What you can do with Textfold

5 use cases

• Read a long paper from overview to full text

  Paste an arXiv or PubMed Central link and read the paper one level at a time.

  • Textfold
  • Research
  • Beginner
  View prompt

  Using the TextFold repo at github.com/chenxiachan/textfold, run `python3 -m textfold get <paper-link> --level key --section 3` to get the key points of section 3 of the paper. Expected output: the points of that section, each with its reason. Verify that every point is marked as model-written and points back to the author's sentences it rests on.

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• Let an agent read a document map first, then one section

  Give an agent a command that returns a document one level at a time, coarsest first.

  • Textfold
  • Research
  • Intermediate
  View prompt

  Using the TextFold repo at github.com/chenxiachan/textfold, run `python3 -m textfold get <document> ` first without a level to read the section map, then run it again with `--level key --section <n>` for the one section that answers the task. Expected output: the section topics, then the points of that section with their reasons. Verify that each model-written line is marked as such before using it.

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• Fold long Claude Code replies to a level you can scan

  Install the TextFold mod so every Claude Code reply shows five levels, from one sentence to full text.

  • Textfold
  • Claude Code
  • Research
  • Intermediate
  View prompt

  Using the TextFold repo at github.com/chenxiachan/textfold, install the Claude Code plugin with `claude plugin marketplace add chenxiachan/textfold` and `claude plugin install textfold@textfold`. Expected output: after a reply, pressing 5 shows the answer in one sentence and pressing 1 shows the full reply. Verify that the Full level matches the reply exactly, since nothing is paraphrased.

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• Export a folded paper as one page that opens without a server

  Export a paper's levels as a single HTML file to share or keep offline.

  • Textfold
  • Research
  • Intermediate
  View prompt

  Using the TextFold repo at github.com/chenxiachan/textfold, run `python3 -m textfold export <arxiv-id>` for the paper with ID <arxiv-id>. Expected output: an HTML file with the five levels of that paper. Verify that the file opens in a browser with no server running and that the license note under the title is still shown.

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• Open your Zotero library items as folded text

  Connect TextFold to the Zotero 7 app and read any library item in five levels.

  • Textfold
  • Research
  • Intermediate
  View prompt

  Using the TextFold repo at github.com/chenxiachan/textfold, enable Zotero 7 communication under Settings › Advanced, then open the Zotero library in TextFold. Expected output: your Zotero collections listed, and the chosen item shown at its folded levels. Verify that the item's title and authors match what is in Zotero, and that nothing in the Zotero library has changed.

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How to use Textfold

1. Check you have what it needs: Python 3.9 or newer, or the TextFold desktop app for macOS or Windows; A model you already have, such as Claude Code, Codex, a ChatGPT plan, an API key, or a free OpenRouter setup.
2. Open chenxiachan/textfold on GitHub and read the README and license.
3. Run python3 -m pip install textfold in a terminal, then run python3 -m textfold serve.
4. Open http://localhost:3017 in your browser.
5. If the first page asks, connect a model: use Claude Code, Codex, or your ChatGPT plan, or click OpenRouter in one click.
6. Paste the paper's arXiv or PubMed Central link and pick a language.

These steps come from our top use case, Read a long paper from overview to full text, which also has a copy-paste agent prompt.

Textfold alternatives · Best AI repos for Research

About this repo

• Who it is forResearchers, students, and people who read long documents or long AI replies and want to zoom from an overview to the full text.
• Why it is hot
• LanguagePython
• Sourcegithub.com/chenxiachan/textfold · Back to Hot repos

Requirements

• Python 3.9 or newer, or the TextFold desktop app for macOS or Windows
• A model you already have, such as Claude Code, Codex, a ChatGPT plan, an API key, or a free OpenRouter setup

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