NeuralScio documentation covers the native desktop workflow: scholarly search, saved papers, PDF reading, citation graph exploration, AI assistance, Neural Writer, and experimental MCP/headless integration where enabled.
Use the guides below to find a workflow. For a selected map of product areas, modeled flows, data stores, boundaries, and lifecycles, see Architecture.
Start Here
If you are new, read in this order:
- Getting Started for download, installation, and the first desktop workflow.
- Interface Tour to learn the main research surfaces.
- Local AI Setup to choose the built-in GGUF worker or the separate Ollama-compatible path.
- AI Features for BYOK, local AI, and the Public Alpha cloud boundary.
- Offline Mode for the local-first boundary.
- Troubleshooting or Support if you need help.
Other guides:
- MCP & Headless
- Agents
- Agent Research
- Cluster Map
- Neural Writer
- Scholarly Search
- Data Providers
- PDF Viewer
- Citation Graph
- Offline Mode
- Sync & Cloud
- Workspace Customization
- Settings
- Export Citations
- Voice Interface
- Keyboard Shortcuts
- Architecture for a selected high-level product map
Product Surfaces That Matter Most
Native desktop foundation
- Native desktop application built in C++ and Qt
- Local settings, local caches, and a separate AI worker process in the desktop architecture
- Desktop UI plus non-UI launch paths in the same product
- Customizable themes, local PNG backgrounds, dock/tab visibility controls, and desktop status indicators where available
- Public Alpha artifacts are documented for Windows and Linux; macOS has a documented source/build path but no verified Public Alpha artifact
Research workflow
- Scholarly search across registered desktop adapters with different access profiles
- Interface Tour article for mapping visible buttons, tabs, cards, docks, and setup actions
- Built-in PDF reading with annotations, search inside open PDFs, and cached reading
- Saved-library workflow for articles and local PDFs
- Citation graph exploration with 2D and 3D views
- Neural Writer for LaTeX drafting, bibliography sync, preview, and citation-aware writing
AI and automation
- BYOK AI provider defaults and exact model identifiers are listed in AI Features; managed cloud AI is not active during Public Alpha
- Local AI paths: the built-in NeuralScioAI worker with GGUF models, plus the separate Ollama-compatible provider path
- Experimental MCP over local stdio when enabled in the current build
- Experimental HTTP and SSE transports when explicitly configured
- Experimental headless mode for scripted and agent-driven launches where enabled
Local vs Network Boundary
Strong local path
- Saved PDFs and local PDF library
- Local annotations and cached reading state
- Local AI workflows when you use the built-in worker or the Ollama-compatible provider
- Experimental headless + stdio MCP workflows on the same machine where enabled
Still depends on network access
- Provider search across external scholarly sources
- Managed cloud AI (not active during Public Alpha)
- Experimental account-linked sync when enabled for the current build/account, and future billing flows
- Remote MCP connections when you choose the network transport
Access Modes
NeuralScio is in Public Alpha. The desktop app is free during alpha. Paid subscriptions are not active yet.
| Path | What it means during Public Alpha | | --- | --- | | Local Alpha | Free desktop access: saved/cached papers, your own documents, local workflows | | BYOK | Bring your own keys or local providers where supported; not a paid NeuralScio plan | | Pro | Future managed cloud plan; launch timing and prices are not published | | Team | Future team/lab billing; launch timing and prices are not published |
Local Alpha is not the same as managed online search or hosted cloud AI. See Pricing for details.
Where To Go Next
- Read Getting Started and Interface Tour for the core desktop workflow.
- Read Local AI Setup before configuring local models.
- Read Pricing for Public Alpha access and future cloud/billing plans.