Reading timer
A goal small enough to keep, a clock beside the page, and a nudge the moment you're done — that's what makes it a habit. The book stays on your computer.
Today's commitment
Saved in this browserOpen something to read
Works right now, no account
- Open a PDF, .txt or .md from your computer. It is rendered in your browser and never uploaded — the file does not leave your device.
- Pick how many minutes to read, and a clock that pauses itself when you step away.
- A notebook beside the page — one per book, with a button that marks the page you are on — and a reflection when you finish one.
- Select any word and save it with what it means, in the sentence you found it in.
- Paste an article instead, and it is split into pages so it reads like a book.
- Your page, notes and saved words are kept in this browser. Open the same file again and you land where you stopped.
With a free account
- A shelf that remembers your page on every device — two books free, unlimited on Pro.
- The words you saved here become flashcards in a Vocabulary deck, back on a spaced-repetition schedule — and a suggested definition is one press away.
- Notes kept with the book, on every device.
- Minutes count toward the Life Card’s Reading stat and earn XP once a day.
Free is free forever. No credit card.
How the reading timer works
- Pick how many minutes you will read today. Ten is plenty to start; the goal is a number you can keep on a bad day, not an ambitious one.
- Open a PDF, .txt or .md file from your computer, or paste an article. A PDF is rendered in your browser; text is split into pages so it reads like a book. Nothing is uploaded.
- Read with the clock beside the page. It pauses itself when you step away and picks up when you come back.
- Take notes in the notebook next to the page — one per book, with a button that marks the page you are on — and select any word to save it with what it means.
- When the clock runs out, the day is done. Open the same file tomorrow and you land on the page you stopped at.
Questions
Is the reading timer free, and do I need an account?
It is free and needs no account. The timer, the reader, the notebook and saving words all work in your browser. A free account adds a shelf that remembers your page on every device, turns the words you saved into flashcards on a spaced-repetition schedule, keeps your notes with the book, and counts your minutes toward a Reading stat on your Life Card.
Is my PDF uploaded anywhere?
No. The file you pick is rendered by your browser from your own disk and never sent to a server — there is nowhere for it to go, because a guest has no storage on MugUp. What is remembered, in this browser only, is your position in the file, so opening it again lands you on the same page.
What file types can I read?
PDF, plain text (.txt) and Markdown (.md). You can also paste an article you copied, and it is split into pages the same way. Text and Markdown are paginated in the browser; a PDF keeps its own pages.
Is there a page or word target?
No — minutes are the only target. You commit to ten minutes (or five, or thirty), and the countdown decides when the day is done. There is no page count to hit, because a slow, careful chapter is not a failed session.
Can I take notes while I read?
Yes. A notebook sits beside the page during the session — one continuous document per book, saved as you type, with a button that drops a heading for the page you are on. Finishing a book offers three reflection questions. Without an account the notes stay in this browser; with one they are kept with the book on every device.
What happens to the words I save?
Select a word on the page and save it with what it means, in the sentence you found it in. Without an account the words are kept in this browser. Create a free account and they become ordinary flashcards in a Vocabulary deck, reviewed on a spaced-repetition schedule alongside everything else you study — and a suggested definition is one press away.
How is this different from just reading?
Two things: a commitment small enough to keep, and a clock beside the page that ends the session for you. Reading habits fail on the days you do not start, and a ten-minute goal with a timer running is far easier to start than "read more". The nudge when the clock runs out is what turns a session into a streak.
More free tools from MugUp
- Pomodoro timerA full-screen focus timer over a living night scene, with ambient sound and breaks you name before you take them.
- Writing timerA distraction-free page, daily journaling prompts, and a clock you chose. Minutes decide when you are done.
- Speaking practiceA prompt, a short clock to think, a longer one to talk, and your browser’s transcript afterwards.