Summarize the core
Get a quick digest, main points, hidden assumptions, caveats, and the reason this source matters.
AI reading sidekick for Chrome
The fastest lane through anything you read.
Skimlane runs beside the page you are on. It summarizes, researches, questions, and saves what matters based on your reading profile, how you read, and the section you care about.
Built for professional reading: articles, PDFs, docs, videos, threads, and selected text.
Local-first
Structured skims
Markdown-ready
Article
A dense post about AI agents, product risk, and adoption
Right-side reading lane
Skimlane stays active while you read, so you can ask, inspect, and save without leaving the page.
What it does
Pick the output you need.
Skimlane turns the current page into the structure you choose: a quick digest, a PM brief, a research note, a signal cleaner, or a reusable Markdown artifact.
Research while reading
Ask follow-up questions against the page context, the extraction snapshot, and the skim result.
Adapt to your profile
Use your role, goals, interests, preferred depth, and reading style to make outputs more relevant.
Save useful notes
Copy structured Markdown with source, skim, related questions, and chat trail when the artifact is worth keeping.
How it works
The reading lane lives where you read.
Open the Chrome side panel or floating panel. Skimlane extracts the page, applies your selected mode, then gives you a compact result you can question or export.
1
Open any source
Use it on articles, PDFs, YouTube transcripts, Google Docs, forum posts, newsletters, or selected text.
2
Choose the lens
Pick a default recipe like Quick Digest, Worth Reading?, Signal Cleaner, PM Brief, Engineering Brief, Research Note, or build your own section mix.
3
Ask and capture
Ask follow-up questions, reopen history later, and copy the final reading artifact as Markdown.
Reading Profile
Example: product manager reading technical AI content
Prioritize user impact, adoption risk, implementation constraints, market signal, and roadmap relevance. Flag unsupported claims and generic AI hype.
Role: Product
Depth: Fast first, detail on demand
Flag: weak evidence
Save: Markdown
Tone: concise
Personal by design
It reads the way you read.
A normal summary treats everyone the same. Skimlane uses your profile and your selected sections so the same page can become a product brief, engineering note, research memo, or decision aid.
Reading recipes
Default recipes, customizable sections.
Start with a default output, then adjust the sections and prompts to match how you read.
Quick Digest
TL;DR, source signal, main points, reading time, and useful related questions.
Worth Reading?
Core question, why it matters, read or skip guidance, and the parts worth your time.
Full Smart Skim
Summary, best parts, key numbers, key claims, evidence, counterpoints, and gaps.
Signal Cleaner
Unsupported claims, repeated fluff, generic AI signal, safe-to-ignore parts, and bottom line.
Knowledge Note
Concepts, quotes, links to explore, tags, and a save-ready Markdown artifact.
PM Brief
User impact, product implications, roadmap relevance, risks, and open questions.
Engineering Brief
Technical takeaways, implementation notes, tradeoffs, jargon, and constraints.
Research Note
Thesis, method and evidence, limitations, what it says, and what is new.
Market Brief
Market signal, customer pain, competitor angle, distribution lessons, and assumptions.
Share Angles
Reader themes, best replies, share angles, quotes, and a concise takeaway.
Sections are flexible.
Use the defaults, remove what you do not need, or add your own custom prompts.
Default sections
TL;DR
Source Signal
Main Points
Reading Time
Core Question
Why It Matters
Summary
Best Parts
Key Numbers
Key Claims
Evidence Provided
Counterpoints & Gaps
Purpose
Incentives & Agenda
Save This
Worth Doing
Worth Reading?
Read It / Skip It
User Impact
Product Implications
Roadmap Relevance
Risks
Open Questions
Technical Takeaways
Implementation Notes
Tradeoffs
Jargon & Terms
Market Signal
Customer Pain
Competitor Angle
Distribution Lessons
Assumptions
Thesis
Method & Evidence
Limitations
What It Says
What Is New
Unsupported Claims
Repeated Fluff
Generic / AI Signal
Safe To Ignore
Bottom Line
Metadata
Concepts
Quotes
Links To Explore
Tags
Share Angles
Reader Themes
Best Replies
Custom prompts
Answer Core Question
Challenge This
Apply To Me
Worth Doing
Explain Simply
Find Best Parts
Save As Note
Privacy and control
Private enough for serious reading.
Skimlane is built around local-first storage and explicit provider choice. Your profile, settings, API keys, and history stay local. Page content is sent only when you skim, to the provider you choose.
Local-first historyReopen saved skims and chats without turning the product into a cloud knowledge base.
Provider choiceUse Chrome Nano, Groq, OpenRouter, OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini, compatible endpoints, or Ollama.
BYOK friendlyBring your own API key and keep model access separate from the product workflow.
Markdown portableCopy the artifact into Obsidian, Notion, Slack, docs, email, or your own files.
Built for professional readers
For people who read to decide, build, invest, research, or write.
The first audience is not casual news skimmers. It is people who read dense sources and need reusable signal.
Product managersExtract implications, risks, user impact, and roadmap relevance.
EngineersCapture technical takeaways, tradeoffs, failure modes, and implementation notes.
FoundersFind market signal, distribution lessons, competitor angles, and urgency.
AnalystsSeparate claims, evidence, caveats, assumptions, and what needs verification.
ResearchersTurn sources into structured notes with limitations and follow-up questions.
InvestorsMove from noisy source to thesis, risk, and contrarian view faster.
Technical writersRead source material and preserve the parts that become reusable explanations.
PKM usersMove structured Markdown artifacts into Obsidian or your knowledge workflow.
Take the faster lane through the web.
Install Skimlane for Chrome and turn any page into signal, context, and reusable notes.