Scholardo
No. 01
Conversation Agent
Generalist
- Shift
- On call
- Access
- You ask · It acts
- Duties
- Understand · Execute · Remember
- Reports to
- You, the project PI
Your research, all in one workbench
Papers, references, notes, data and drafts in one place, with your agents working beside you
Co-research
Meet your research team
They watch for new papers, sort your library, read with you and help you write and present
Scholardo
No. 02
Background Agent
Project Assistant
- Shift
- Around the clock
- Access
- It proposes · You approve
- Duties
- Track · Research · Organize
- Reports to
- You, the project PI
Scholardo
No. 03
Editing Agent
Writing Assistant
- Shift
- On demand
- Access
- You select · It edits
- Duties
- Polish · Draft · Explain
- Reports to
- You, the project PI
The whole arc
From first source to final draft
Each step feeds the next, with nothing to export, re-import or re-explain
leaves behind papers · web pages · feeds
Search Across Databases
Search multiple research databases yourself or with an AI agent via MCP. Automatically remove duplicates, rank results, and retrieve open-access full texts in one click.
Save as You Browse
Browse the web inside Scholardo and save pages or PDFs directly to your local library. Your AI agent can also understand the content you're viewing.
Stay Current with Research
Follow journals, blogs, and topics that matter to you. Get new research delivered on schedule, with AI summaries that help you spot what matters.
Keep References Organized
Automatically complete reference metadata from DOIs and links. Import existing collections in bulk and keep references and their associated files organized.
leaves behind highlights · margin notes
Read Across Formats
Read PDFs, e-books, Office documents, code, web pages, and multimedia content in one workspace, without constantly switching between apps.
Bring Your Web Highlights
Sync highlights and annotations from Hypothesis into Scholardo, bringing your web reading notes and ideas together in one research workspace.
Highlights That Stay
Keep PDF and e-book highlights and annotations organized and easy to revisit. Rename or move files without losing the notes attached to them.
Organize Your Reading
Filter and sort your library, use AI to classify papers by topic, and manage reading queues and statuses. Pick up where you left off in any document.
leaves behind knowledge · relations · evidence
Extract Research Knowledge
Let your agent extract concepts, claims, and findings from papers. Review and approve each item before it becomes part of your structured knowledge base.
Map Knowledge Connections
Explore how concepts, claims, and findings support, challenge, or respond to one another. Your agent identifies relationships and reveals them in a visual knowledge graph.
Research Through Questions
Organize evidence around your research questions. Use evidence matrices to compare support and challenges, while your agent helps identify gaps and suggest where to look next.
Evolve Your Research Questions
As evidence grows, your agent suggests when questions may be answered, need refining, or lead to new questions emerging from recurring themes.
These features are still in active development.
leaves behind chapters · citations
Write with Full Context
Your agent draws on project papers, notes, discussions, and memory, along with submission guidelines, to help draft manuscripts grounded in your research.
Structure Long-Form Writing
Work with your agent to develop an outline and supporting evidence. Review and refine the structure, then build your manuscript chapter by chapter.
Citations, Taken Care Of
Use APA, MLA, Chicago, GB/T, and other citation styles. Let AI help check citation requirements while Scholardo generates and formats your references.
Edit with AI Assistance
Select any passage to proofread, polish, or rewrite with AI, check its accuracy, or cite a source you pick from your library — without leaving your draft.
leaves behind slides · PDF / Word / LaTeX
Render Academic Content
Write equations, flowcharts, chemical structures, and more directly in your notes and manuscripts. Focus on your ideas while Scholardo handles the rendering.
Keep Numbering in Sync
Manage figure, table, and equation numbering with cross-references that update when you reorder sections, reducing manual work and keeping references consistent.
Export Your Research
Export to PDF, Word or LaTeX with citations, footnotes and endnotes. Review the final layout and your journal’s requirements before submission.
Turn Content into Slides
Work with your agent to turn library content and notes into presentations. Present in full screen or export your slides to PDF or HTML.
Local-first
Your work stays on your own disk
Papers, notes and drafts live as plain files in folders you own
-
Every file is yours
Papers, notes and drafts are plain files on your own disk — no proprietary database, so any other tool can open and manage them.
-
Works offline
Reading, citing and writing need no connection. Pair it with a locally run model such as Ollama and the AI help keeps working — efficient, and your data stays with you.
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No account needed
No account to create and nothing to upload. Your papers and notes stay on your own computer, and Scholardo collects none of them.
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Checked before export
At export, citations, page numbers and claims are checked automatically, so problems surface early — less tedious checking by hand, more rigorous work.
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A record you can show
Each check records when it ran, the rule-set version, a hash of the text and the results — a traceable record that AI-assisted work was verified.
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Backup and recovery
Projects are backed up on a schedule and kept on your own machine; an edit interrupted by a crash is restored the next time you open the project.
How it compares
Built for agents from day one
Scholardo next to the research tools you may already use
| Capability | Scholardo | DEVONthink | Zotero | Mendeley | EndNote |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Native agent tools (MCP) | Yes | Yes | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| Search by meaning and keyword | Yes | Partial | Not confirmed | Partial | Not confirmed |
| Unified PDF/EPUB/web annotations | Yes | Partial | Yes | Partial | Partial |
| Citation rendering (CSL 100+) | Yes | Not confirmed | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Agent sees your live reading position | Yes | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| Cross-session project memory | Yes | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| Extensible agent skills (add your own workflows) | Yes | Partial | Partial | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| Bring-your-own model (multi-provider) | Yes | Yes | Partial | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| Local-first · Zero telemetry | Yes | Yes | Yes | Not confirmed | Partial |
| Slide and LaTeX output | Yes | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
- Yes
- Partial
- Not confirmed
Compare native features, not third-party plugins. “Not confirmed” means this combination of capabilities has not been established here, not that the product cannot do it. Editions and integrations differ; check the linked vendor documentation before choosing.
Pricing
Your AI at its best
One licence, three ways to pay.Students get 50% off the Annual plan50% off the Annual plan for one year. Monthly and Lifetime are not included. Still a student when you renew? Apply again.To apply, email support (at) scholardo.comSent from your .edu or other school addressA photo of your student IDOr a link to a school web page that shows your name
Save 30%
Personal · Annual
$49.99
/yr
- All features
- Up to 3 computers
- App updates
- Cancel anytime
Best value
Personal · Lifetime
$199.99
one-time
- Everything in Annual
- Up to 3 computers
- App updates
- Pay once, own forever
For labs
Team · Enquiries
Let’s talk
- Discuss your research workflow
- Tell us your team size
- Ask about purchasing
- Agree scope before purchase
Trial, offline use and access after expiry · Read the 72-hour refund policy
Prices are in US dollars and exclude tax. Any VAT, GST or sales tax for your location is added at checkout, and the total shown there is what you pay.
FAQ
Before you start
Which platforms does it run on?
macOS 14 or later, on Apple Silicon and Intel, and Windows 10 or later (x64). The Windows version will be released through the Microsoft Store and is not out yet; today you can download the macOS version. It is the same app with the same features on both, and one license covers up to 3 computers across either. The one difference is where tags live: on a Mac they are Finder tags and sync both ways with Finder; Windows has no file tags, so there they are kept in a hidden file inside the project. There is no iOS, Linux or web version.
Do I need to use a terminal?
No. A team of agents is built into the app — a Conversation Agent you ask, a Background Agent that proposes, an Editing Agent for the text you select. Choose a model and start; the Conversation Agent can do everything a CLI can do with your library. If you would rather use the Claude Code or Codex you already pay for, that works too, from a shell session.
Do I need an AI API key to use it?
No. Core features — search, annotations, citations, browser capture — work locally without any key. A key is only needed for AI-powered features like selection rewriting or feed digests. You can also route different kinds of task to different providers and models, or point everything at a local Ollama model. Model usage is billed by your provider and is not part of the Scholardo license.
Is my data sent anywhere?
Not to us. Your project stays in folders on your own computer: Scholardo keeps no cloud copy, and there is no telemetry or usage data. The only calls Scholardo makes on its own are the license check and, on this site, a version lookup. When you use a cloud AI model or cloud embeddings, the text they work on goes to the provider you chose; a local model through Ollama keeps it on your machine. Feeds and web pages you open reach out to wherever you pointed them. The privacy policy lists all of it.
How is this different from Zotero and its MCP plugins?
Zotero is built for one researcher, and its community MCP plugins let an agent read your references. Scholardo is built for you and a team of agents: they work inside your whole research — not just papers and metadata, but your highlights, your notes, your drafts, and whatever you have open right now.
What's the license model?
Personal licenses come in three forms: Monthly ($5.99/mo) and Annual ($49.99/yr), both cancel anytime, and Lifetime ($199.99, pay once). Download the app and unlock it with a license key. Team pricing is available on request.
How many computers can one license activate?
Up to 3, Mac and Windows combined. A fourth activation is refused until a seat is freed — on the computer you want to release, open Settings → License and choose “Deactivate this device”. The seat frees up immediately, and that computer can be activated again later.
Where does the invoice come from?
From whoever took the payment, not from us. Buy through Stripe's merchant-of-record checkout and Link sends the receipt and invoice PDFs with the confirmation email, showing the amount, the tax and the order number; buy in mainland China, in Chinese yuan, and Stripe emails the payment receipt on Scholardo's behalf, showing the amount and the order number. One caveat that only affects mainland China: it is a commercial receipt rather than a Chinese VAT invoice, and checkout has no field for a Chinese company name or tax number. Get in touch if your finance department needs supporting paperwork.
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