Use this guide when the app is open but you are not yet sure which button opens which workspace. It maps the visible buttons, tabs, cards, and docks to the outcome you should expect.
The fastest mental model
NeuralScio has four primary work modes:
1. Search — find papers across providers. 2. Library / Saved — reopen papers you already kept. 3. AI Assistant — ask cited questions about the current paper or selection. 4. Writer — draft LaTeX text with bibliography-aware support.
Everything else is built around those four modes.
Main buttons and what they do
| Button / entry point | Where you see it | What opens | Use it when | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Search | Main tab area, Help/Landing card, Ctrl+/ | The search workflow | You want to run a new query across providers | | Saved / Library | Main tab area | Your saved papers and attached PDFs | You want to continue reading or reuse a paper | | AI Assistant | Right-side dock, Help/Landing card, Ctrl+J | The AI question-and-answer dock | You want a cited answer, summary, or follow-up explanation | | Writer | Main tab area, Help/Landing card, Ctrl+W | The native LaTeX writing tab | You are synthesizing papers into notes or manuscript text | | Agents | Main tab area, Help/Landing card | The agent orchestrator tab | You want an autonomous multi-step research worker | | Agent Research | Help/Landing card, AI assistant research mode | Deep-research workflow inside AI | You want one prompt to fan out into a full sourced brief | | Citation Graph | Help/Landing card, graph actions, graph dock | Citation neighborhood view | You need to see who cites whom around a paper | | Cluster Map | Help/Landing card, View menu | The clustering dock | You want to group your library by topic or similarity | | Compare | Compare tab, compare actions, Help/Landing card | Side-by-side comparison workflow | You need evidence-first differences between papers | | Structured Insights | Help/Landing card, insights dock | Calibrated single-paper brief | You want claims, limitations, and provenance in one place | | Settings | Main settings entry, checklist actions | Configuration panels | You need to change providers, AI backend, workspace appearance, or cache | | Command Palette | Ctrl+K | Universal command launcher | You know what you want, but not where it lives in the UI |
The Help/Landing page cards
The landing page is the safest place to explore the product because each card opens one clearly scoped workspace.
Cards that start research
- Search starts retrieval.
- AI Assistant opens the AI dock on the current context.
- Agents opens the orchestration surface for autonomous workers.
- Agent Research starts a deep-research path through AI.
Cards that organize and analyze your library
- Citation Graph shows reference neighborhoods.
- Cluster Map groups your library by similarity.
- Compare opens a side-by-side evidence workflow.
- Structured Insights compresses one paper into a calibrated brief.
Cards that turn reading into output
- Writer opens the writing surface.
- Watchlist focuses on tracked topics and updates.
Settings checklist buttons
The onboarding checklist usually exposes four high-value setup buttons first:
| Checklist button | What it configures | | --- | --- | | Theme | App appearance, custom backgrounds, and readability | | Providers | Which data sources are enabled, plus API keys and limits | | AI | Local vs cloud backend, model/provider choice | | Offline cache | What is stored locally for reading without a network |
If you are unsure which setup button to use, start here:
- Search not returning enough sources → Providers
- AI answers unavailable or using the wrong backend → AI
- UI hard to read → Theme
- Need more local-only reading behavior → Offline cache
Workspace layout and reading comfort
The desktop UI uses docks and tabs around the main research surface. Settings and dock context actions can expose controls for theme choice, custom PNG backgrounds, dock visibility, floating panels, and status indicators such as resource monitoring or AI token counters. These controls are local UI preferences; they do not change search, citation, AI, or billing behavior.
Cluster Map: the most important buttons inside the dock
Once the Cluster Map is open, the internal buttons become easier to understand:
| Button | What it does | | --- | --- | | Cluster | Recomputes clustering with the current parameters | | Suggest K | Helps choose a cluster count before rerunning | | Quick Compare | Compares representative papers from the selected cluster | | Filter to Cluster | Narrows the visible papers to the selected cluster | | Summarize | Produces a summary of the selected cluster | | Research Brief | Builds a more structured cluster-level brief | | To Writer | Sends the cluster narrative into Writer | | Compare Clusters | Puts two selected clusters side by side |
If you forget where something lives
1. Press Ctrl+K to open the command palette. 2. Type the feature name rather than hunting through menus. 3. If the surface is research-related, check the Help/Landing cards next. 4. If the surface is configuration-related, go to Settings.