Necturus is a free and open-source tool for visualizing the connection between handwritten manuscript images and their machine-readable transcriptions. While platforms like Transkribus and eScriptorium excel at generating text from handwritten material, they leave visualization to the side—Transkribus hides its solution behind a paywall, and eScriptorium offers none at all. Yet, for many research endeavors, the line-by-line relationship between text and image remains critical, as seen in projects like the Beckett Digital Manuscript Project and the Joyce Letters Project.

Designed as a lightweight, embeddable React component, Necturus makes it easy for libraries, archives, and researchers to present manuscript images alongside their transcriptions in an interactive and accessible format. A plug-and-play template allows deployment via GitHub Pages with no coding required, while a full version supports scalable, customizable setups for larger projects. By emphasizing both transcription and the manuscript as objects of study, Necturus offers a practical solution for those who value visualization in the process of, as Transkribus puts it, “unlocking the past”.

Project Repositories: Necturus, Necturus Compact