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+# pyinstantref
+
+This is a Python rewrite of Gilles Castel's [Instant Reference](https://github.com/gillescastel/instant-reference) tool.
+(I was not a fan of needing NPM rather than the system package manager to install some dependencies.)
+
+pyinstantref allows you to copy a link to a specific page in a PDF with a single keybind in Zathura.
+You can then paste this reference in your notes and other documents.
+
+For now, it only works with my own [templates](https://github.com/dogeystamp/typst-templates) for [Typst](https://github.com/typst/typst),
+but it should be easy to get the script to format in LaTeX instead
+using Castel's original code as reference, or even in plain-text.
+
+## installation
+
+These instructions are for Arch Linux based distributions.
+Package names will probably differ for other distros, especially with Python packages.
+
+First, install the necessary packages:
+    
+    sudo pacman -S xsel xdotool xorg-xprop python-pydbus
+
+Then, clone this repo:
+
+    git clone https://github.com/dogeystamp/pyinstantref
+    cd pyinstantref
+
+Install the .desktop file:
+
+    mkdir -p ~/.local/share/applications
+    cp pdfref.desktop ~/.local/share/applications/
+    xdg-mime default pdfref.desktop x-scheme-handler/pdfref
+    sudo update-desktop-database
+
+Ensure this directory is in $PATH by adding this line to the bottom of `~/.profile` (change the location to point to this directory):
+
+    export PATH="$HOME/pyinstantref:$PATH"
+
+You might need to sign out then sign in to apply this change.
+
+### shortcut
+
+You can either set up a shortcut in your window manager/desktop environment,
+or add the following to your `.config/zathura/zathurarc`:
+    
+```
+map <C-l> exec copy_ref
+```
+
+This will make Ctrl-L copy a reference to the current page in Zathura.
+
+## limitations
+
+Currently, the following features are missing:
+- ArXiv support
+- LaTeX output
+- Support for other PDF readers (e.g. Evince)
+
+Feel free to send pull requests,
+although this project is primarily for my own usage
+and I can not make any guarantees.