Neural Writer

Draft LaTeX text with saved-library citations and local compilation paths.

Neural Writer is the native LaTeX writing surface inside NeuralScio. It keeps drafting close to the saved library, PDFs, citations, and AI assistant instead of sending synthesis work to a separate editor too early.

What Is Implemented

  • QPlainTextEdit-based LaTeX editor with syntax highlighting and line-oriented editing
  • bibliography sync from saved articles into a local .bib file
  • citation key autocomplete and citation insertion from the saved library
  • manual compile and delayed auto-compile request flow through the LaTeX compiler wrapper
  • PDF preview of compiled output when a local engine succeeds
  • document stats, outline, snippets, search/replace, and publication checklist surfaces
  • reference import by DOI and arXiv ID
  • AI writing actions such as fix, expand, abstract, introduction, outline, paraphrase, simplify, formalize, fix citations, keyword suggestions, methodology draft, conclusion draft, and custom prompts
  • export tooling for PDF, LaTeX bundle, Overleaf ZIP, arXiv source bundle, IEEE/ACM starters, Typst, HTML, DOCX, RTF, ODT, Markdown, EPUB, and plain text where the required external tools are installed

Engine And Tool Requirements

The compiler wrapper can use Tectonic, pdflatex, xelatex, or lualatex depending on what is installed. Export formats that rely on external tools need those tools available locally:

  • Pandoc for HTML, DOCX, RTF, ODT, Markdown, and EPUB exports
  • zip for Overleaf ZIP bundles
  • typst for Typst export
  • pdftotext for plain-text extraction from compiled PDF
  • Ghostscript for optional PDF-quality processing

AI Boundary

The Writer AI assistant generates LaTeX-ready snippets and document edits using the configured AI backend. It can use current document text, selected text, and source context where provided, but generated prose and citations still need review.

Citation help should use BibTeX keys from the saved library. Do not treat generated citations as valid unless the matching bibliography entry exists.

Formula And OCR Boundary

The confirmed surface is formula sketch/input support and equation insertion. Screenshot-to-LaTeX OCR should be treated as experimental unless a recognition backend and end-to-end UX path are configured and verified.

Workflow

1. Save relevant papers into the library. 2. Open Writer and draft in LaTeX. 3. Insert citations from the saved library. 4. Compile manually or enable delayed auto-compile. 5. Review PDF output, bibliography, and AI suggestions before export.

1. Read AI Features for local/cloud model boundaries. 2. Read PDF Viewer for reading and annotation workflow. 3. Read Data Providers for where citation metadata comes from.