Every article I write requires hours of research. I open 10, 20, sometimes 30 browser tabs. Technical docs. Blog posts. GitHub READMEs. API references. Research papers.
Most of them? Not worth the 15 minutes I spend reading them.
But I don't know that until I'm already 10 minutes in.
So I developed a workflow: copy the article, open ChatGPT, paste, type "summarize this and give me the key points," wait for the response, read the summary, decide if it's worth a full read.
Then repeat. For every. Single. Article.
The breaking point
After the 50th time opening a new ChatGPT tab, pasting a wall of text, and typing the same prompt, I thought: "There has to be a better way."
I wasn't learning faster. I was spending more time managing my learning workflow than actually learning.
The problem wasn't ChatGPT. The problem was the context switching. Every time I wanted to understand something:
- Highlight text on the page
- Copy it
- Open a new tab
- Paste into ChatGPT
- Write a prompt
- Wait for the response
- Switch back to the original tab
- Try to remember where I was
My flow was broken. My focus was scattered. And I was tired of writing the same prompts over and over.
What I built
I built DocuMentor AI: a Chrome extension that does all of this on the page I'm already reading.
No copy-paste. No tab switching. No prompt engineering.
Just click the extension icon, and it analyzes the page instantly using Chrome's built-in AI (Gemini Nano). Everything happens locally in your browser—no uploading content to cloud services by default.
Here's what it does:
Quick Scan – "Is this worth reading?"
Click the extension. Get an instant answer to "Should I read this?" in about 5 seconds.
- Summary of the main ideas
- Difficulty level (beginner, intermediate, advanced)
- Prerequisites you should know first
- Estimated reading time
All matched to your skill level and learning goals.
No more bookmarking articles you'll never open. No more reading 10 minutes into something before realizing it's not relevant.
You decide before you invest the time.
Deep Analysis – Extract what actually matters
When you find something worth reading, run a Deep Analysis.
It extracts:
- Core concepts and design decisions
- Trade-offs and limitations
- Code patterns, anti-patterns, and best practices from examples
- Related topics you might want to review first
You're not just reading anymore. You're building a mental model of why things work the way they do.
Cheat Sheet Generator – Save the good stuff
You know that feeling when you google the same Git command for the fourth time this month?
That stops here.
One click generates a clean Markdown cheat sheet from the current page:
- Key concepts and commands
- Code snippets with syntax highlighting
- "Gotchas" and edge cases in one place
Download it. Save it to Obsidian, Notion, your notes app, a Git repo—wherever you keep your personal knowledge base.
You own the reference. No cloud lock-in. No subscription required to access your own notes.
Ask Me – No more copy-paste
Select any text or code snippet on the page. Click "Ask Me." Get an explanation grounded in the content you're reading—without leaving the tab.
Ask things like:
- "Explain this like I'm a junior developer"
- "What does this code actually do?"
- "When would I use this pattern?"
The answers reference the actual documentation in front of you, not generic web results.
Your questions and the page content are processed locally. Nothing leaves your browser by default.
Smart Recommendations – What to learn next
After you finish reading, DocuMentor AI suggests:
- What to learn next based on the current topic
- Follow-up docs and related concepts worth exploring
- Videos and alternative resources when you'd rather watch than read
All personalized to your skill level and role (set once in your User Persona, applied everywhere).
Why local-first matters
Here's the thing: I care about privacy. I don't want to upload every technical article I read to a random cloud service just to get a summary.
DocuMentor AI runs on Chrome's built-in Gemini Nano model (requires Chrome 138+). That means:
- AI processing happens locally in your browser
- Page content never leaves your device by default
- No tracking, no data uploads, no "we'll use your data to train our models"
You can optionally enable cloud sync for cross-device features, but it's off by default.
Your research workflow? Your reading history? Your learning profile? All stored on your device. You control the data.
What I learned building this
The biggest surprise? Developers hate writing prompts as much as I do.
Everyone I showed this to said the same thing: "Wait, it just knows what I want without me having to ask?"
Turns out, most people learning from technical docs want the same things:
- Is this worth reading?
- What are the key concepts?
- Can I save this for later?
- What should I learn next?
By building those workflows directly into the extension, I removed the friction of thinking about how to ask. You just click and get what you need.
The other thing I learned: local AI is fast enough. Chrome's Gemini Nano can analyze a full documentation page in seconds. No API latency. No rate limits. No "you've exceeded your quota" errors.
Try it
If you're tired of the copy-paste-to-ChatGPT workflow, give DocuMentor AI a shot.
👉 [Chrome Web Store link] (Requires Chrome 138+ for local AI)
I'd love to hear your feedback:
- What doc would you scan first?
- What feature would make this more useful for you?
- What's missing?
Drop a comment or reach out. I'm actively working on this and want to build something that actually fits how developers learn.
Built with:
- Chrome's built-in AI (Gemini Nano)
- Next.js for the marketing site
- TypeScript everywhere
Currently: Local AI free forever and 100% free Cloud AI during early access.
Stop fighting with prompts. Let the extension read the docs for you.
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