Read the page, or only what you want
Press Read page to hear the main text of an article, or select some text and press Read selection. Or point at a paragraph, heading, link or button and click it.
Listen to any page.
Murmur reads web pages aloud. Point at text to hear it, pick several blocks to read together, and follow along as the text you are hearing is highlighted.
Coming to the Chrome Web Store How it works
Free. English voice. Chrome 116 or later.
What it does
Pick several blocks
Shift+click to build a numbered list of blocks. Murmur reads them together, in the order they appear on the page.
Follow along
The text being read is highlighted as it is read, and the page scrolls to keep it in view. The highlight is drawn over the page; it never changes it.
A player that stays
Turn on the on-page player once and it stays on every page you open in that tab: previous and next sentence, pause, stop and speed.
Made for the keyboard
Move through a page with the arrow keys and hear each block. Links are read by name, followed by “link”, never by their web address.
Knows when it is struggling
A Performance tab shows whether your computer can keep up and, if it can't, what to change: memory, processor, battery.
See it
How it works
- Install Murmur and click its icon. Read the short first-run notice and continue. Nothing is read until you do.
- Open a page and press Read page. Or select some text and press Read selection. The first read downloads Murmur's speech files, so it takes a little longer.
- For more control, turn on the on-page player. Use the switch in the popup (or press Alt+Shift+P). Then press Select text in the player.
- Click a block to hear it. Shift+click to pick several, then press Read selected.
Keyboard
With Select text on:
| ↑ ↓ | Move to the previous or next block and read it |
|---|---|
| S | Pick or unpick the current block |
| Enter | Read the picked blocks (or the current block if none are picked) |
| Shift+Enter | Open the current link or press the current button |
| Space | Pause or resume while reading |
| Esc | Clear the picked blocks; press again to turn Select text off |
Anywhere in the browser:
| Alt+Shift+P | Show or hide the on-page player |
|---|---|
| Alt+Shift+K | Pause or resume |
| Alt+Shift+X | Stop |
You can change these at chrome://extensions/shortcuts. If another app or extension already uses a combination, Chrome leaves it unassigned; the Murmur popup shows what is actually set.
Built for listening
Murmur is meant for people who are blind or have low vision, people with dyslexia or eye strain, and anyone who would rather listen than read. Every control can be reached from the keyboard and is labelled for screen readers, and hovering a control in the player says what it does.
We are still learning what different setups need. If something does not work for you, tell us.
Languages
The interface is available in English, Spanish, French, German and Brazilian Portuguese.
Only the interface is translated. The voice speaks English, so text in other languages will not be read well.
Privacy at a glance
- The text Murmur reads is not sent to us or to anyone else.
- It is held in memory only while it is being read.
- No accounts, no analytics, no ads, no tracking.
- Your settings stay in your browser.
- Murmur downloads its speech files from huggingface.co the first time you read something (about 90 MB), and a small file (under 1 MB) the first time you use each voice.
Questions
Is Murmur free?
Yes. There is an optional link in the popup if you would like to support its development. Nothing is locked behind it.
Which browsers does it work in?
Chrome 116 or later. Other Chromium-based browsers that run Chrome extensions may work, but Chrome is what we test with.
Why is the first read slow?
Murmur is downloading its speech files (about 90 MB). That happens the first time; your browser keeps them. Choosing a voice for the first time downloads one more small file.
Why can't I use it on this page?
Chrome does not allow extensions on its built-in PDF viewer, on browser pages such as the new tab page, on the Chrome Web Store, or on local files. Murmur tells you when that is the reason. For a PDF, copy the text out or open it in another viewer.
It reads in the wrong language.
The voice speaks English. Text in other languages will not be read well.
Playback stutters or pauses.
Open the Performance tab in the popup. It shows free memory, processor load and battery state, and tells you what to change. Keep the engine on CPU, and close other heavy apps or tabs.
A keyboard shortcut does nothing.
Open chrome://extensions/shortcuts. If a Murmur command shows as not set, another app or extension uses that combination. Pick a different one there.
Who makes Murmur?
Murmur is made by 76Softwares.