Hermes · Article Reader

Hermes reads articles, essays, selected passages, and pasted text aloud without taking you away from the webpage. Start with an installed on-device voice, or connect your own OpenAI API key for expressive AI narration. Direct OpenAI mode works from Chrome with no Node installation or hosted backend. OpenAI usage is billed to your own API project. Reading controls: - Adjust speed from 0.75× to 4×. The toolbar cycles common speeds; settings provide a slider. - Follow highlighted words, double-click a word to seek, and skip between passages. - Drag the player, drop it near an edge to dock, or collapse it while listening. - Let auto-scroll follow the narration, or scroll manually without immediately being pulled back. - Read a selected passage or paste your own text when a page's layout is unusual. Hermes extracts text locally and skips common navigation, advertisements, signup controls, and captions. It does not summarize or rewrite your article. OpenAI word timing can improve through optional background transcription; estimates remain when alignment is unavailable. Timing and technical pronunciation are not guaranteed to be exact. Privacy and setup: - On-device voices send no text to OpenAI. - OpenAI narration requires an explicit data-sharing choice. Narration text, a few upcoming passages, and applicable voice guidance go to OpenAI. Improved timing also sends generated audio. - The direct-mode key and voice instructions last for the current browser session. They are not synced or persistently saved by Hermes. - Audio is cached locally with encryption for reuse within the same browser session. Clear it from Options. - No Hermes account, analytics, advertising, or developer-operated content service. Designed for desktop Chrome. Chrome internal pages, the Web Store, and the built-in PDF viewer are unsupported. Hermes does not bypass paywalls. OpenAI needs an initial audio buffer, and fast playback can sometimes catch up with generation. This package does not run on iPhone, iPad, or Safari.