Lector

A MacOS native academic PDF reader derived from Sioyek(https://github.com/ahrm/sioyek)

Install

Homebrew (recommended)

brew tap herbertwxin/lector
brew install --cask lector

To update when a new version is released:

brew upgrade --cask lector

Manual

Download Lector.dmg from Releases, open it, and drag Lector to Applications.

First launch: right-click Lector.app → Open, then click Open in the dialog. This is a one-time step because the app is not yet notarized with Apple.

Build from source

Requirements

• macOS 14.0 (Sonoma) or later
• Xcode 15+

brew install xcodegen
xcodegen generate
open Lector.xcodeproj   # then ⌘B

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Keyboard Shortcuts

Navigation

Key	Action
j / ↓	Scroll down
k / ↑	Scroll up
⌃d	Scroll down (large step)
⌃u	Scroll up (large step)
Space	Next page
Shift+Space	Previous page
gg	Go to beginning
G	Go to end
{n}gg	Go to page n (e.g. 42gg)
⌫	Navigate back
Shift+⌫	Navigate forward

Zoom

Key	Action
+	Zoom in
-	Zoom out
=	Fit to width
0	Actual size (100%)

Search

Key	Action
/	Open search bar
n	Next result
N	Previous result
Esc	Close search

Bookmarks

Key	Action
b	Add bookmark at current position
db	Delete bookmark at current position
gb	List bookmarks (current document)
gB	List bookmarks (all documents)

Highlights

Key	Action
h + char	Highlight selection — a yellow · b green · c blue · d red
dh	Delete highlight at current position
gh	List highlights
gnh	Jump to next highlight
gNh	Jump to previous highlight

Marks

Key	Action
m + char	Set mark — lowercase = per-document, uppercase = global across docs
` + char	Jump to mark
gm	List marks

Portals

Key	Action
p	First press: set source · Second press: create portal to current location
dp	Delete portal nearest to current position

Web Search

Key	Action
⌃f	Search selected text on Google Scholar
⌥f	Search selected text on Google

UI

Key	Action
t	Toggle table of contents
:	Open command mode
o	Open document picker
F8	Cycle appearance: Auto → Dark → Light → Auto
q	Quit

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Command Mode (:)

Press : to enter command mode, type a command, press Enter.

Appearance

Command	Action
:dark	Force dark mode
:light	Force light mode
:auto / :system	Follow system appearance (default)
:toggledark	Cycle Auto → Dark → Light

Navigation

Command	Action
:page 42	Jump to page 42
:beginning	Go to first page
:end	Go to last page
:nextpage	Next page
:prevpage	Previous page
:back	Navigate back in history
:forward	Navigate forward in history
:nextchapter	Jump to next outline chapter
:prevchapter	Jump to previous outline chapter

Zoom

Command	Action
:zoom 150	Set zoom to 150%
:zoomin	Zoom in
:zoomout	Zoom out
:fit / :fitwidth	Fit to width
:actualsize	Reset to 100%

Search

Command	Action
:search keyword	Search for keyword
:next	Next search result
:prev	Previous search result

Bookmarks

Command	Action
:bookmark	Add bookmark (auto-labelled)
:bookmark My note	Add bookmark with custom label
:deletebookmark	Delete bookmark at current position
:bookmarks	Show bookmarks panel
:allbookmarks	Show bookmarks across all documents

Highlights

Command	Action
:highlight a	Highlight selection (a/b/c/d → yellow/green/blue/red)
:deletehighlight	Delete highlight at current position
:highlights	Show highlights panel
:nexthighlight	Jump to next highlight
:prevhighlight	Jump to previous highlight

Marks

Command	Action
:mark a	Set mark 'a' at current position
:goto a	Jump to mark 'a'
:marks	Show marks panel

Portals

Command	Action
:portal	Set portal source / create portal
:deleteportal	Delete nearest portal
:gotoportal	Jump to nearest portal destination

Web Search

Command	Action
:scholar deep learning	Search phrase on Google Scholar
:scholar	Search current selection on Google Scholar
:google gradient descent	Search phrase on Google
:google	Search current selection on Google

Misc

Command	Action
:copy	Copy selected text to clipboard
:rotate	Rotate all pages 90° clockwise
:rotate ccw	Rotate all pages 90° counter-clockwise
:fullscreen	Toggle full screen
:toc	Toggle table of contents
:open / :o	Open document picker
:recent	Show recent documents panel
:quit / :q	Quit