Plain Sight Reader

Read PDF and EPUB e‑books inside VS Code — rendered as source code, Markdown docs, or log output, so reading blends into a normal editor session.

Plain Sight Reader is a Visual Studio Code extension for people who want to read a book in their development environment without it looking like they are reading a book. Import an e‑book, and its text appears in a normal editor tab — as commented source code (in the language of your choice), as a Markdown document, or as a stream of timestamped log lines. Page through it with the keyboard, jump between chapters, and hit a panic key to close it instantly.

It is a focused, offline, no‑telemetry e‑book reader for developers — a discreet way to read novels, non‑fiction, RFCs, documentation, or long‑form articles during downtime, commutes on a remote box, or a slow CI run.

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Table of contents

• Why use it
• Features
• Requirements
• Installation
• Quick start
• Disguise modes
• Commands
• Keyboard shortcuts
• Settings
• How it works
• Privacy
• Supported formats
• FAQ
• Troubleshooting
• Limitations
• Roadmap
• Contributing
• License

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Why use it

• Read without context‑switching. No second app, no browser tab, no phone. The book is a tab next to your code.
• Low profile. A glance at your screen reads as "documentation" or "logs," not Dune.
• Keyboard‑driven. Turn pages and jump chapters without touching the mouse.
• Yours, offline. Books live on your machine. The extension makes zero network requests.
• It resumes. Close the tab, restart VS Code, reopen the book — you are back where you left off.

Typical uses: reading a novel on a break, getting through a technical book a page at a time, reviewing a long PDF spec, or catching up on saved long‑form articles exported to EPUB.

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Features

📥 Import PDF & EPUB	Text is extracted, split into sections, and stored locally in a personal library.
🎭 Three disguise modes	code (8 languages), markdown, and log — switch any time with one keystroke.
⌨️ Keyboard navigation	Next/previous page, next/previous section, jump‑to‑section quick pick.
🔖 Automatic bookmarks	Reading position is saved per book and restored on reopen.
🚨 Panic key	One shortcut closes the reader tab immediately (optionally runs another command).
🧩 No sidebar, no clutter	Everything runs through the Command Palette and quick picks.
📴 Fully offline	No accounts, no telemetry, no external calls.

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Requirements

• VS Code 1.84 or newer.
• To build from source: Node.js 18+ and npm.

No other runtime dependencies — the extension is bundled into a single file.

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Installation

From the VS Code Marketplace (recommended)

• In VS Code: open Extensions (Ctrl+Shift+X), search "Plain Sight Reader", click Install.
• Or from a terminal: code --install-extension saad-works.plain-sight-reader
• Or open the Marketplace listing and click Install.

From a .vsix file

1. Download plain-sight-reader-<version>.vsix from the Releases page (or build it — see below).
2. Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P / Cmd+Shift+P) → Extensions: Install from VSIX… → choose the file.
3. Developer: Reload Window.

Build from source

git clone https://github.com/saad-works/plain-sight-reader.git
cd plain-sight-reader
npm install
npm run compile          # bundle to dist/extension.js
npx @vscode/vsce package # produces plain-sight-reader-<version>.vsix

Then install the generated .vsix as described above.

Run it in development

Open the folder in VS Code and press F5. A second VS Code window (the Extension Development Host) launches with the extension loaded. Use npm run watch for incremental rebuilds.

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Quick start

1. Command Palette → Plain Sight Reader: Import Book… and pick a .pdf or .epub.
2. When prompted, choose Open now (or later: Plain Sight Reader: Open Book…).
3. The book opens as an editor tab. Turn pages with Ctrl+Alt+. and Ctrl+Alt+,.

Change how it looks with Cycle Disguise Mode (Ctrl+Alt+M), and set the code language in Settings → plainSightReader.codeLanguage.

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Disguise modes

Cycle modes with Ctrl+Alt+M, or set plainSightReader.disguiseMode. The reader tab's file extension and syntax highlighting follow the mode automatically.

code

Each page is split into small groups of paragraphs. Every group becomes a documentation comment attached to a plausible, synthetic declaration — a function, struct, guard clause, property, or constant — so the page reads as a heavily‑documented source file rather than a wall of comments.

Set the language with plainSightReader.codeLanguage. Supported: typescript (default), javascript, csharp, java, go, rust, ruby, python. Any other value falls back to typescript.

TypeScript

// ThePierAtLowTide — Northbound
// part 3 of 9

import { normalize } from "./normalize";
import type { Frame, Node, Segment } from "./types";

/**
 * The morning fog had not yet lifted from the harbour when Elena stepped onto the pier,
 * her boots loud on the wet planks. She had rehearsed the conversation a dozen times on
 * the train, and every version ended badly.
 */
export function resolveEntry(input: Entry, offset = 0): Entry {
  const entry = input.slice(offset);
  return normalize(entry);
}

C#

internal static class ThePierAtLowTide
{
    /// <summary>
    /// When he finally appeared at the end of the pier he was not alone. The second figure
    /// hung back, half hidden by the mist, and Elena felt the shape of the afternoon change.
    /// </summary>
    public static IReadOnlyList<Scope> Scopes { get; } = new List<Scope>();
}

markdown

Renders as a clean Markdown document — a section heading, a subtle progress line, then the prose. Looks like reading project docs or a design note.

# The Pier at Low Tide

_Northbound — part 3 of 9_

The morning fog had not yet lifted from the harbour when Elena stepped onto the pier…

log

Renders as timestamped application logs. Each sentence is a log line with a rotating level (INFO, DEBUG, WARN, TRACE).

2026-01-01 09:00:00.000  INFO   reader.stream  The morning fog had not yet lifted from the harbour.
2026-01-01 09:00:01.373  DEBUG  reader.stream  She had rehearsed the conversation a dozen times on the train.
2026-01-01 09:00:02.746  INFO   reader.stream  Every version ended badly.

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Commands

All commands are under the Plain Sight Reader category in the Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P).

Command	ID	Description
Import Book…	plainSightReader.importBook	Pick a .pdf / .epub and add it to your library
Open Book…	plainSightReader.openBook	Choose a book and start (or resume) reading
Go to Section…	plainSightReader.goToChapter	Jump to a section via quick pick
Remove Book…	plainSightReader.removeBook	Delete a book and its saved position
Next Page	plainSightReader.nextPage	Turn forward (wraps into the next section)
Previous Page	plainSightReader.prevPage	Turn back (wraps into the previous section)
Next Section	plainSightReader.nextChapter	Go to the start of the next section
Previous Section	plainSightReader.prevChapter	Go to the start of the previous section
Cycle Disguise Mode	plainSightReader.cycleDisguise	Rotate code → markdown → log
Panic (Close Reader)	plainSightReader.panic	Close the reader tab immediately

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Keyboard shortcuts

Keys	Action	Active when
Ctrl+Alt+.	Next page	reader tab focused
Ctrl+Alt+,	Previous page	reader tab focused
Ctrl+Alt+Shift+.	Next section	reader tab focused
Ctrl+Alt+Shift+,	Previous section	reader tab focused
Ctrl+Alt+M	Cycle disguise mode	reader tab focused
Ctrl+Alt+Q	Panic — close reader	always

Rebind any of these in Preferences: Open Keyboard Shortcuts (search for plainSightReader). On macOS, substitute Cmd where appropriate via your own bindings.

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Settings

Open Settings (Ctrl+,) and search for Plain Sight Reader, or edit settings.json.

Setting	Type	Default	Description
plainSightReader.disguiseMode	code | markdown | log	code	How book text is displayed.
plainSightReader.codeLanguage	string	typescript	Language for the code disguise: typescript, javascript, csharp, java, go, rust, ruby, python.
plainSightReader.charsPerPage	number	1600	Approximate characters per page. Lower = more frequent page turns.
plainSightReader.wrapColumn	number	100	Line‑wrap width for the code disguise.
plainSightReader.showStatusBar	boolean	false	Show a subtle reading‑progress indicator in the status bar.
plainSightReader.panicCommand	string	""	Optional command ID to run after the panic key closes the reader tab (e.g. workbench.action.quickOpen).

Changes apply live — the open reader re‑renders and keeps your place.

// settings.json
{
  "plainSightReader.disguiseMode": "code",
  "plainSightReader.codeLanguage": "csharp",
  "plainSightReader.charsPerPage": 1400,
  "plainSightReader.showStatusBar": false
}

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How it works

import  ─▶  parse (pdf-parse / jszip + node-html-parser)
        ─▶  extract text, split into sections
        ─▶  store as JSON in the extension's global storage
                                   │
open    ─▶  load JSON ─▶ paginate ─▶ render through the active disguise
        ─▶  show as a read-only virtual document (custom `psr:` URI scheme)

navigate ─▶ each page turn re-renders and saves { section, page } to your library

• Parsing. PDFs go through pdf-parse page by page; chapter headings ("Chapter 3", "Part II", …) are detected where present, otherwise pages are grouped in blocks. EPUBs are unzipped with jszip; the OPF spine is read for order and metadata, and each XHTML document is converted to text.
• Storage. Book text is written as a JSON file under VS Code's per‑extension global storage; the library index and per‑book reading position live in globalState. Uninstalling and reinstalling keeps your library (it is keyed by extension ID, not bundled in the .vsix).
• Rendering. The reader is a read‑only virtual document. It cannot be edited or accidentally saved, and it never touches your workspace files.

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Privacy

Plain Sight Reader is fully local:

• No network requests. Nothing is uploaded, checked, or phoned home.
• No telemetry or analytics.
• No accounts.
• Your books and reading positions never leave your machine.

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Supported formats

Format	Support	Notes
EPUB (.epub)	✅ EPUB 2 & 3	Spine order and metadata (title, author) are read from the OPF. Footnotes, tables, and complex layouts are flattened to text.
PDF (.pdf)	✅ text‑based PDFs	Text is extracted per page. Scanned / image‑only PDFs have no text layer and cannot be read (no OCR). Multi‑column and heavily designed layouts may extract imperfectly.
MOBI / AZW3	❌	Convert to EPUB first (e.g. with Calibre).

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FAQ

Is this a way to read books at work without anyone noticing? That is the design goal. In code or log mode a passing glance reads as ordinary editor content. It is not invisible to someone who stops and reads your screen.

Can I read novels, not just technical books? Yes. Any text‑based EPUB or PDF works — fiction, non‑fiction, articles, specs.

Does it work over SSH / in a remote or container workspace? It runs wherever the extension host runs. Import and library storage happen on that host.

Will my place be saved if I close VS Code? Yes. Position is saved on every page turn and restored when you reopen the book.

Does it change or create files in my project? No. The reader is a read‑only virtual document; book data is kept in the extension's private global storage.

Why is a VS Code extension written in TypeScript and not C#? VS Code's extension host only runs JavaScript/TypeScript. You can still display the book as C# (or Go, Rust, Python, …) via plainSightReader.codeLanguage.

Can I sync my library across machines? Not automatically. Copy the same .vsix to each machine and re‑import, or copy the extension's global storage folder manually.

Is it on the VS Code Marketplace? Yes — search "Plain Sight Reader" in the Extensions view, or install saad-works.plain-sight-reader. A .vsix is also attached to each GitHub release.

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Troubleshooting

"No selectable text found in this PDF." The PDF is a scanned image with no text layer. Run it through OCR (e.g. Calibre, ocrmypdf) or find a text‑based copy.

The code disguise still looks like a wall of comments with an empty class. You are running an older build. Uninstall the extension, Developer: Reload Window, install the current .vsix, and reload again. If a second VS Code window (or an F5 dev host) is open, it may be running the old build.

Page‑turn shortcuts do nothing. They only fire while the reader tab is focused (when: plainSightReader.active). Click the tab first, or use the Command Palette.

Sections are just "Pages 1–8", "Pages 9–16", … No chapter headings were detected in the PDF, so pages were grouped in fixed blocks. This is expected for many PDFs.

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Limitations

• No OCR — scanned PDFs are not supported.
• PDF chapter detection is heuristic; results vary by document.
• Text extraction favours readability over exact layout; footnotes, endnotes, tables, and multi‑column pages may be reflowed or reordered.
• Images, figures, and formatting (bold/italic, links) are dropped.
• Library sync across machines is manual.

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Roadmap

• [ ] Quick‑pick command to switch code language without opening Settings
• [ ] Configurable panic behaviour (switch tab vs. close vs. run command)
• [ ] Per‑book disguise/language overrides
• [ ] Adjustable "words per page" and font‑size‑aware pagination
• [ ] Better PDF structure detection (table of contents / outline)
• [ ] Publish to Open VSX (Cursor / VSCodium / Gitpod)

Suggestions welcome — open an issue.

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Contributing

npm install
npm run watch      # incremental bundle
npm run typecheck  # tsc --noEmit

Press F5 to launch the Extension Development Host. Project layout:

src/
  extension.ts              activation + command wiring
  library.ts               library index + book storage + reading position
  importer/
    index.ts               dispatch by file type
    pdf.ts                  PDF text extraction + section heuristics
    epub.ts                 EPUB unzip + OPF spine + XHTML → text
    types.ts
  reader/
    pagination.ts           split section text into pages
    disguise.ts             code / markdown / log renderers
    readerController.ts      session state + virtual document + navigation
  util/html.ts             XHTML → plain text

Please keep changes focused and run npm run typecheck before opening a PR.

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License

MIT © 2026 saad-works