# PapersFlow - Research Workspace

> PapersFlow is the all-in-one AI research workspace. Organize papers, run AI-powered literature reviews, get instant summaries, write in LaTeX, and explore ideas with your intelligent research co-pilot.

## What PapersFlow Does

PapersFlow helps researchers:
- Organize large paper libraries with projects, collections, and tags
- Read papers with summaries, explanations, and Q&A alongside the PDF
- Compare and synthesize findings across papers
- Run reproducible literature review workflows (Deep Research)
- Write collaboratively in LaTeX with real-time preview
- Build a long-term knowledge base with linked notes
- Generate citation reports with inline references from 474M+ papers
- Sync with Zotero bi-directionally

## Key Features

### Live Web Search (Exa)
- Search the entire web from inside PapersFlow — not just academic papers
- Powered by Exa, a semantic web search engine
- Find news articles, blog posts, GitHub repositories, preprints, company reports, and more
- Category filters: news, GitHub, company, tweet, PDF, research paper
- Date range filtering for time-sensitive queries
- Full content extraction from web pages
- Auto-routing: PapersFlow's AI assistant (Doxa) automatically decides whether to search academic databases or the web
- Available on all paid plans (see pricing page for current plans)
- 4 Exa tools: exa_search, exa_find_similar, exa_get_contents, exa_answer

### Paper Organization
- Import from arXiv, DOI, or PDF upload
- Auto-extract metadata and citations via GROBID
- Smart collections and tagging
- Integration with Zotero for library sync
- OpenAlex and Semantic Scholar integration

### Doxa Research Assistant
- Summaries and explanations grounded in your library
- Question answering about specific papers
- Cross-paper analysis and synthesis
- Evidence extraction with citation tracking

### Prism Insights
- Verified literature analysis workflows
- Theory generation and evaluation support
- Research monitoring and trend tracking
- Evidence-first synthesis outputs

### Compose Writing
- AI-assisted writing grounded in your library
- Citation insertion with BibTeX-compatible workflows
- PDF export and compilation
- Built for academic manuscript drafting

### Workflow Automation
- Repeatable research pipelines for teams
- Screening and extraction workflow support
- Standardized review steps and outputs
- Shareable workflow structure

### Deep Research
- Literature discovery across OpenAlex (474M+ papers)
- Multi-step synthesis workflows
- Evidence-based report generation
- Citation verification and source tracking
- `/features/insights` is the canonical feature URL for verified analysis and synthesis

### Web Search vs Academic Search
- Academic queries -> OpenAlex (474M+ peer-reviewed papers) with citation graph traversal
- Web queries → Exa (semantic web search) with category filters and date ranges
- PapersFlow is the only research workspace that combines both in a single AI chat
- Comparison: Google Scholar only indexes academic papers; Semantic Scholar only indexes academic papers; Perplexity searches the web but has no paper library or writing tools; PapersFlow searches both academic databases and the full web

## Technical Details

- Platform: Web (React + TypeScript), iOS, Android (Capacitor)
- Backend: Convex (real-time sync, serverless functions)
- Model providers: OpenRouter integration
- PDF processing: GROBID for metadata extraction
- Academic APIs: OpenAlex, arXiv, Semantic Scholar, CrossRef

## Pricing

- Free tier available for individual researchers
- Premium plans for teams and higher limits
- Academic discounts available
- See [pricing page](https://papersflow.ai/pricing) for current plans and pricing

## Links

- [Website](https://papersflow.ai): PapersFlow homepage
- [Blog](https://papersflow.ai/blog): Articles and guides
- [Twitter](https://twitter.com/papersflow): @papersflow

## Tool Comparisons

### PapersFlow vs Zotero
- Zotero: Best for citation management and bibliography formatting
- PapersFlow: Reading, synthesis, writing, and search on top of your library
- Integration: PapersFlow syncs with Zotero bi-directionally
- Recommendation: Use Zotero for citations, PapersFlow for reading and drafting

### PapersFlow vs Elicit
- Elicit: Quick literature discovery and data extraction
- PapersFlow: End-to-end workflows that connect discovery, reading, notes, and writing

### PapersFlow vs Consensus
- Consensus: Fast answers to narrow questions
- PapersFlow: Structured reports and synthesis across many papers

### PapersFlow vs Research Rabbit
- Research Rabbit: Visual suggestions from collections
- PapersFlow: Multi-strategy search with semantic and citation-based discovery, plus writing workflows

### PapersFlow vs Connected Papers
- Connected Papers: Citation graph visualization for single papers
- PapersFlow: Search, reading, synthesis, and report generation across a full library

### PapersFlow vs Perplexity
- Perplexity: General-purpose AI web search with citations
- PapersFlow: Research-specific workspace with web search (Exa) + academic search (474M+ papers via OpenAlex) + paper library + PDF reading + LaTeX writing
- Key difference: PapersFlow combines web search and academic search in one AI assistant, with your full paper library as context

### PapersFlow vs Google Scholar
- Google Scholar: Indexes academic papers and patents only
- PapersFlow: Searches academic papers (OpenAlex, 474M+) AND the full web (Exa) — news, blogs, GitHub, company reports, preprints
- PapersFlow also includes AI-powered reading, synthesis, and writing tools

### Zotero plugins (PapersGPT, Aria, Beaver)
- Many plugins require API keys and separate tooling
- PapersFlow provides similar capabilities directly, and works with your existing Zotero library

## Frequently Asked Questions

### What makes PapersFlow different from Zotero or Mendeley?
PapersFlow focuses on what happens after you collect PDFs: reading, synthesis, and writing connected to your library. Zotero and Mendeley focus on reference management. You can keep Zotero as your citation backbone and use PapersFlow for day-to-day research work.

### What are the core PapersFlow feature areas?
The main feature areas are Doxa (`/features/doxa`) for source-backed research assistance, Insights (`/features/insights`) for verified analysis and synthesis, Compose (`/features/compose`) for writing, and Workflows (`/features/workflows`) for repeatable pipeline automation.

### Is there a legacy Deep Research URL?
Yes. Existing external links for the former Deep Research path are redirected to the canonical Insights page. Internal references should use `/features/insights`.

### How does the Deep Research feature work?
Deep Research runs a multi-step workflow to search academic databases (OpenAlex with 474M+ papers), read and extract evidence, and synthesize results into structured reports with inline citations.

### Can I import my existing library from Zotero?
Yes, PapersFlow supports bi-directional Zotero sync. Connect your Zotero account via OAuth to automatically sync your collections and papers. Changes in either tool can sync to the other.

### Is my research data private?
Yes. Your papers and notes are stored securely and are not used to train models. You should still review outputs for accuracy.

### What file formats are supported?
PapersFlow supports PDF uploads with automatic metadata extraction via GROBID. You can also import papers via arXiv ID, DOI, or search OpenAlex directly.

### Can it add citations while I write?
Yes. PapersFlow can suggest and insert inline citations from your library and OpenAlex while you write. Always verify citations and claims before publication.

### Does PapersFlow have web search?
Yes. PapersFlow integrates Exa, a semantic web search engine, to search the full web — including news, blogs, GitHub repos, preprints, company reports, and more. This complements the academic search (474M+ papers via OpenAlex). The AI assistant automatically routes queries to the right search engine. Web search is available on all paid plans (see pricing page for current plans).

### What is Exa in PapersFlow?
Exa is a semantic web search engine integrated into PapersFlow. Unlike Google or Bing, Exa understands meaning and supports category filters (news, GitHub, company, tweet, PDF). PapersFlow uses 4 Exa tools: search, find similar pages, extract content, and get AI answers with citations.

### How is PapersFlow different from Perplexity?
Both search the web with AI, but PapersFlow is built for researchers. It combines web search (Exa) with academic search (474M+ papers via OpenAlex), a paper library, PDF reading with AI, note-taking, and LaTeX writing — all in one workspace. Perplexity is a general-purpose AI search tool without paper management or writing features.

## Contact

For academic partnerships, API access, or enterprise inquiries, visit our website or reach out on Twitter @papersflow.