An AI agent that does the legwork
Search, cite, and pull up sources for you.
Research, fully AI-wired.
Scholardo is your library, run by your AI agent — not an AI bolted onto a reference manager. It searches, cites, and drafts; you review and decide.
Works with the most capable agent CLIs
Claude Code and Codex are their vendors' official CLIs and need their own subscription or a compatible third-party model — Scholardo is not affiliated with them. Open-source CLIs like opencode and pi run on any protocol-compatible model provider.
Core capabilities
Ready out of the box.
Search by meaning, not just keywords
Find things by what they mean.
Find new papers
Search databases, save a free PDF.
Save pages as you browse
Save any page or PDF in one click.
Read every format
PDF / EPUB / Office / web / media.
Highlight anything
One highlighter for PDFs, e-books, and the web.
New work finds you
A scheduled AI summary of what's new.
Bring in your web highlights
Sync your Hypothesis notes in.
Citations, formatted for you
100+ styles, ready to paste.
Reference details, filled in for you
Journal, year, authors, abstract — auto-filled.
Your reference library
Import and tidy up your references.
Files and references, matched
Every reference linked to its file.
Notes
Linked notes that follow your ideas.
Slides
Turn notes into a deck, present & export.
Long-form writing
Write in chapters, export anywhere.
AI help as you write
Rewrite, proofread, cite, or draft — in place.
Local-first, by architecture
Your data stays on your machine — not a setting, a default.Use any AI you like
OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini, and more.
Automatic backups
Every project, backed up and offline.
Everything stays on your Mac
No account, no tracking.
Head to head
How it compares.
| Capability | Scholardo | Zotero | Mendeley | Obsidian | EndNote |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Native agent tools (MCP) | |||||
| Dense semantic search | |||||
| Lexical + semantic fusion | |||||
| Unified PDF/EPUB/web annotations | |||||
| In-app browser capture | |||||
| RSS feeds + AI digest | |||||
| Citation rendering (CSL 100+) | |||||
| Session branching & merge | |||||
| Menu-bar todo + AI summary | |||||
| Hypothesis annotation sync | |||||
| Presentation / slide output |
- Comparison reflects publicly documented features as of 2026. Other tools may partially achieve some of these via third-party plugins.
- Scholardo works with OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini, DeepSeek, and any OpenAI-compatible endpoint.
Pricing
Pick your plan
Best value
Personal · Lifetime
$199.99
one-time
- Everything in Annual
- 1-user license
- macOS app updates
- Pay once, own forever
For labs & teams
Team
Custom
per seat
- All Personal features
- Volume seat licensing
- Centralized license management
- Priority support & onboarding
All prices in USD · Taxes may apply at checkout
FAQ
Common questions
Is my data sent anywhere?
No. Everything stays in ~/.scholardo/ on your machine. The only network call is a license activation check — no telemetry, no usage data, no cloud sync.
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.
How is this different from Zotero?
Zotero is built for one researcher. Scholardo is built for two: you and your agent share the same library, the same annotations, and live reading context — natively, not through a plugin.
Does it work without internet?
Almost entirely. Local search, annotations, citations, and terminal sessions all work offline. Exceptions: fetching web content, embedding API calls if configured, and the annual license refresh.
What's the license model?
Personal licenses come in two forms: Annual ($49.99/yr, cancel anytime) and Lifetime ($199.99, pay once). Download the app and unlock it with a license key. Team pricing is available on request.
Which agents and terminals are supported?
Any MCP-compatible agent — Claude Code, Codex CLI, and others. The built-in terminal runs Ghostty; any agent you can invoke from a shell session works.
Download for macOS
Free 7-day trial, all features included