Manages extension state and messaging
• Content Script - Handles text selection and highlighting
• Offscreen Document - Processes text-to-speech audio
• Popup Interface - Provides user controls and settings

Technologies Used

• Chrome Extension Manifest V3
• Web Speech API (built-in browser TTS)
• Vanilla JavaScript (no frameworks)
• CSS3 with smooth animations

Permissions

• activeTab - Access currently active tab for text selection
• scripting - Inject highlighting functionality
• offscreen - Audio playback for text-to-speech
• storage - Remember user settings locally

📁 Project Structure

listenup-tts/
├── manifest.json          # Extension configuration
├── background.js          # Background service worker
├── content.js            # Content script for highlighting
├── content.css           # Highlighting styles
├── offscreen.js          # Text-to-speech processing
├── offscreen.htm         # Offscreen document
├── popup.html            # Popup interface
├── popup.js              # Popup functionality
└── icons/                # Extension icons
    ├── icon-16.png
    ├── icon-48.png
    └── icon-128.png

🔧 Development

Prerequisites

• Chrome Browser (version 88+)
• Basic knowledge of JavaScript and Chrome Extensions

Building from Source

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/Mahmud-Mahi/ListenUp.git
   cd ListenUp

2. Load in Chrome:

   • Go to chrome://extensions/
   • Enable Developer Mode
   • Click "Load unpacked" and select the project folder

File Descriptions

• manifest.json - Extension metadata and permissions
• background.js - Core extension logic and message handling
• content.js - DOM manipulation for text highlighting
• offscreen.js - Web Speech API integration
• popup.js - User interface controls

🌟 Use Cases

🎓 For Students

• Listen to research papers and articles
• Proofread essays by hearing them read aloud
• Study while multitasking

💼 For Professionals

• Consume long articles during commute
• Listen to documentation while coding
• Review emails and reports hands-free

👁️ For Accessibility

• Help users with visual impairments
• Support those with reading difficulties
• Provide alternative content consumption

🤝 Contributing

We welcome contributions! Please feel free to submit pull requests, report bugs, or suggest new features.

Development Setup

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch (git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature)
3. Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add amazing feature')
4. Push to the branch (git push origin feature/amazing-feature)
5. Open a Pull Request

📝 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

🔒 Privacy

ListenUp respects your privacy:

• ✅ No data collection
• ✅ No tracking
• ✅ No external servers
• ✅ All processing happens locally
• ✅ Your text never leaves your device

🐛 Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Speech not working?

• Ensure your system has text-to-speech capabilities
• Check if audio is not muted
• Try selecting different text

Highlighting not appearing?

• Some websites restrict DOM modification
• Try on different websites to test

Extension not loading?

• Verify Chrome is updated to version 88+
• Check Developer Mode is enabled
• Ensure all files are in the correct structure

Getting Help

• Create an Issue
• Check existing issues for solutions
• Describe your problem with steps to reproduce

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Give your eyes a break. Let ListenUp do the reading. 🎧

⭐ Star this repo if you find it useful!