# Read Along Text – Word Highlight Synced to Speech or Audio Progress

> Read Along Text for React and Tailwind CSS (shadcn/ui): a paragraph whose words light up in time with speech, the current word lifted on a soft highlight with a caret under it and a breath after punctuation. It is built to show listeners where the voice is, so a transcript can be followed and tapped. It owns no clock: drive it with progress or currentTime, or use playing with wordsPerSecond. Click or Enter on a word calls onSeek, arrow keys move between words, reduced motion keeps colors only. Use it for AI voice answers, transcripts and read-aloud modes. The included demo plays a fake voice reply and makes no requests. Requires React only, with no animation library.

- Author: [DHxWhy](https://21st.dev/@dhxwhy)
- License: mit
- Tags: Text, Text Animation, Typography, AI
- Live preview: https://21st.dev/@dhxwhy/components/read-along-text

## Install

```bash
npx shadcn@latest add "https://21st.dev/r/dhxwhy/read-along-text?api_key=$API_KEY_21ST"
```

Requires a 21st API key (generate one at https://21st.dev/mcp) passed as `API_KEY_21ST`. Free accounts get a limited number of installs per day; unlimited on a paid plan — see https://21st.dev/pricing.

Full component directory: https://21st.dev/llms.txt · More like this: https://21st.dev/community/components/s/text.md