glance-cli

AI-powered web reader for your terminal – Fetch any webpage, extract clean content, get instant AI summaries, and listen with natural voice synthesis.


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Why glance-cli?

- ✅ 100% FREE – Uses local Ollama (no API keys needed)
- 🌍 Auto language detection – English, French, Spanish, Haitian Creole
- 🔒 Privacy first – Your browsing history stays local
- 🎤 Voice-enabled – Read articles aloud with multilingual support
- 💾 Multiple formats – Save as markdown, JSON, or plain text
- ⚡ Lightning fast – Built with Bun and TypeScript

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Quick Start

``bash

Install

npm install -g glance-cli

Use immediately

glance https://news.com # Get AI summary
glance https://news.com --read # Read aloud
glance https://news.com --browse # Interactive navigation
`

For 100% free local AI:
`bash
curl -fsSL https://ollama.com/install.sh | sh
ollama pull llama3
glance https://techcrunch.com --tldr --read
`

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Core Features

$3


Navigate websites interactively with AI summaries on demand.
`bash
glance https://news.ycombinator.com --browse

Inside browse mode:

1 # Navigate to link 1
3 --tldr # Navigate + get summary
5 --read # Navigate + read aloud
1 --output file.md # Navigate + save to file
n # Show navigation links
e # Show external links
b # Go back
q # Quit
`

$3

Extract content with AI summaries in multiple styles.
`bash
glance # AI summary (default)
glance --tldr # One sentence
glance --key-points # Bullet points
glance --eli5 # Simple explanation
glance --full # Full content (no summary)
glance --copy # Copy to clipboard
`

$3

Listen to articles with natural voice synthesis.
`bash
glance --read # Read aloud (auto-detects language)
glance --audio-output audio.mp3 # Save as MP3
glance --voice nova --read # Choose specific voice
glance -l fr --read # French voice

glance --list-voices # See available voices
`

Voice Options:
- Free: System TTS (macOS/Windows/Linux)
- Premium: ElevenLabs (natural voices, requires API key)

$3


Save content in multiple formats.
`bash
glance --output summary.md # Save as markdown
glance --output data.json # Save as JSON
glance --format plain -o file # Save as plain text
`

$3

Automatically detects and adapts to content language.
`bash
glance https://lemonde.fr --tldr # Auto-detects French
glance https://news.es --read # Auto-detects Spanish + voice
glance -l es --read # Override to Spanish
`

Supported: English, French, Spanish, Haitian Creole

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Common Use Cases

`bash

Morning news with audio

glance https://news.ycombinator.com --tldr --read

Quick copy for sharing

glance https://article.com --tldr --copy

Interactive research

glance https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AI --browse

Study while coding

glance https://tutorial.com --full --read

Save documentation

glance https://docs.python.org --output guide.md

Multilingual content

glance https://lemonde.fr --read # Auto-detects French voice
`

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AI Models

Local (Free) – via Ollama:
- llama3:latest – Fast, reliable (recommended)
- gemma3:4b – Lightweight, efficient
- mistral:7b – Excellent quality
- deepseek-r1:latest – Strong reasoning

Cloud (Optional) – requires API keys:
- gpt-4o-mini – OpenAI
- gemini-2.0-flash-exp – Google Gemini
`bash
glance --model llama3 # Use specific model
glance --list-models # Show available models
glance --free-only # Never use paid APIs
`

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Configuration


`bash

AI Providers (optional)

export OPENAI_API_KEY=...
export GEMINI_API_KEY=...

Voice (optional, for premium voices)

export ELEVENLABS_API_KEY=...

Ollama (optional, auto-detected)

export OLLAMA_ENDPOINT=http://localhost:11434
`

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All Options

`bash

Content

--browse # Interactive navigation
--tldr # One sentence summary
--key-points, -k # Bullet points
--eli5 # Simple explanation
--full # Full content
--ask "question" # Custom Q&A

Voice & Audio

--read, -r # Read aloud
--audio-output # Save as MP3
--voice # Choose voice
--list-voices # Show available voices
-l, --language # Output language (en, fr, es, ht)

AI Models

--model # Choose AI model
--list-models # Show local models
--free-only # Never use paid APIs

Output

--format # Format: md, json, plain
--output, -o # Save to file
--copy, -c # Copy to clipboard
--stream # Live streaming output

Advanced

--screenshot # Capture screenshot
--full-render # Render JavaScript
--metadata # Show page metadata
--links # Extract all links
-v, --verbose # Detailed logs
`

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Contributing

Contributions welcome! Check out our Contributing Guide.
`bash
git clone https://github.com/jkenley/glance-cli.git
cd glance-cli
bun install
bun dev https://example.com
``

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Support

If you find glance-cli useful, consider buying me a coffee ☕


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Links

- GitHub: github.com/jkenley/glance-cli
- NPM: npmjs.com/package/glance-cli
- Issues: github.com/jkenley/glance-cli/issues

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Built with ❤️ by Kenley Jean • MIT License

Star ⭐ the repo if you find it useful!