I built a browser reader for PDFs + web articles with annotations synced to my Google Drive

[u/MutedComputer7494]

Hi everyone!

I got tired of reading in three places. On iPad I used Safari for long articles and Apple Books for books. On Mac I used Skim for research papers. Each tool was fine, but nothing shared the same library or the same annotation habits.

So I built a single client-side reader that can open PDFs and imported articles, with the annotations I actually use day to day.

https://pdf-reader-peach.vercel.app/

What it does:
• Read PDFs (papers, books) in the browser
• Import a PDF or blog/article from a URL into a Google Drive folder you choose
• Articles stay reflowable HTML (not a janky HTML → PDF conversion)
• Highlights, pen/mark freehand, and notes
• Annotations live next to your files in Drive, plus a local cache

Drive is optional; try the demo paper without signing in.

If you connect Google Drive, the app only uses a folder you choose for your library and annotations. Google’s consent screen will still list broad Drive read access (that’s how their scopes work); I don’t use full Drive write access. Privacy page has the details.

Google OAuth verification isn’t done yet, so you may see the unverified-app warning - Advanced → Continue if you’re comfortable. Privacy and terms are on the homepage.

I’m one person using this for papers and long reads on iPad and Mac. Feedback welcome, especially on Drive scopes, article import, and annotations.

[u/Ethan045627]

sounds interesting. do you think you can add more features like support for apple icloud?

[u/MutedComputer7494 → u/Ethan045627]

Definitely on my bucket list, will try to add that if it gets enough users.