x-reader

Universal content reader — fetch, transcribe, and digest content from any platform.

Give it a URL (article, video, podcast, tweet), get back structured content. Works as CLI, Python library, MCP server, or Claude Code skills.

简体中文： README.zh.md / README.zh-CN.md

What It Does

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Any URL → Platform Detection → Fetch Content → Unified Output
              ↓                      ↓
         auto-detect           text: Jina Reader
         7+ platforms          video: yt-dlp subtitles
                               audio: Whisper transcription
                               API: Bilibili / RSS / Telegram

The Python layer handles text fetching and YouTube subtitle extraction. The Claude Code skills (optional) add full Whisper transcription for video/podcast and AI-powered content analysis.

Three Layers

x-reader is composable. Use the layers you need:

Layer 1: Python CLI

bashCopy code
# Fetch any URL
x-reader https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/abc123

# Fetch a tweet
x-reader https://x.com/elonmusk/status/123456

# Fetch multiple URLs
x-reader https://url1.com https://url2.com

# Login to a platform (one-time, for browser fallback)
x-reader login xhs

# View inbox
x-reader list

Layer 2: Claude Code Skills

Requires cloning the repo (not included in pip install).

For video/podcast transcription and content analysis:

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skills/
├── video/       # YouTube/Bilibili/podcast → full transcript via Whisper
└── analyzer/    # Any content → structured analysis report

Install:

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export CLAUDE_SKILLS_DIR="/path/to/claude-code-skills"
mkdir -p "$CLAUDE_SKILLS_DIR"
cp -r skills/video "$CLAUDE_SKILLS_DIR/video"
cp -r skills/analyzer "$CLAUDE_SKILLS_DIR/analyzer"

Then in Claude Code, just send a YouTube/Bilibili/podcast link — the video skill auto-triggers and produces a full transcript + summary.

Layer 3: MCP Server

Requires cloning the repo (mcp_server.py is not included in pip install).

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git clone https://github.com/runesleo/x-reader.git
cd x-reader
pip install -e ".[mcp]"
python mcp_server.py

The MCP server currently targets FastMCP 1.x. The mcp and all extras pin mcp<2; moving to MCP 2.x requires a server migration rather than removing the version cap.

Tools exposed:

• read_url(url) — fetch any URL
• read_batch(urls) — fetch multiple URLs concurrently
• list_inbox() — view previously fetched content
• detect_platform(url) — identify platform from URL

Claude Code config (~/.claude/claude_desktop_config.json):

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{
    "mcpServers": {
        "x-reader": {
            "command": "python",
            "args": ["/path/to/x-reader/mcp_server.py"]
        }
    }
}

Supported Platforms

*XHS requires a one-time login: x-reader login xhs (saves session for Playwright fallback)

X Articles and login-required X pages can use a saved local browser session: x-reader login twitter

YouTube Whisper transcription requires GROQ_API_KEY — get a free key from Groq

X / Twitter Reading Path

x-reader uses a lightweight public-first chain for X:

1. X oEmbed for fast public tweet text.
2. FxTwitter for structured public tweet fallback.
3. Jina Reader for public Articles and long-form pages.
4. Generic Jina Reader for profiles and non-status X pages.
5. Playwright with saved session for login-required content.

For Articles or gated pages, run:

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x-reader login twitter
x-reader "https://x.com/user/status/123"

By default, local X cookies stay local. If you explicitly want to let Jina use your saved X session for gated Articles, set:

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export X_READER_ALLOW_EXTERNAL_SESSION_COOKIES=1

Install

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# From GitHub (recommended)
pip install git+https://github.com/runesleo/x-reader.git

# With Telegram support
pip install "x-reader[telegram] @ git+https://github.com/runesleo/x-reader.git"

# With browser fallback (Playwright — for XHS/WeChat anti-scraping)
pip install "x-reader[browser] @ git+https://github.com/runesleo/x-reader.git"
playwright install chromium

# With all optional dependencies
pip install "x-reader[all] @ git+https://github.com/runesleo/x-reader.git"
playwright install chromium

Or clone and install locally:

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git clone https://github.com/runesleo/x-reader.git
cd x-reader
pip install -e ".[all]"
playwright install chromium

Dependencies for video/audio (optional)

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# macOS
brew install yt-dlp ffmpeg

# Linux
pip install yt-dlp
apt install ffmpeg

For Whisper transcription, get a free API key from Groq and set:

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export GROQ_API_KEY=your_key_here

Use as Library

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import asyncio
from x_reader.reader import UniversalReader

async def main():
    reader = UniversalReader()
    content = await reader.read("https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/abc123")
    print(content.title)
    print(content.content[:200])

asyncio.run(main())

Configuration

Copy .env.example to .env:

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cp .env.example .env

Architecture

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x-reader/
├── x_reader/              # Python package
│   ├── cli.py             # CLI entry point
│   ├── reader.py          # URL dispatcher (UniversalReader)
│   ├── schema.py          # Unified data model (UnifiedContent + Inbox)
│   ├── login.py           # Browser login manager (saves sessions)
│   ├── fetchers/
│   │   ├── jina.py        # Jina Reader (universal fallback)
│   │   ├── browser.py     # Playwright headless (anti-scraping fallback)
│   │   ├── bilibili.py    # Bilibili API
│   │   ├── youtube.py     # yt-dlp subtitle extraction
│   │   ├── rss.py         # feedparser
│   │   ├── telegram.py    # Telethon
│   │   ├── twitter.py     # oEmbed → FxTwitter → Article/Jina → Playwright
│   │   ├── wechat.py      # Jina → Playwright fallback
│   │   └── xhs.py         # Jina → Playwright + session fallback
│   └── utils/
│       └── storage.py     # JSON + Markdown dual output
├── skills/                # Claude Code skills
│   ├── video/             # Video/podcast → transcript + summary
│   └── analyzer/          # Content → structured analysis
├── mcp_server.py          # MCP server entry point
└── pyproject.toml

How the Layers Work Together

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User sends URL
    │
    ├─ Text content (article, tweet, WeChat)
    │   └─ Python fetcher → UnifiedContent → inbox
    │
    ├─ Video (YouTube, Bilibili, X video)
    │   ├─ Python fetcher → metadata (title, description)
    │   └─ Video skill → full transcript via subtitles/Whisper
    │
    ├─ Podcast (小宇宙, Apple Podcasts)
    │   └─ Video skill → full transcript via Whisper
    │
    └─ Analysis requested
        └─ Analyzer skill → structured report + action items

Star History

Author

Leo (@runes_leo) — AI × Crypto independent builder. Trading on Polymarket, building data and trading systems with Claude Code and Codex.

leolabs.me — writing · community · open-source tools · indie projects · all platforms.

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License

MIT