How do I install the Readwise Chat skill?

Run npx skillmds@latest add edwinhu/readwise-chat in your terminal (requires Node.js), paste this page's agent-chat prompt into Claude, Cursor, or any MCP-connected agent, or download the SKILL.md file and copy it into your agent's skills directory.

Is Readwise Chat safe to use?

This skill has not completed SkillMD's automated safety review yet. SkillMD never runs a skill's scripts for you; review the SKILL.md before installing.

Which AI agents work with Readwise Chat?

This skill is tagged as working with Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex. SKILL.md is an open format, so most agents that read a skills directory can load it too.

Is Readwise Chat free to use?

Yes. Installing skills from SkillMD is free, and the skill stays under its author's original license.

Who published Readwise Chat?

edwinhu (@edwinhu) published this skill. Their other Agent Skills are listed on their SkillMD profile.

Readwise Chat by edwinhu — Agent Skill

Name: Readwise Chat
Author: edwinhu

Readwise Chat

Use when the user asks a QUESTION of their reading library rather than for a keyword lookup — 'ask readwise', 'chat about my highlights', 'what do my notes say about X', 'summarize my reading on X', 'what have I read about proxy advisors', 'compare what I've read about X vs Y', 'what's my take on X based on what I've read', 'pull together my highlights on X'. Use proactively for synthesis across many documents. NOT for finding a specific highlight by keyword — use readwise-search instead.

edwinhu 16bf803 2.8 KB Updated Sep 17, 2026

File contents

Readwise Chat (RAG over Highlights)

Uses GPT-5.1 to answer questions with RAG over the user's full highlight library via WebSocket streaming.

Prerequisites

Chat requires session cookies (not API token). Check if configured:

grep SESSION_COOKIES ~/.readwise/env

If missing, run:

readwise-custom auth session

This launches Chrome, navigates to readwise.io/chat, and extracts httpOnly session cookies via CDP.

Commands

One-Shot Query

Streams the response to stdout as it arrives:

readwise-custom chat "What are my highlights about fiduciary duty?"
readwise-custom chat "Summarize my notes on proxy advisors"
readwise-custom chat "Compare what I've read about SEC regulation vs FINRA"

With JSON output (includes related highlights):

readwise-custom chat "What do my highlights say about broker-dealer regulation?" --json

Interactive REPL

Multi-turn conversation with context preserved:

readwise-custom chat-interactive
readwise-custom chat-interactive --model 5.1-thinking  # reasoning model

Type exit to quit.

Conversation Management

readwise-custom chat-list                           # List all conversations
readwise-custom chat-get <id>                       # Get conversation with messages
readwise-custom chat-delete <id>                    # Delete conversation
readwise-custom chat-rename <id> "Better Title"     # Rename conversation

Model Options

Model ID	Name	Use Case
`5.1`	Fast (default)	Quick answers, simple lookups
`5.1-thinking`	Thinking	Complex synthesis, reasoning

Chat vs Search

Feature	`readwise-custom chat`	`readwise readwise-search-highlights`
Returns	Synthesized answer + highlights	Raw highlight matches
Model	GPT-5.1 RAG	Vector similarity
Auth	Session cookies	API token
Speed	~3-10s (streaming)	~2s
Highlights returned	Up to 69	Top-N vector matches
Multi-turn	Yes (interactive)	No

Use chat when: You want a synthesized answer, cross-document analysis, or conversational exploration.

Use search when: You want raw highlight matches, exact quotes, or structured data for further processing.

---name: readwise-chatdescription: Use when the user asks a QUESTION of their reading library rather than for a keyword lookup — 'ask readwise', 'chat about my highlights', 'what do my notes say about X', 'summarize my reading on X', 'what have I read about proxy advisors', 'compare what I've read about X vs Y', 'what's my take on X based on what I've read', 'pull together my highlights on X'. Use proactively for synthesis across many documents. NOT for finding a specific highlight by keyword — use readwise-search instead.---# Readwise Chat (RAG over Highlights)Uses GPT-5.1 to answer questions with RAG over the user's full highlight library via WebSocket streaming.## PrerequisitesChat requires session cookies (not API token). Check if configured:```bashgrep SESSION_COOKIES ~/.readwise/env```If missing, run:```bashreadwise-custom auth session```This launches Chrome, navigates to readwise.io/chat, and extracts httpOnly session cookies via CDP.## Commands### One-Shot QueryStreams the response to stdout as it arrives:```bashreadwise-custom chat "What are my highlights about fiduciary duty?"readwise-custom chat "Summarize my notes on proxy advisors"readwise-custom chat "Compare what I've read about SEC regulation vs FINRA"```With JSON output (includes related highlights):```bashreadwise-custom chat "What do my highlights say about broker-dealer regulation?" --json```### Interactive REPLMulti-turn conversation with context preserved:```bashreadwise-custom chat-interactivereadwise-custom chat-interactive --model 5.1-thinking # reasoning model```Type `exit` to quit.### Conversation Management```bashreadwise-custom chat-list # List all conversationsreadwise-custom chat-get <id> # Get conversation with messagesreadwise-custom chat-delete <id> # Delete conversationreadwise-custom chat-rename <id> "Better Title" # Rename conversation```## Model Options| Model ID | Name | Use Case ||----------|------|----------|| `5.1` | Fast (default) | Quick answers, simple lookups || `5.1-thinking` | Thinking | Complex synthesis, reasoning |## Chat vs Search| Feature | `readwise-custom chat` | `readwise readwise-search-highlights` ||---------|-----------------|-------------------|| Returns | Synthesized answer + highlights | Raw highlight matches || Model | GPT-5.1 RAG | Vector similarity || Auth | Session cookies | API token || Speed | ~3-10s (streaming) | ~2s || Highlights returned | Up to 69 | Top-N vector matches || Multi-turn | Yes (interactive) | No |**Use chat when:** You want a synthesized answer, cross-document analysis, or conversational exploration.**Use search when:** You want raw highlight matches, exact quotes, or structured data for further processing.

Frequently asked questions