I think this[0] comes close to what is used to extract text from an HTML document. Fetching can be done via any HTTP client. Will need jsdom to convert the text to DOM before feeding it to readability.
I went this route with code-server[1]. But later decided against it because some shortcuts don't work in the browser. Also installing and managing code-server on those VMs had started becoming a chore.
I am using remote-ssh instead. Hassle-free and works like charm.
Can't comment on sudo issue because I mostly log in using root.
I use temporary containers in firefox. I also have gripe that most of the articles in Medium are non-archivable so I have no way of knowing if the articles I find useful will be available next year.
[0]: https://github.com/mozilla/readability