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Install in OpenClaw
/install book-reader
Description
Read EPUB, PDF, or TXT books from multiple sources with progress tracking, smart chunking, and summary extraction for efficient learning.
README (SKILL.md)
book-reader
Read books (epub, pdf, txt) from various sources with progress tracking.
Purpose
Enable AI agents to read full-length books for learning, summarization, and knowledge extraction.
Features
- Multiple sources: Anna's Archive, Project Gutenberg, local files
- Format support: EPUB, PDF, TXT
- Progress tracking: Remember where you left off
- Smart chunking: Read books in digestible sections
- Summary generation: Extract key insights as you read
Tools Required
curlorwget- Download bookspandoc- Convert EPUB to text (optional, fallback to python)pdftotext(poppler-utils) - Extract PDF text- Python 3 with
ebooklibandbeautifulsoup4(for EPUB parsing)
Usage
Search for a book
./book-reader.sh search "Thinking Fast and Slow"
Download a book
./book-reader.sh download \x3Cbook-id> [output-file]
Read a book (with progress tracking)
./book-reader.sh read \x3Cfile> [--from-page N] [--pages N]
Show reading progress
./book-reader.sh status
Installation
# Install dependencies
sudo apt-get install poppler-utils pandoc # Linux
# brew install poppler pandoc # macOS
pip3 install ebooklib beautifulsoup4 lxml
# Make executable
chmod +x book-reader.sh
Book Sources
-
Project Gutenberg (70k+ public domain books)
- API: https://gutendex.com
- Free, legal, no DRM
-
Anna's Archive (shadow library)
- Millions of books, papers, comics
- Legal gray area depending on jurisdiction
- Use responsibly
-
Local files (your own epub/pdf collection)
Reading State
Progress tracked in ~/.openclaw/workspace/memory/reading-state.json:
{
"currentBook": "Thinking, Fast and Slow",
"file": "/path/to/book.epub",
"totalPages": 499,
"pagesRead": 127,
"lastRead": 1770957900,
"bookmarks": [50, 200],
"notes": "Interesting insight about System 1 vs System 2..."
}
Example Workflow
# Find the book
./book-reader.sh search "Daniel Kahneman Thinking"
# Download it
./book-reader.sh download 12345 ~/books/thinking-fast-slow.epub
# Start reading
./book-reader.sh read ~/books/thinking-fast-slow.epub --pages 50
# Continue later
./book-reader.sh read ~/books/thinking-fast-slow.epub --pages 50
# Check progress
./book-reader.sh status
Privacy & Ethics
- Public domain books (Gutenberg): Fully legal
- Copyrighted books: Check your local laws
- Consider buying books you find valuable to support authors
- Use for personal learning, not redistribution
Limitations
- PDF OCR quality varies
- DRM-protected books not supported (by design)
- Large PDFs may be slow to parse
- EPUB formatting may be imperfect in plain text
Use responsibly. Support authors when possible.
Usage Guidance
This skill appears to do what it says: download books, extract text, and track reading progress in ~/.openclaw/workspace. Before installing or running: 1) Ensure you have the runtime tools the script actually needs — SKILL.md omits jq (the script uses jq for JSON parsing), and the Python EPUB path requires ebooklib and bs4/lxml if pandoc is not present. 2) Be mindful of legality and ethics: the script can download from arbitrary URLs and references Anna's Archive (a shadow library); avoid downloading copyrighted material unless you have the right to do so. 3) Review network usage policies: downloads come from Gutendex or user-provided URLs, so only use trusted sources. 4) The script writes reading-state.json in your workspace and may include file paths and notes — treat that as local data. If you need higher assurance, run the script in a sandbox or review the code locally before giving it files or network access.
Capability Analysis
Type: OpenClaw Skill
Name: book-reader
Version: 1.0.0
The skill is classified as suspicious due to the `download_book` function in `book-reader.sh` allowing the agent to specify an arbitrary output file path for downloaded content. While the script itself does not exhibit malicious intent, this capability, if exploited via prompt injection against the AI agent, could lead to arbitrary file writes to sensitive locations (e.g., `/etc/cron.d/`, `~/.ssh/authorized_keys`), potentially enabling persistence, privilege escalation, or remote code execution. The `SKILL.md` and `README.md` also mention Anna's Archive, a 'shadow library' with legal gray areas, which, while not a code vulnerability, introduces an ethical/legal risk for the agent's operation.
Capability Assessment
Purpose & Capability
The script and SKILL.md align with the stated purpose: searching Gutenberg, downloading EPUB/PDF/TXT, extracting text, and storing reading progress. Declared dependencies (pandoc, pdftotext, Python ebook libs) map to the code's EPUB/PDF handling. One small mismatch: the script uses jq for JSON processing but jq is not mentioned in SKILL.md or the registry metadata.
Instruction Scope
Runtime instructions and the script stay within the declared scope: downloading books (from user-supplied URLs or Gutendex), extracting text, and saving progress to a local workspace (~/.openclaw/workspace). The skill does not instruct reading unrelated system files or exfiltrating data to third-party endpoints beyond fetching book sources and calling the Gutendex API. It mentions Anna's Archive as a source but does not automate access to it (the script points users to the site manually).
Install Mechanism
There is no install spec (instruction-only), so nothing arbitrary is downloaded or executed during installation. Dependencies are installed by the user via OS package manager or pip per SKILL.md. This is the lower-risk pattern.
Credentials
The skill requests no secrets or privileged environment variables. It optionally respects OPENCLAW_WORKSPACE to change its storage location; otherwise it writes state under ~/.openclaw/workspace, which is proportional to its functionality.
Persistence & Privilege
always is false and the skill does not request persistent platform-wide privileges. It stores only its own reading-state file under its workspace and does not modify other skills or system-wide agent settings.
How to Use
- Make sure OpenClaw is installed (local or Docker)
- Run the install command in chat:
/install book-reader - After installation, invoke the skill by name or use
/book-reader - Provide required inputs per the skill's parameter spec and get structured output
Version History
v1.0.0
Initial release: Read full books with progress tracking. 70K+ free books from Project Gutenberg. Built for AI agents on continuous learning journeys.
Metadata
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Book Reader - Learn & Grow Every Day?
Read EPUB, PDF, or TXT books from multiple sources with progress tracking, smart chunking, and summary extraction for efficient learning. It is an AI Agent Skill for Claude Code / OpenClaw, with 1388 downloads so far.
How do I install Book Reader - Learn & Grow Every Day?
Run "/install book-reader" in the OpenClaw or Claude Code chat to install it in one step — no extra setup required.
Is Book Reader - Learn & Grow Every Day free?
Yes, Book Reader - Learn & Grow Every Day is completely free (open-source). You can download, install and use it at no cost.
Which platforms does Book Reader - Learn & Grow Every Day support?
Book Reader - Learn & Grow Every Day is cross-platform and runs anywhere OpenClaw / Claude Code is available (cross-platform).
Who created Book Reader - Learn & Grow Every Day?
It is built and maintained by josharsh (@josharsh); the current version is v1.0.0.
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