Universal Reading Progress Bar

WHAT IT DOES

Universal Reading Progress Bar adds a sleek, thin progress bar to any webpage that fills as you scroll, showing you exactly how much of the page you have read. The bar displays your current position as a percentage and provides an estimated time remaining based on your reading speed. The tool helps you gauge the length of articles, track your progress through long documents, and plan your reading time effectively. Whether you are reading a news article, a blog post, or a lengthy research paper, the progress bar gives you a clear sense of how far you have come and how much is left.

WHERE IT RUNS

This extension works on any website across the entire web. It functions on articles, blog posts, documentation pages, news sites, long-form content, and any other scrollable page. The tool automatically adapts to any page layout and works reliably on both simple and complex websites.

HOW TO USE

Install the extension and navigate to any webpage. A thin progress bar appears at the top of the page (or bottom, depending on your preference) showing your current scroll progress. As you scroll down, the bar fills from left to right, and the percentage updates in real-time. The estimated time remaining updates based on the current page word count and your position. Use the overlay panel to customize the experience: choose between the top or bottom bar position, change the bar color to match your preference, adjust the bar height from 1 to 20 pixels, toggle the percentage display on or off, toggle the estimated time remaining display, and enable auto-hide mode to make the bar fade out when idle and reappear when you move your mouse, scroll, or type. Click "Reset to Defaults" to restore all settings to their original values.

TECHNICAL SECTION — SCROLL PROGRESS CALCULATION

The extension calculates reading progress using precise scroll metrics. It measures the current scroll position (window.pageYOffset or document.documentElement.scrollTop), the total document height (accounting for body and html element heights), and the visible viewport height (window.innerHeight). The maximum scroll distance is calculated as the document height minus the viewport height, ensuring that the progress bar reaches 100% when the user has scrolled to the very bottom of the page. The progress percentage is updated on every scroll event using passive event listeners for optimal performance. The reading time estimation uses a standard reading speed of 238 words per minute (the average adult reading speed) and calculates the remaining time based on the current scroll position. The bar uses CSS transitions for smooth visual updates, creating a fluid and responsive experience.

THE PANEL — DRAG / PER-SITE POSITION / SNAP / COLLAPSE / RESIZE / ESCAPE

The overlay panel is fully interactive and designed for seamless multitasking. Drag it anywhere on the screen using the handle at the top of the panel; the position is saved per site so it stays where you left it across sessions. The panel includes a snap-to-edge feature that gently anchors the overlay to the nearest screen edge when released. Click the collapse button to minimize the panel to a compact pill showing the current progress status; expand it again with a single click. Resize the panel vertically by dragging the bottom-right corner to view more controls. Press the Escape key at any time to instantly close the overlay; it reappears on the next page navigation or refresh.

PLEASE NOTE

This extension requires the free BotGentz companion extension to function, as it provides the underlying content script injection and cross-origin communication framework. No personal data, browsing history, or page content is stored, transmitted, or shared. Settings are stored locally in your browser using GM_setValue and are never sent to any external server. The extension does not access or store login credentials, financial data, or personally identifiable information. The reading time estimation uses a fixed reading speed of 238 words per minute, which may not accurately reflect your personal reading speed. The progress bar calculates progress based on scroll depth and does not track whether you have actually read the content — it is a visual indicator of your position in the document, not a comprehension tracker. Some websites with infinite scrolling or dynamic content loading may have inconsistent height calculations; the bar updates on scroll and resize events to accommodate dynamic changes.