Getting Started

This guide walks you from install to your first successful chat. If you hit a snag, check the FAQ or open a Discussion.

npm install -g research-copilot
research-copilot

git clone https://github.com/daidong/PiPilot.git
cd PiPilot
npm install
npm run dev

Requires Node.js ≥ 18 and npm ≥ 9. Python 3 is optional but needed for data analysis and figure generation.

Research Copilot picks the cheapest working auth method it finds, in this order:

ChatGPT subscription → Claude subscription → OpenAI API key → Anthropic API key

1. Open the model selector at the top of the chat pane.
2. Pick a GPT-5.4 (sub) entry (ChatGPT Pro / Plus) or a Claude ... (sub) entry (Claude Pro / Max).
3. Complete the OAuth flow in your browser.

Credentials are stored in the OS keychain and refreshed automatically.

1. Open the unified settings panel with Cmd + . (or click the gear icon).
2. Go to the API Keys tab.
3. Paste your key into ANTHROPIC_API_KEY or OPENAI_API_KEY.
4. Click Save & Continue.

Keys are written to ~/.research-copilot/config.json.

Tip: at least one of Anthropic / OpenAI (API key or ChatGPT subscription) is required. The rest are optional.

Semantic Scholar, arXiv, OpenAlex, and DBLP work without any key.

1. Pick or create a workspace folder. Research Copilot stores artifacts and memory under <workspace>/.research-pilot/.
2. Type a request in the chat pane. A few starting points:
   • "Find recent papers on quantum error correction and save the top 5 as notes."
   • "Load this CSV and plot a correlation heatmap." (attach a file via the paperclip)
   • "Draft the introduction for a NeurIPS-style paper on ."
3. The agent will use tools — literature search, web fetch, Python analysis, file edits — as needed. Tool calls appear in the chat so you can watch what it's doing.

Paper Wiki is a background agent that indexes every paper you touch into a cross-project knowledge base.

• Open settings (Cmd + .) → Paper Wiki tab.
• Pick a model you're comfortable paying for (subscription-backed is cheapest; "Auto" follows the system priority).
• Pick a speed preset.

Expect roughly 8K–25K input / 2K–4K output tokens per paper. It's disabled by default.

Drop a Markdown file at <workspace>/.pi/skills/<name>/SKILL.md:

---
id: my-skill
name: My Skill
shortDescription: Brief description of what this skill does
---
Summary loaded at startup.
## Procedures
Detailed guidance loaded on demand when the skill is activated.

Skills are auto-discovered from three locations (later overrides earlier):

1. Shipped builtin skills
2. ~/.research-pilot/skills/ — user-global
3. <workspace>/.pi/skills/ — project-specific

• Browse the FAQ for common issues.
• See the README Features section for a tour of literature search, data analysis, attachments, and more.
• Questions? Open a Discussion.