Your workspace at a glance
Folio has three core areas: your source library (where all your references live), the editor (where you write), and the AI tools that work from your library: Research & start to begin a paper, Scholar to ask questions of your sources, and Audit and Proofread to review a draft. Everything connects: sources you add are available to cite in any document, and the AI features draw from what's in your library.
Step 1: Add your first source
Open Sources from the sidebar and click Add source. You can paste a URL, a DOI (like 10.1000/xyz123), an ISBN, or upload a PDF directly, or search the literature right there.
Folio extracts metadata automatically: title, authors, year, journal, abstract. The source appears in your library immediately, ready to cite.
Step 2: Create a document
On the Dashboard, click New document to open a blank document. Give it a title and start writing. Folio saves as you write, a few seconds after you pause; the save state shows in the formatting bar, and Cmd/Ctrl + S saves right away.
Step 3: Start from a research brief
Staring at a blank page? Choose Research & start (on the dashboard, or in the sidebar's New document menu). Describe your paper topic; the more specific you are, the better. Folio searches the literature and returns a research brief with thesis angles to choose from, an outline, and sources worth reading. Start writing then opens a new, empty document with the brief beside it (your angle, the outline, the sources) and adds the sources you kept to your library. The first words are yours. See Using Research & start.
Step 4: Write with citations
While writing, type [[ to search your source library inline. Select a source and press Tab or Enter to insert a formatted citation. The bibliography at the bottom of your document builds automatically as you cite, with no manual reference list to manage.
Step 5: Make it yours
Open Account settings from the menu under your avatar to set your default citation style, theme and time zone, and to fill in your profile. See Your account settings.
Next steps
- Adding sources in depth
- How citations work
- Using Scholar AI
- Importing an existing library (Zotero & more)
Going further
Once you are set up, Folio covers the rest of the research process too:
- Discover literature across Semantic Scholar, OpenAlex and CrossRef, and track your field with Radar.
- Build a synthesis matrix from your sources.
- Prove the work is yours with an authorship & integrity report.
- See what each tier unlocks in Plans and billing.