Lightkone Lightkone documentation
Lightkone is a reference manager for research papers that runs in your browser. Your papers, PDFs, highlights and notes live as plain files in storage you choose, and Claude can help you read, search and cite them with your own key.
Start here
- Getting started: the first ten minutes.
- Moving from Paperpile: bring your library, folders, labels and PDFs over.
- Where your library lives: this browser, Cloudflare R2, AWS S3, MinIO, or a private GitHub repository, set up step by step.
Using Lightkone
- Reading and highlighting: the PDF reader, highlights, notes, Explain, and export to Obsidian.
- Finding papers: search and its filters, full text, equations, Ask, New on arXiv and the citation map.
- Writing with your library: citations, LaTeX and Overleaf, a .bib for a manuscript.
- Sharing and devices: several devices, shared libraries, the phone app.
- Claude and other AI apps (MCP): use your library from Claude, Claude Code or any MCP app.
- Your data: what is processed where, and what leaves your browser.
- Questions and fixes: common questions, and what to do when something goes wrong.
Running your own
- Hosting: deploy Lightkone for yourself or a team.
- Plugins: add storage, lookups, importers and actions.
- Architecture: how it fits together.
Inside the app, the round ? button at the top (or the ? key) opens Help, with a short guide and a way to replay the welcome tour.