Local-first · Literature management
Local-First Literature Management for Research Context
A research library is more than a list of papers. It also includes annotations, notes, concepts, and context that grows over time. Local-first means those pieces live in a folder you can open, back up, and move.
Why local-first?
Hosted libraries are convenient to sync, but they also lock reading traces, unpublished ideas, and Agent conversations inside someone else's service. Local-first writes papers, PDFs, NOTES, and relationships into ordinary folders first. Finder, Explorer, Git, or any backup tool can still read them if you leave the app.
From library to research knowledge base
A table of items answers what you collected. Research needs how a paper connects to a concept, a highlight, and a later derivation. Wikilinks connect those pieces; a local graph makes the relationships visible. An Agent can work inside the context you allow instead of asking you to paste the background every time.
A Vault is a normal folder
An Agentero Vault is not a private container. Paper directories, PDFs, NOTES.md, and marks live on the path you choose. The catalog helps sort and search; the source of truth is still the files. Edit notes in another editor, or copy the folder to another machine.
Fits existing workflows
Import a Zotero library while keeping tags, notes, and attachments, or add papers incrementally by DOI, arXiv, or the browser connector. Export BibTeX or BibLaTeX when you write. Local-first does not mean abandoning old tools. It means research context is not trapped in one app.
When you still want the cloud
For another device or a server-side library, use your own S3-compatible storage or an SSH tunnel. Agentero does not need to host the Vault. The default remains: files stay with you; services appear only when you turn them on.
Frequently asked questions
- Is local-first hard to sync?
- The Vault is a normal directory, so you can keep using the sync you already trust. You can also work on one machine and open a remote Vault over SSH. There is no required official cloud.
- Can I read the library without the app?
- Yes. PDFs and Markdown are ordinary files. The catalog is for in-app browsing; it does not replace the documents on disk.