Read BBEdit Aloud — Right Inside the Editor
Select any paragraph, function, or comment block in BBEdit. A floating ▶ button appears next to your selection. One click — natural voice playback starts with a highlight that glides word-by-word across the real BBEdit window.
macOS native · Free · No login · 40+ languages
function formatInvoice(amount, currency) — normalize input, apply tax rules, return a formatted string for the PDF.
Highlight follows each word in your actual BBEdit document.
One App Covers Every Native Mac Editor
Same gesture, same word-level highlight — across every Mac text editor that exposes its text natively.
TextEdit
Plain / RTF documents
Stickies
Yellow sticky notes
Notes
Apple Notes
Script Editor
AppleScript IDE
BBEdit
Pro text & code editor
CotEditor
Open-source editor
TextMate
GPL code editor
Terminal
zsh / bash shell
Three Steps — No Setup
CastReader runs as a menu-bar app. BBEdit stays exactly as it is.
Install
Download CastReader for Mac (.dmg). Grant Accessibility permission once — that is how it reads selected text from the BBEdit window.
Select
Open any source file, Markdown draft, or log. Drag to select a function, paragraph, or the whole document.
Click ▶
A small play button appears next to your selection. One click — audio starts with a highlight that tracks each word inside BBEdit.
When BBEdit Users Pair the Editor with Read-Aloud
BBEdit is the Mac's professional text workbench — code, Markdown, long-form writing, logs. CastReader adds the one thing BBEdit has never had: a natural voice read-back.
Audio proofreading for long drafts
Writers using BBEdit for books or articles catch stale phrasing by listening. Ear picks up what eyes skim past.
Hear code and comments
Select a function plus its header comment. Hearing it read in natural voice is faster than re-reading a wall of syntax.
Review large log files
BBEdit opens files other editors choke on. Select any section of a log and hear it read — useful for triage runs.
Dyslexia & low-vision support
BBEdit has no built-in read-aloud. CastReader adds word-level follow-along — essential for editors with dyslexia.
Read multilingual documents
BBEdit is popular for international text work. CastReader auto-detects the language of your selection across 40+ voices.
Proofread Markdown and HTML
Hear Markdown drafts before committing — catch broken phrasing and redundant sentences that skimming misses.
Why CastReader Beats macOS Built-in Speech
macOS has Edit → Start Speaking in BBEdit, but no highlight, no speed control, no natural voices. CastReader fixes every gap.
Word-level highlight on your actual document
A transparent overlay tracks each spoken word directly inside the BBEdit window. Your eyes follow the voice — not a separate reader pane.
40+ natural AI voices
Auto-detects the language of your selection. Kokoro-quality voices for English, Mandarin, Japanese, French, German, Spanish and more.
Adjustable rate, jump to any paragraph
Change speed 0.5×–2× on the fly. Click any paragraph to jump playback — not possible with macOS Speech.
Zero cost, zero signup
No account, no credit card, no daily limits. CastReader is completely free — unlike Speechify or NaturalReader.
Common Questions
How do I read BBEdit documents aloud on a Mac?▾
BBEdit has Edit → Speech → Start Speaking, but no highlight, no speed control, and only old system voices. For natural voice and word-level highlight overlaid on your document, install CastReader for Mac. Select text, click the floating ▶, and BBEdit starts reading.
Does it work on huge files that other editors can't open?▾
Yes. CastReader reads whatever the AX API exposes — the visible text in BBEdit's window. Even 500 MB log files render selection normally, so reading the selected range works fine.
Does it read syntax-highlighted code?▾
Yes. CastReader reads the character content, not the colors. Color-coded Python, JavaScript, Markdown or any language BBEdit highlights all read as regular text.
Does CastReader modify my files?▾
No. CastReader reads your selection through macOS Accessibility APIs and overlays a transparent highlight on top of the real BBEdit window. Your file content is never modified, copied, or uploaded anywhere.
Why does CastReader need Accessibility permission?▾
The Accessibility (AX) API is the only way a Mac app can read the currently selected text from another app. CastReader uses it to capture BBEdit selections and compute pixel-level bounds for the highlight.
Can it read CJK (Chinese / Japanese / Korean) text?▾
Yes. CastReader auto-detects CJK text and uses native Mandarin / Japanese / Korean voices. Mixed-language files switch voice at sentence boundaries.
What about BBEdit free mode?▾
CastReader works identically with BBEdit free mode and the licensed version. The AX API exposes text the same way regardless of which feature set is active.
Is there a keyboard shortcut?▾
Yes. Open CastReader's menu-bar icon → Preferences to bind a global hotkey to 'Read Selection'. The floating ▶ button is optional for pure keyboard users.
Is it really free?▾
Yes. 100% free. No account, no credit card, no premium voice gate, no daily word limit. Download the .dmg and use it forever.
Ready to Hear Your BBEdit Documents?
Install once. Select any text in BBEdit. Click ▶. Listen.