Onhand: A Contextual AI Reading Companion

Introduction

Onhand is a Chrome extension that acts as a smart reading companion for students and researchers. It is designed to help users learn from and understand the text they are reading on the web without leaving their current page. Instead of sending the entire article to a distant chatbot, Onhand stays right there in the browser tab. It reads what you see, understands your questions, and points you directly to the answers within the source material. This tool aims to make studying and research more efficient by keeping the focus on the original text.

Benefits

Onhand offers several key advantages for anyone who reads a lot of digital content. First, it provides contextual interaction. When you ask a question, the tool highlights the exact part of the text that answers it. It also leaves a note in the margin, similar to how a teacher might mark a book, so you can keep reading without losing your place. Second, it saves your work. Every session is recorded, including your highlights, notes, and even a snapshot of the page. You can go back to a specific moment in your study session anytime. Third, it includes a voice feature. Users can talk through a paper and get audio explanations in real time, though this feature is still being tested. Finally, it respects your privacy. The tool is open source, and your data stays on your device. It does not send your personal information to external servers.

Use Cases

Onhand is built for people who need to study or research deeply. It works well with many types of websites, including Wikipedia, academic papers on arXiv, Google Docs, and Substack articles. Students can use it to understand complex textbook chapters or research papers. Researchers can use it to quickly find specific data points or citations within long documents. The tool is especially useful for those who prefer to read and think on their own while having an AI assistant available to guide them. It helps users avoid the common problem of getting lost in a chatbot conversation and forgetting the original source of the information.

Pricing

Onhand offers a free tier called "Onhand Free." This version routes model requests through a hosted worker to ensure reliability. Users can also choose to connect their own API keys, such as those from OpenAI Codex, for more advanced features. The tool is open source and released under the Apache 2.0 license, which means developers can also build and modify it themselves.

Vibes

As a new tool built by a recent college graduate, Onhand has not yet gathered a large number of public reviews. However, the creator designed it with specific learning principles in mind. The goal is to guide users to find answers themselves rather than just giving them the answer immediately. This approach suggests a focus on active learning and critical thinking. The community response is expected to grow as more students and researchers try it out.

Additional Information

Onhand was created by a recent college graduate who felt that existing chatbots did not help with learning enough. The developer wanted a tool that kept users within their source material. The project uses the Pi Agentic framework and runs directly in the browser. It consists of 36 small tools that handle different tasks like reading text, searching PDFs, highlighting notes, and capturing screenshots. The long-term goal is to expand its use among students and researchers who need strong, context-aware help during their work.