Local Deep Research
Researches a question across the web, papers and your own files and writes a cited report
by LearningCircuit
Feynman
by Companion, Inc.AgentResearch something
Researches a question across paper databases and writes a brief with citations
About Feynman
Feynman is an open source research assistant that runs in your terminal. You ask a question; it searches paper databases and the web, reads papers and your own PDFs, and writes a cited brief, review or draft.
For ResearchersStudentsAnalysts
Made by Companion, Inc.
Companion, Inc. is a US-based company that says it builds the interface for intelligence, a way for people and machines to collaborate over the long term. Feynman is its open source research agent.
- Stars
- ★ 10k
- License
- MIT
- Cost
- Usage-based
- Platforms
- Mac · Win · Linux
- Level
- Intermediate
Screenshots
From the project's own repository.
Overview
Feynman is an open-source research agent from Companion, Inc. that runs in your terminal. You type a research question; it searches paper databases such as arXiv, PubMed and Semantic Scholar plus the web, reads papers and your local PDFs, and saves a brief with inline citations to a folder on your computer. Commands cover literature reviews, paper critiques, source comparisons and paper-style drafts. It suits researchers, students and analysts who are comfortable typing commands.
Research runs also save a provenance file listing the sources used and what was checked, so you can trace each claim back.
Try these first
Start with the first one: it is a small task you can check easily.
- Summarize the key findings of [paper title or arXiv link].First try · saves a file
- /lit [topic]: what do researchers agree on, where do they disagree, and what is still open?saves a file
- /deepresearch [your question], show me the plan firstsaves files
- /review [path to your draft]: list the likely objections and a revision plan.
Example prompts written by Agent Flows Hub.
Features
From the creator's documentation.
| Feature | What it does | Runs |
|---|---|---|
| Deep research | Writes a plan, searches, then writes a brief with inline citations; ask to see the plan first | Paper databases, web |
| Literature review | Consensus, disagreements and open questions on a topic, lab or author | Paper databases, web |
| Paper review | Critique of a paper or draft with severity levels and a revision plan | Your files, arXiv |
| Source comparison | A matrix of where several sources agree and disagree | Paper databases, web |
| Provenance file | A list of the sources used and what was checked, saved next to each brief | Your computer |
| Models | Sign in to ChatGPT, Claude Max or Copilot, use an API key, or point it at a local model | Your model provider |
Good to know
You want a sourced overview of a research question without opening every paper yourself. Feynman writes a plan, searches public paper databases, reads the papers it relies on and saves a brief with inline citations and a provenance file.
Limits
- It needs a model: a ChatGPT, Claude Max or Copilot sign-in, a provider API key, or a local model. The docs note that small local models often skip the multi-step research workflows.
- It sends anonymous usage data (commands, models, token counts and errors) to PostHog unless you set FEYNMAN_TELEMETRY=off. Check citations in the brief against the papers before you rely on them.
Notes by Agent Flows Hub (original project name: Feynman), written from the creator's documentation, not from running it ourselves. Feynman installation guide · Feynman setup: model access · Feynman: deep research workflow
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