Bringing your research into Folio

The hardest part of switching tools is the empty library. Folio's on-ramp is built to get years of scattered research in quickly — your PDFs, your reference exports, and even the planning you've already done with an AI assistant.

Where to start

You'll find these in a few places, so the on-ramp is always within reach:

• New accounts see a "Bring your research in" panel on the dashboard until you create your first document.
• New ▾ (top of the dashboard) → Import from AI chat.
• Account → Profile → Bring your research in — the same actions, any time.
• The Sources library → Add source has every importer, including Bulk PDFs.

Bulk-import a folder of PDFs

If your sources live as PDFs on your desktop or in a cloud drive, this is the fastest path.

1. Open Add source → Bulk PDFs (or the dashboard panel → Import).
2. Drag in a whole folder, or select many files at once (up to 50 per batch).
3. Folio reads each one, matches it to verified metadata, and shows a list you can review.
4. Pick the ones to keep and click Add to library.

For each PDF, Folio pulls the text, finds the DOI, and confirms the citation against CrossRef — so you get clean, verified metadata, not a guessed title. Papers without a discoverable DOI are still imported and flagged Check title so you can fix them in a second. Anything already in your library is skipped automatically (de-duplicated by DOI or title), and the original PDFs are stored so you can read and annotate them in Folio.

Bulk PDF import uses no AI credits — it's free on every plan.

Paste an AI research chat

Been planning a paper with ChatGPT or Claude? Don't start over.

1. New ▾ → Import from AI chat (or the dashboard panel → Paste an AI chat).
2. Paste the conversation and click Analyze chat.
3. Folio lifts out a working thesis, an outline, the papers you discussed, and the key claims — then opens a pre-populated draft.

Because AI assistants routinely invent citations, Folio verifies every source against CrossRef before trusting it. Sources it can confirm are marked Verified and checked by default; ones it can't are flagged Unverified and left unchecked, so a hallucinated reference never sneaks into your library.

Get a cleaner import with the prompt

In the import window, click Copy prompt. Paste it into your ChatGPT/Claude chat first, and the assistant will reply with a tidy, labeled brief — topic, thesis, outline, sources with DOIs, and claims. Paste that reply back into Folio. Because it includes DOIs and is told not to invent sources, more of your citations come back Verified.

AI chat import is metered: the free Scholar plan includes 2 a month, Fellow gets 10 a day, and Chair 20 a day.

Already use a reference manager?

If your library lives in Zotero, Mendeley, or a .bib/.ris file, use Add source → BibTeX / RIS or Zotero. These import cleanly, carry your existing metadata, and use no AI credits. See Importing and exporting sources.

What about Google Drive or Gmail?

Direct connectors for cloud drives and email aren't available yet. For now, download the PDFs you need and bulk-import them — it takes seconds and keeps everything on your machine until you choose to upload it.

Frequently asked

Will importing overwrite anything? No. Imports only add, and duplicates are skipped.

Are my PDFs private? Yes — uploaded PDFs are stored in a private bucket and served only to you. See How Folio stores your PDFs.

Can I do this later? Always. The on-ramp lives in Account → Profile permanently, and every importer stays in the Sources library.