| name | jina-read-url |
| description | Read, summarize, inspect, or extract content from a public URL through Jina Reader. Use when the user asks to use Jina Reader, read a note.com/blog/article/X/Twitter/GitHub/page URL, recover Markdown from a URL that normal browsing cannot read cleanly, or make a URL readable in ChatGPT-like agent sessions with tool access. |
Jina Read URL
Overview
Use Jina Reader as the narrow URL-to-Markdown step for public web pages, then answer from the returned Markdown. Keep this skill focused on reading the URL; save to memory, send to another agent, or archive output only when the user explicitly asks.
Quick Start
Prefer the bundled script:
python3 scripts/read_url.py "https://example.com/page"
The script prints Markdown from https://r.jina.ai/. If JINA_API_KEY is set, it sends it as a bearer token. Otherwise, it uses public unauthenticated access.
Use --output when the fetched Markdown is large or the user asks to save it:
python3 scripts/read_url.py "https://example.com/page" --output /tmp/page.md
Workflow
- Take the public URL from the user. If the URL has no scheme, assume
https://.
- Fetch with
scripts/read_url.py instead of manually constructing the Jina URL, especially for long URLs, URLs containing #, X/Twitter URLs, or repeated use.
- Inspect the returned Markdown for:
- title
- source URL
- published time, author, or other visible metadata
- whether the content appears complete, sparse, blocked, rate-limited, or login-gated
- Answer only from the returned content unless you clearly mark outside knowledge or corroborate with another source.
- Keep direct quotes short and attribute them to the source URL.
- Do not treat Jina Reader as an authorization bypass. It can only reliably read content that is publicly accessible to Jina.
Default Response
For casual read-or-summarize requests, return:
- whether the page was readable
- title
- source URL
- published time when present
- a concise summary or extracted points
- any uncertainty about completeness
ChatGPT-Style Environments
If running in a ChatGPT-like session with no shell, fetch, browser, or custom Action access, say that the environment cannot directly call Jina Reader. If a Custom GPT Action or proxy is available, call the action that wraps https://r.jina.ai/ and then follow the same workflow above.
Script
scripts/read_url.py accepts:
python3 scripts/read_url.py URL [--output path] [--timeout seconds] [--header "Name: value"]
The script avoids double-prefixing existing r.jina.ai Reader URLs, uses POST for fragment or very long URLs, and returns a non-zero exit code with a concise error message when Jina Reader cannot be reached.
Final Report
Include:
- URL fetched
- whether Jina Reader returned complete-looking Markdown or partial/blocked content
- summary, extracted facts, or saved output requested by the user
- any follow-up action taken only because the user explicitly requested it
