AI-Powered Research Desktop App
Literature management, smart reading notes, and research idea generation — all in one native app
ResearchClaw is a standalone Electron desktop app for researchers. It combines AI-powered paper management, interactive reading, and idea generation in a clean interface — no browser, no server, no plugin required.
Today's papers with AI-generated tags (transformer, nlp, planning, instruction-following, etc.)
AI-powered reading interface with structured note-taking cards
Discover new papers from arXiv with AI quality evaluation and relevance-based smart filtering
Organize papers into projects and generate AI-powered research ideas
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| Discovery | Browse latest arXiv papers by category (cs.AI, cs.LG, cs.CL, cs.CV, etc.) with time-range filtering |
| AI Quality Evaluation | Evaluate papers on Novelty, Methodology, Significance, and Clarity with a 0-10 score |
| Smart Filter | Calculate relevance scores (0-100%) based on your existing library to surface what matters to you |
| AlphaXiv Summaries | Auto-fetch AI-generated paper summaries from AlphaXiv for quick triage |
| Paper Import | Batch import from Chrome history, arXiv ID/URL, local PDF, Zotero, BibTeX/RIS, or Overleaf |
| Reading List | Temporarily save papers (24h) from Discovery or citations for quick reads without cluttering Library |
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| PDF Reader | In-app PDF viewer with page navigation, zoom, and width-fit controls |
| AI Chat | Side-by-side chat panel powered by Claude — ask about contributions, methods, limitations |
| Reading Cards | AI fills structured reading note cards; toggle between Vibe (AI) / Manual editing mode |
| Auto Notes | One-click AI-generated reading summary saved as a note |
| Citation Extraction | Automatically detect and extract references from PDFs; search your library or online |
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| Library | Filter papers by category, tag, time range, year; search across title, abstract, meaning |
| Multi-Layer Tags | Auto-tag papers by Domain / Method / Topic; manage, merge, and organize tags in batch |
| Paper Comparison | Select 2-3 papers and generate AI-powered comparative analysis |
| BibTeX Export | Export selected papers to BibTeX format for LaTeX integration |
| Semantic Search | Embedding-based similarity search across your paper collection |
| Agentic Search | AI autonomously searches your library using multi-step tool calling (Beta) |
| Citation Graph | Interactive citation network visualization with layout options and PNG export |
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| Projects | Organize papers, repos, and todos into research projects |
| AI Idea Generation | Generate research ideas from papers in your project collection |
| Agent Tasks | Run AI agent tasks with status tracking (Running / Completed / Failed / Idle) |
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| Multi-Provider AI | Configure Anthropic, OpenAI, Gemini, or any OpenAI-compatible API |
| CLI Tools | Run Claude Code, Codex, or Gemini CLI directly inside the app |
| Proxy Support | HTTP/SOCKS proxy for downloads, API calls, and agents — with connectivity test |
| Token Usage | Track API usage with animated line charts and GitHub-style activity heatmap |
| i18n | Full Chinese/English bilingual interface with automatic OS language detection |
- macOS 12+ (arm64 / x64), Windows 10+ (x64 / arm64), or Linux (x64 / arm64)
- Node.js >= 18 (for building from source)
# Clone and install
git clone https://github.com/Noietch/ResearchClaw.git
cd ResearchClaw
npm install
# Development mode
npm run dev
# Build and package
npm run release:mac # macOS → .dmg (arm64 + x64)
npm run release:win # Windows → NSIS installer (x64 + arm64)
npm run release:linux # Linux → AppImage (x64 + arm64)src/
main/ # Electron main process (IPC handlers, services, stores)
renderer/ # Vite + React UI
shared/ # Shared types, utils, prompts
db/ # Prisma + SQLite repositories
prisma/ # schema.prisma
tests/ # Integration tests (service layer)
scripts/ # build-main.mjs, build-release.sh
- Database: SQLite via Prisma at
~/.researchclaw/researchclaw.db - AI: Vercel AI SDK supporting Anthropic, OpenAI, Gemini, and OpenAI-compatible providers
- Build: esbuild (main process) + Vite (renderer)
CC BY-NC 4.0 — Free for non-commercial use. Attribution required. Commercial use is not permitted.
Built with ❤️ for the research community.