Show HN: Narro – Read web pages and Kindle books using local AI voices (github.com)

Narro, a new Chrome extension, enables users to read web pages and Kindle books aloud using local AI voices, significantly enhancing accessibility and the reading experience. This tool allows users to choose from various voice engines—either cloud-based options with their API keys or fully local voices, operating entirely within the browser without any need for external servers or accounts. Key features include seamless sentence highlighting, playback controls, and support for Kindle's online reader through built-in OCR, which recognizes text from Kindle pages. This development is notable for the AI/ML community as it democratizes access to advanced text-to-speech technologies, leveraging models such as OpenAI's GPT-4o-mini and various others from ElevenLabs, Google Gemini, and local systems. The extension operates with minimal memory usage while reading and provides flexibility in voice selection and playback speed. Narro’s ability to work offline and respect user privacy, storing API keys locally and not collecting user data, sets a strong precedent for integrating AI in personal productivity tools while ensuring data security.