Help & troubleshooting

Everything you need to get articles into Broadsheet and read them later. Can’t find what you’re after? Contact support.

Getting started

Broadsheet is an open-source read-it-later app that runs in a modern web browser. You don’t need a desktop download to use it.

Sign in from the home page. Broadsheet uses Clerk for authentication — you can use email or a social login.
Open your library. It’ll be empty on first visit.
Choose Save an article in your library and paste a URL, or install the browser extension for one-click saving.
Open a saved article to read its clean text and see its estimated reading time. Entries labeled link open at the publisher instead.

Saving articles

There are three ways to get an article into your library:

Paste a URL. Choose Save an article in your library. Broadsheet fetches the page, extracts the main content, and stores it as Markdown.
Browser extension. Click the toolbar icon or use the save shortcut to send the current tab to Broadsheet. This path captures content already visible in your browser, including pages that require JavaScript or a login. It can only save the text you can access.
Command palette. Press ⌘ K (or Ctrl K), choose Save article, and paste a URL. You can also paste a URL directly into the palette.

Broadsheet deduplicates by canonical URL. Saving the same article twice, even with different tracking parameters, keeps the existing entry and its reading state, tags, and highlights.

What gets saved

Broadsheet uses Mozilla Readability to extract the title, byline, main text, and inline images, then converts the text to Markdown. It keeps the source URL and estimates the reading time. If full text can’t be extracted, it saves a link with the available metadata and explains why. A link-only entry opens at the publisher.

Bring your existing library

Import an archive from Pocket, Instapaper, or Raindrop. Each page explains which export file to upload.

Browser extension

Install

Install Broadsheet from the Chrome Web Store or Firefox Add-ons. The Chrome version also works in Edge, Brave, and other Chromium-based browsers. Pin the icon to your toolbar for easy access.

Save the current tab

Click the toolbar icon to save the current tab, or press ⌘ ⇧ S on macOS / Ctrl Shift S on Windows or Linux. The extension shows a confirmation when the save finishes. On Firefox for Android, use the popup; keyboard commands aren’t supported.

If the shortcut conflicts with another extension, change it in chrome://extensions/shortcuts. In Firefox, open the add-ons manager and choose Manage extension shortcuts.

Load from source

The extension also lives in clients/extension/ in the repo. To run a local build, load it as an unpacked extension:

Clone the repo, install its dependencies, and run npm run extension:dev from the repository root.
Open chrome://extensions, enable Developer mode, and click Load unpacked.
Select clients/extension/dist/broadsheet-extension-chrome-<version>/. Rebuild and reload the extension after changing its source.

Configure

The extension talks to the production Broadsheet instance by default. To point it at a local dev server or a self-hosted instance, right-click the toolbar icon, choose Options, and set the base URL (e.g. http://localhost:3000).

Sign in

Sign in to Broadsheet in the same browser profile. If the popup asks you to sign in, choose Sign in to Broadsheet to open the web app. The extension refreshes your session in the background; you don’t need to keep a Broadsheet tab open.

Reading & organizing

Tags. Add tags from the article view or the row menu in the library to group articles by topic. Filter the library by tag, source, or read/unread/archived status.
Read state. Articles are marked read automatically once you’ve scrolled through them, or you can toggle it manually. The library has separate filters for active items and the archive.
Auto-archive. Configure in settings to keep the active library focused on recent reads.
Digest. Optional email roundup, configured in settings. Weekly delivery is free; daily delivery requires Supporter.
Sources. The sources view lets you follow RSS or Atom feeds. Paste a site URL to find its feed, then choose which posts to save. Following a source doesn’t add every post to your library automatically.

Keyboard shortcuts

⌘ K / Ctrl K — open the command palette
Esc — close any open palette or menu

Troubleshooting

An article saved as a link instead of full text

The server couldn’t extract readable text. The URL stays in your library as a link so you can open it at the publisher. Common causes:

The site requires JavaScript to render its content — use the browser extension instead, which captures the already-rendered HTML.
The site is behind a paywall or login wall — same answer; the extension uses your existing browser session.
The site took longer than 15 seconds to respond, or the response body was larger than 5 MB.

A URL is rejected

Use a valid public HTTP or HTTPS URL. Broadsheet rejects invalid URLs, hosts it can’t resolve, and private or local network addresses. These aren’t saved as links.

Extension save fails with 401 or redirects to sign-in

Your session has ended. Choose Sign in to Broadsheetin the popup, sign in using the same browser profile, then retry.

Extension saves to the wrong instance

Check the base URL in the extension’s options page. If you’ve pointed it at a non-default host, your browser may prompt for optional host permissions the first time.

Article renders badly or misses content

The Markdown is produced by Mozilla Readability, which works best on article-shaped pages. For listicles, forums, or heavily-custom layouts the extraction can drop sections. If you’re consistently seeing a bad render for a domain, contact support with the URL.

I saved an article twice and only see one entry

Working as intended — Broadsheet deduplicates by canonical URL. The second save keeps the existing entry rather than creating a duplicate or resetting your reading progress.

FAQ

How much does it cost?

The free plan lets you follow 3 sources and keep 1,000 articles, including archived articles. The £1/month Supporter plan removes those limits and adds daily digests and article change-tracking.

Where is my data stored?

The hosted app stores articles in a Postgres database on Supabase, scoped to your account. See the privacy policy for the full breakdown.

Can I export my library?

Yes. Open Export your data in settings and choose Download my data. You’ll get a single JSON file containing your articles, highlights, and sources.

Can I delete my account?

Yes — contact support to request removal of your account data. Self-service deletion is on the roadmap.

Is there a mobile app?

The web app works in mobile browsers. Native iOS and Android clients are also being developed. Contact support about availability.

Can I self-host?

Yes. Broadsheet is open source, with no ads or algorithmic feed. Follow the repository’s setup instructions for the Next.js app, Clerk sign-in, and Postgres storage. Local development uses PGlite. Running your own instance may incur hosting, database, and authentication costs.

The extension README covers Firefox and Safari development builds and connecting to your own instance.

Where do I report a bug or request a feature?

Email support@marginalutility.dev.