Help
Find the answer, then get back to reading
Three step-by-step guides cover what people ask about most. Other topics link to the page that explains them. The FAQ follows below, and support is a message away.
Step-by-step guides
Guide
Import and save content
Save the page you are reading, a link or pasted text, files, or an export from another reading app.
Guide
Sync between devices
Set up Online Sync, a local folder or Dropbox, and fix what stops a sync.
Guide
Set up AI
Connect your own API key, or a local model in Ollama or LM Studio, to the assistant.
Other topics
- Read about installing FlowReader
Which platforms exist today and what each one needs.
- Read about the reading modes
Normal, Pacing, Book and RSVP, and when each one helps.
- Read about Pro
What Pro includes, what it costs, and how cancellation works.
- Read about privacy and data
What stays on the device, what leaves it, and how to export everything.
- Contact support
For a problem the guides don’t solve. Include your platform and FlowReader version.
Read the FAQ
What is FlowReader?
FlowReader is a reading app that keeps everything you read in one library. Web pages, books, papers, PDFs, feeds and newsletters all open in the same reader. You get four reading modes, highlights and notes, and read-aloud. With Pro, an assistant answers your questions and shows where each answer came from.
Which platforms are supported?
Chrome and other Chromium browsers, Firefox, macOS, Windows and Linux. Apps for iOS and Android are in development and not available yet.
Do I need an account?
No. Every reading mode and every free source works without an account. You only need one for Pro, because a subscription belongs to an account.
What works offline?
Everything you’ve already saved on your device. Your library, reading positions, notes, highlights and search all work without a connection. Only content that was never downloaded needs the network.
What is included for free?
The whole reader. That means all four reading modes, read-aloud, highlights and notes, and your library with collections, tags and full-text search. It also includes the free sources, such as Hacker News, arXiv, RSS feeds and news sites. Imports, exports, themes and reading statistics are free too.
What does Pro include?
Pro adds the assistant, automatic sorting and sync between your devices. It also includes the knowledge graph, newsletters, Monitors that watch sources for you, collection sharing and notes shared on the web. And you can open your library from AI clients such as Claude.
Is read-aloud free, and does my text leave the device?
It’s free and needs no account. English is read by a voice that runs on your device after a one-time download, so nothing you read is sent anywhere to be spoken. Other languages use the voices your system already has. You can set the speed from half to three times normal.
Can I use FlowReader from the keyboard?
Yes. Press Cmd+K (Ctrl+K on Windows and Linux) to open the command palette. From there you reach every place, command, theme and setting. Settings lists every shortcut, and ? in the reader shows the keys you can use there.
How does synchronization work?
Sync is part of Pro, and you can also keep everything on one device. Online Sync runs through your FlowReader account and keeps your devices in step almost at once. Folder sync uses a folder you choose, in the desktop app and in Chromium browsers. Dropbox sync works in the browser extension, with a Dropbox app you set up yourself. None of the options is end-to-end encrypted. The security page explains what protects each one.
Do I need my own AI account?
Yes, if you use the assistant. It runs on your own account with an AI service, or on a local model on your computer. FlowReader doesn’t sell AI use of its own.
Are local AI models supported?
Yes. The assistant can run on LM Studio and Ollama, entirely on your own computer. It also works with Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, Hugging Face and OpenCode Go, and with any OpenAI-compatible service you add.
Can I use my library from Claude, ChatGPT or another AI client?
Yes, with Pro. Claude, ChatGPT and other AI clients can connect to your library through MCP, an open standard for AI tools. They can search it, read saved articles, highlight passages and file new items. You approve each permission and can remove a client at any time. It needs Online Sync and a verified account, and it stays off until you turn it on.
What can I import?
PDF, Word, EPUB, FictionBook and Kindle books, plain text, Markdown, HTML, RTF and comic archives. You can also save web pages, selections and pasted text, and follow RSS and Atom feeds. arXiv papers, Royal Road serials and books from OPDS catalogues come in too. So do the export files from Pocket, Omnivore, Readwise, Raindrop and Instapaper.
How does cancellation work?
Open the billing portal from inside the app and cancel there. Cancel before the renewal date to avoid the next charge. Pro stays active until the end of the period you’ve paid for.
What happens to my local content after cancelling?
It stays where it is. FlowReader keeps your data and doesn’t lock anything you saved. Only the Pro features pause until Pro is active again. That means sync, newsletters, Monitors, Smart Rules, the knowledge graph, AI and sharing.
Can I export my data?
Yes, at any time. Reading history and annotations export as JSON, CSV or Markdown. Your feeds export as OPML, and any collection as a FlowCollection file.
What does Pro cost?
FlowReader Pro is €7.99 per month, with a 14-day trial where available. It renews automatically every month until you cancel. There is no annual plan.