How do I install the Readwise skill?

Run npx skillmds@latest add modbender/readwise-2 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 safe to use?

This skill has not completed SkillMD's automated safety review yet. Independent scanners report: SkillSpector: PASS, Skill Scanner: PASS. Capability flags: executes scripts, makes network calls, reads secrets. SkillMD never runs a skill's scripts for you; review the SKILL.md before installing.

Which AI agents work with Readwise?

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 free to use?

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

Who published Readwise?

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

Readwise by modbender — Agent Skill

Name: Readwise
Rating: 4.2 (5 reviews)
Author: modbender

Readwise

Manage Readwise highlights, books, daily review, and Reader documents (save-for-later / read-it-later). Use when the user wants to save articles or URLs to Reader, browse their reading list, search saved documents, review highlights, create or manage highlights and notes, check their daily review, list books/sources, or interact with Readwise/Reader in any way.

modbender Updated Sep 22, 2026 12 repo stars

File contents

Readwise & Reader

Interact with Readwise (highlights, books, daily review) and Reader (save-for-later documents) via the bundled CLI script.

Setup

Requires READWISE_TOKEN env var. Get a token at https://readwise.io/access_token — works for both Readwise and Reader APIs.

CLI Usage

scripts/readwise.sh [--pretty] <command> [args...]

Reader Commands (Documents)

# Save a URL to Reader
readwise.sh save "https://example.com/article" --location later --tags "ai,research"

# List reading list (inbox)
readwise.sh list --location later --limit 10

# Search documents by title/author
readwise.sh search "transformer"

# Update a document
readwise.sh update DOC_ID --location archive --tags "done,good"

# Delete a document
readwise.sh delete DOC_ID

# List all tags
readwise.sh tags

Readwise Commands (Highlights & Books)

# Get today's daily review
readwise.sh review

# Export highlights (optionally for a specific book)
readwise.sh highlights --book-id 12345 --limit 20

# Get a single highlight
readwise.sh highlight 456789

# Create a highlight
readwise.sh highlight-create --text "Important quote" --title "Book Name" --note "My thought"

# Update highlight color/note
readwise.sh highlight-update 456789 --color blue --note "Updated note"

# Delete a highlight
readwise.sh highlight-delete 456789

# List books/sources
readwise.sh books --category articles --limit 10

# Get book details
readwise.sh book 12345

Output

All commands output JSON. Add --pretty for formatted output.

Common Workflows

Save article and tag it:

readwise.sh save "https://arxiv.org/abs/2401.12345" --title "Cool Paper" --tags "ml,papers" --location later

Check reading list:

readwise.sh list --location later --limit 5

Today's review highlights:

readwise.sh review

Find highlights about a topic: Export all highlights then filter, or search Reader docs:

readwise.sh search "attention mechanism"
readwise.sh highlights --updated-after "2024-01-01"

Archive finished articles:

readwise.sh update DOC_ID --location archive

API Reference

For detailed endpoint documentation, parameters, and response shapes, read references/api.md.

Key details:

Rate limits: Readwise v2: 240 req/min (20/min for list endpoints). Reader v3: 20 req/min (50/min for create/update).
Categories: Books: books, articles, tweets, podcasts. Reader: article, email, rss, highlight, note, pdf, epub, tweet, video.
Locations (Reader): new, later, shortlist, archive, feed
Highlight colors: yellow, blue, pink, orange, green, purple

---name: readwise-2description: Manage Readwise highlights, books, daily review, and Reader documents (save-for-later / read-it-later). Use when the user wants to save articles or URLs to Reader, browse their reading list, search saved documents, review highlights, create or manage highlights and notes, check their daily review, list books/sources, or interact with Readwise/Reader in any way.---# Readwise & ReaderInteract with Readwise (highlights, books, daily review) and Reader (save-for-later documents) via the bundled CLI script.## SetupRequires `READWISE_TOKEN` env var. Get a token at https://readwise.io/access_token — works for both Readwise and Reader APIs.## CLI Usage```bashscripts/readwise.sh [--pretty] <command> [args...]```### Reader Commands (Documents)```bash# Save a URL to Readerreadwise.sh save "https://example.com/article" --location later --tags "ai,research"# List reading list (inbox)readwise.sh list --location later --limit 10# Search documents by title/authorreadwise.sh search "transformer"# Update a documentreadwise.sh update DOC_ID --location archive --tags "done,good"# Delete a documentreadwise.sh delete DOC_ID# List all tagsreadwise.sh tags```### Readwise Commands (Highlights & Books)```bash# Get today's daily reviewreadwise.sh review# Export highlights (optionally for a specific book)readwise.sh highlights --book-id 12345 --limit 20# Get a single highlightreadwise.sh highlight 456789# Create a highlightreadwise.sh highlight-create --text "Important quote" --title "Book Name" --note "My thought"# Update highlight color/notereadwise.sh highlight-update 456789 --color blue --note "Updated note"# Delete a highlightreadwise.sh highlight-delete 456789# List books/sourcesreadwise.sh books --category articles --limit 10# Get book detailsreadwise.sh book 12345```### OutputAll commands output JSON. Add `--pretty` for formatted output.## Common Workflows**Save article and tag it:**```bashreadwise.sh save "https://arxiv.org/abs/2401.12345" --title "Cool Paper" --tags "ml,papers" --location later```**Check reading list:**```bashreadwise.sh list --location later --limit 5```**Today's review highlights:**```bashreadwise.sh review```**Find highlights about a topic:** Export all highlights then filter, or search Reader docs:```bashreadwise.sh search "attention mechanism"readwise.sh highlights --updated-after "2024-01-01"```**Archive finished articles:**```bashreadwise.sh update DOC_ID --location archive```## API ReferenceFor detailed endpoint documentation, parameters, and response shapes, read [references/api.md](references/api.md).Key details:- **Rate limits**: Readwise v2: 240 req/min (20/min for list endpoints). Reader v3: 20 req/min (50/min for create/update).- **Categories**: Books: `books, articles, tweets, podcasts`. Reader: `article, email, rss, highlight, note, pdf, epub, tweet, video`.- **Locations** (Reader): `new, later, shortlist, archive, feed`- **Highlight colors**: `yellow, blue, pink, orange, green, purple`

Frequently asked questions