BoldStart Reader (Chrome Extension)

BoldStart Reader bolds the first part of each word to create visual “fixation points” for faster scanning.

Quick start

1. Open chrome://extensions
2. Enable Develoepr mode
3. Load unpacked → slect the repo folder

Language support note: word detection is ASCII-only (English-centric). The regex is [A-Za-z0-9]+, so many non‑Latin scripts and accented letters are not processed.

How it works

• Walks the DOM and finds plain text nodes.
• Skips script, style, input, textarea, code, pre, and editable fields.
• Bolds a word prefix based on length (short words: 1 letter; longer words: ~40%).
• Uses a blocklist to avoid sensitive domains.

flowchart TD
  A["Page loads"] --> B["Content script starts"]
  B --> C{"Blocked host?"}
  C -- "Yes" --> D["Do nothing"]
  C -- "No" --> E["Walk DOM text nodes"]
  E --> F["Bold word prefix"]

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Privacy and data handling

• No network requests.
• Allowlist stored loclaly in Chrome (no sync).

About the technique

Often called Bionic Reading. Evidence is mixed; treat it as a personal‑preference aid rather than a proven improvement for speed or comprehension.

Install (local)

1. Clone: git clone <repo-url> /path/to/highlighter
2. Open chrome://extensions
3. Enable Develoepr mode
4. Load unpacked → slect the repo folder

Update after changes: click Reload on the extension card.

Privacy note

• Keep Allow access to file URLs turned off in the extension details page unless you explicitly need it.

Toggle

• Click the extension icon to toggle on/off for the active tab.
• Hotkey: Alt+B (Windows/Linux) or Command+B (macOS).
• Badge shows ON (green) or OFF (red) per tab.
• The extension does not auto-run; it injects and runs only when you toggle.

Fort Knox + allowlist mode

• Runs only when you explicitly toggle it on for the current tab.
• Only works on allowlisted sites.
• Uses activeTab so it only gains access after a user action.
• No auto‑run on navgiation; refresh resets to off.
• Right‑click the extension icon to add/remove the current site from the allowlist.

Customize the allowlist

• Open the extension options page and edit the allowlist there (one domain per line).
• Right‑click the extension icon and choose Open allow/blocklist options.

Customize the blocklist

• Open the extension options page and edit the blocklist there (one domain per line).
• Right‑click the extension icon and choose Open allow/blocklist options.

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Copyright (c) 2026 Iva Tutis

Licensed under the Mozilla Public License 2.0 (MPL-2.0).