paper-qa

What it does

Retrieval-augmented QA aimed squarely at scientific literature: it answers from the PDFs, Office documents, text and source files you supply — not from the open web — and shows which document and passage the answer came from, which is what makes it checkable. Handles summarisation and contradiction detection across a corpus. Summaries still drift from sources, so open the original before citing, and remember unpublished material reaches whichever model you configure. Apache-2.0.

Summary based on the project's own description. The Japanese page has a fuller beginner guide: setup difficulty, what to prepare, and a step-by-step start.

Screenshots & visuals

Before you start

• Setup difficultySome setup needed
• Command lineRequired
• API keyRequired
• Sends data onlineYes

Judged automatically from the project's own metadata. Always confirm on the official page.

paper-qa FAQ

Is paper-qa free?

paper-qa itself is free, but it needs an API key for an external AI service. That service charges separately, though some have a free tier.

Do I need to install anything or write code to use paper-qa?

It needs the command line. If you are not comfortable typing commands, expect to get stuck during setup.

Does paper-qa work on a phone?

No. It needs a computer.

Can I use paper-qa commercially?

The licence is Apache-2.0, which permits commercial use. Conditions such as keeping the copyright notice still apply, so read the licence text before shipping it inside something.

How it compares

The conditions that decide whether you can actually use it, side by side.

"Sends data out" means your input is uploaded to someone's server. Pick "No" when the material cannot leave your organisation.

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