Folio Search runs one query across the scholarly record at once and streams the results back as they arrive, lane by lane. Instead of opening five databases in five tabs, you type a question once and watch each source fill in.
What it searches
Every search hits the open scholarly databases in parallel:
- arXiv — preprints across physics, CS, maths, and more
- OpenAlex and Crossref — broad, cross-disciplinary metadata
- Semantic Scholar — AI-ranked results and citation context
- Europe PMC and DOAJ — biomedical and open-access coverage
Results stream in as each lane responds, so you're never staring at a spinner waiting for the slowest source. Each result shows its venue, year, and authors, and can be added to your library in one click.
The Synthesizer
Finding papers is half the job. The Synthesizer tab reads across the results you retrieved and thinks through them out loud — a paced, visible reasoning pass, not an instant wall of text. As it works, it drops inline source chips: click one and the matching paper highlights in the sidebar, so every claim is anchored to where it came from.
The important part is what it won't do. The Synthesizer is grounded only in the sources your search actually returned. It doesn't reach out to the open web and it won't assert anything it can't tie to a retrieved result — so it can't quietly invent a citation. If it can't support a point from your results, it says so instead of making one up.
Saving a search
A good search is worth keeping. Hit Save and Folio stores the query, the results, and the Synthesizer's write-up together at a stable link (/search/<id>). Your saved searches are listed on the search page, so you can come back to a literature scan weeks later exactly as it was — useful when you're returning to a project or handing context to a collaborator.
Adding results to your library in bulk
In the Sources in play list you can select individual results, or use Select all, then Add to library in one action. Everything you add is tagged automatically with the search's main theme keyword and with search, so a whole reading session lands in your library already organized instead of as a loose pile.
Tips
- Ask a real question, not just keywords. The lanes handle keywords fine, but the Synthesizer does better with "does spaced practice hold up outside the lab?" than with "spaced practice."
- Start broad, then save and narrow. Run a wide search, save it, then refine — you keep the original as a reference point.
- Verify before you cite. The Synthesizer grounds its claims, but the final judgement is yours. Open the sources it cites and read them.
Related: Discovering literature · Build a synthesis matrix