Your First Steps in Apex Scholar #

This guide walks you through creating a project and saving your first paper—no technical setup required.

1. Sign In #

Open https://apex-scholar.vercel.app in your browser.

Click the big button: Sign in with Puter.

• If you already have a Puter account, log in.
• If not, you can create one for free during the sign-in flow. Puter gives you 1 GB of cloud storage to keep your research data.

Tip: Puter is just secure cloud storage. Your data stays under your control.

2. Create a Project #

After signing in, you’ll see the Dashboard. At the top, there’s a project dropdown.

Click it and select New Project.

Fill in:

• Name: e.g., "My Literature Review"
• Description (optional): what you’re working on

Click Create Project.

You’ll now be inside that project. Everything you do—searches, saved papers, notes—is tied to this project.

3. Search for Papers #

In the sidebar, click Explore. You’ll see a search page.

Type a topic you’re interested in, e.g.:

transformer models for time series

The search will query multiple sources (ArXiv, Google Scholar, PubMed) and show results in a table.

4. Save a Paper #

Find a paper that looks relevant. On the right side of that row, click the bookmark icon (📖).

That paper is now saved to your Resources (library). You can add tags or notes later if you want.

Do this for a few papers to build up your library.

5. Explore Insights (Optional but Recommended) #

Go to the Insights page in the sidebar.

If you’ve saved papers, you’ll see a list. For any paper, click the Analyze button.

Apex Scholar will read the abstract and extract structured info:

• Problem statement
• Method used
• Key contributions
• Assumptions and limitations

This helps you compare papers quickly without reading every full text.

6. Try the Knowledge Graph (Optional) #

Still on Insights, click Generate Knowledge Graph (if you have at least 5 papers with insights).

An interactive graph appears. Drag nodes around, zoom, and hover to see which concepts are connected. This visual can reveal research gaps you might explore.

7. Enable Encryption (Recommended for Privacy) #

Go to Settings (sidebar).

Scroll to End-to-End Encryption.

• Enter a passphrase (8+ characters)
• Confirm it
• Click Enable Encryption

The app will encrypt your existing data. This takes a few seconds.

Important: Remember your passphrase. There is no way to recover it if you forget it. Write it down somewhere safe.

After enabling, on your next visit you’ll need to enter this passphrase to unlock your vault.

What’s Next? #

• Learn to find papers more effectively
• Organize your saved resources with tags and projects
• Try the LaTeX editor for manuscript writing
• Set up a Kanban board to track tasks
• Explore the Knowledge Graph to spot gaps

If you get stuck, check the FAQ or Troubleshooting.

Enjoy your research!