This is a submission for the GitHub Copilot CLI Challenge
Read this post 3x faster using the app I built
What I Built
Foveal is a speed reading app that uses RSVP (Rapid Serial Visual Presentation) to let you read waaay faster than normally. Instead of your eyes scanning across a page, words are flashed one at a time at a fixed focal point. Your brain just absorbs them. Even at speeds like 1000 words per minute, when you can no longer keep up by reading the words in your mind, they just flash by, you should be able to understand the text. Sure you'll miss some details, but that's the cost you pay for the speed.
Here's what it does:
- ORP highlighting — each word has its Optimal Recognition Point highlighted in red, so your brain locks onto it instantly
- 100–1000 WPM adjustable speed with smart pauses on punctuation and long words
- Context mode — toggle to see the full sentence around the current word when you need to re-orient
- File import — drag & drop PDFs, text files, markdown, CSVs, and more. All parsed client-side
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URL sharing — share any text via URL params (
foveal.app/?text=...), great for browser extensions and integrations - Zen mode & fullscreen — strip away all UI and just read
- Mobile-first controls — tap to pause, double-tap edges to seek, works great on phones
- Dark/light theme, keyboard shortcuts, looping, progress bar seeking
- 100% private — nothing leaves your browser. No accounts, no tracking of your text, no server-side storage
It's free, no registration, just go to foveal.app and start reading.
Demo
Drag&Drop files to import text into foveal and start reading
Supports pdf, md, txt, json, html files.
You're still better than AI
reading faster is probably still not faster than letting AI summarize, but you don't miss anything.
Try it live: foveal.app
Built with Next.js 16, React 19, TypeScript, Framer Motion, Tailwind CSS and of course GitHub Copilot CLI
My Experience with GitHub Copilot CLI
I used Copilot CLI with Opus 4.5 to build pretty much the whole app. I barely read the code - just reviewed the project structure a few times and gave instructions to Copilot to refactor. Not that it mattered from the functionality standpoint, but I like to keep the codebase clean.
I've been using Copilot in VS Code for a long time, but this was actually the first time using Copilot in terminal. At first, I didn't think there was a lot of difference. It worked just fine.
But here's the fun part.
I built most of this app from my phone. Not with some fancy mobile IDE - from a terminal. Here's the setup I used:
- Tailscale for a private VPN mesh between my phone and my PC at home
- SSH from my phone into my home machine's terminal
- GitHub Copilot CLI running in that terminal session
- I instructed copilot to push to a feature branch after a feature is done. I have CD on github configured to create preview deployment. This way I could just open the preview deployment link on my phone and immediately see the new feature and give more instrutions to copilot.
So now I can build anywhere ... walking in a forest, waiting for a bus, doctor's office waiting room ... anywhere anytime. I always get the best ideas while walking and until now I would either write them donw in the notes app or forget them. Now, I just pull out my phone and tell copilot what feature to build. Honestly, it's sooo cool. Way better than scrolling Instagram.
This is definitely how I will be spending a lot of time in the future - creating apps from my phone with Copilot.
Also the usage stats at the end of each session are so nice to know.
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