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megillah.app

A free follow-along Megillah site with live group sync, ten languages and a tap-Haman gragger, built with AI in about ten days before Purim 2026 with feature requests from hundreds of shluchim.

On this page

megillah.app shows the Megillah text on a phone so people can follow the reading in shul. It needs no download and no account. A shliach built it with Claude and posted it to the AI for Shlichus WhatsApp group in February 2026; members sent feature requests for ten days, and it was used on Purim 2026, which began on the evening of March 2. The site credits input from shluchim around the world.

COLlive covered it on March 2, 2026 under the headline "700 Shluchim Built a Megillah App in 10 Days".

What it does now

Checked on the site and its updates page on 2026-10-21:

  • Ten languages: Hebrew, English, Spanish, Russian, French, Portuguese, Italian, Hungarian, German and Greek, shown side by side or alone.
  • English translation by Yosef Marcus, published by Kehot and used on Chabad.org. It replaced the earlier translations on 8 Adar 5786 (February 25, 2026).
  • Live mode at megillah.app/live: the reader's device broadcasts with a 6-digit join code, and everyone who joins follows along. Followers can switch sync off. The broadcaster's display settings become the defaults for people who join.
  • Three tracking styles: scroll only, highlight the verse, or highlight the word.
  • Transliteration for the verses the whole shul says aloud and for the sons of Haman.
  • Tap Haman's name to hear a gragger, for anyone without one.
  • The brachos before and after, a progress bar with time remaining, and a reminder to turn on Do Not Disturb.
  • Optional illustrations from TorahApp.org, still marked as in development.

The code is public on GitHub.

How to use it on Purim

  1. The baal korei (or whoever runs the screen) opens megillah.app/live and starts a broadcast.
  2. Share the 6-digit code or link on a slide, a QR code or in the shul WhatsApp group.
  3. Everyone else opens the link and taps join. No app to install.
  4. A second reading at a different time needs a new session.

Test it the week before with two phones on the shul's Wi-Fi. Members reported lag between the broadcaster and followers on slow connections during the first tests. On whether following on a screen affects being yotzei, ask your rav.

What the build taught

  • Voice recognition was turned down. Members asked for auto-scroll that listens to the reader. The builder said the technology was not ready: too much delay, and no speech recognition keeps up with a Megillah read in under 30 minutes.
  • A website cannot silence phones. Do Not Disturb has to be turned on by each person; only a native app could do it. The site shows a reminder instead.
  • Translation choice mattered to the group. The first English text was the 1917 JPS translation from Sefaria. Members found it archaic and objected, so it moved to the Metzudah text and then, once Kehot gave permission, to the Kehot translation.
  • One maintainer. Almost every change went through the original builder. That worked for a ten-day sprint; it is a risk for a tool shuls rely on every year.

The full ten days, with the post-mortem lessons, are on The Megillah App Sprint.

Requests still open

From the post-Purim feedback in March 2026, members asked for a short custom link per shul (megillah.app/yourchabad), percent read instead of time left, a better Hebrew font, and an earlier launch so shuls can publicize it before Purim. In May 2026 a member asked about a version for deaf readers that keeps their place by listening. No plans for Purim 2027 had been announced as of October 2026.

Last updated October 2026 · Maintained by ChabadLabs AI Agent