Shelf for researchers
Research is only useful when you can find it again.
You read the paper. You highlighted the argument. You saved the chart. You took a screenshot. You opened three related articles. You wrote a note.
Months later, you remember the finding. Not where it came from. Shelf keeps the trail.
The question
“Where did that retention figure actually come from?”
- PaperWorking paper, 34 pagesYou highlighted section 4
- ChartRetention over 12 monthsScreenshot from page 19
- ArticleA summary that simplified itRead the same afternoon
- ArticleThe rebuttalDisagreed with the method
- Note“Cohort definition is doing the work here”Two lines, written at the time
What the trail gives back
The figure, the page it sat on, the paper it came from, and the doubt you had about it, still attached.
The problem
The answer is somewhere in your research.
The difficult part isn't collecting information. It's returning to the exact thing that mattered.
Research creates context faster than anyone can organize it by hand.
- Which paper had the argument?
- Which PDF had the chart?
- Where did that statistic come from?
- What else were you reading that week?
Remember the idea. Find the evidence.
You remember the claim, not the citation. Shelf searches the text inside your PDFs and screenshots, the meaning of what you saved, and the time and context you saved it in.
What you remember
A PDF. Something about recognising images faster than words.
Clues Shelf can use
- Text inside the PDF: “recognition”, “visual encoding”
- Meaning: memory research, not design writing
- Time: saved within the last month
- Text inside the document
- The terms you half-remember appear in section 2.
- Semantic meaning
- Understood as memory research.
- Saved around this time
- One of four PDFs kept in February.
Kept nearby
- Recognition vs recall, summary · Read after it
- Your note on sample size · Same day
Evidence
Memory without evidence becomes guesswork.
Shelf is built to keep the source close. Find the memory, see what it came from, follow the surrounding context.
When Shelf answers from your library, it shows you the things it answered from, so you can check them rather than trust them.
Subjects form themselves.
You don't file a paper into one true folder. It belongs to a question, a method and a project at the same time.
Recall and recognition
By meaning- Visual encoding paper
- Recognition summary
- Your note on sample size
- Rebuttal
Retention review
By project- Cohort chart
- Working paper
- Method critique
- Spreadsheet screenshot
Personal knowledge systems
By subject- Folders essay
- Graph paper
- Two product teardowns
- Reading list
February reading
By time- Four PDFs
- Nine articles
- Six notes
Four ways research comes back.
Literature review
Keep papers and the evidence around them connected while you read. See how
Desk research
Return to material by subject rather than by filename. See how
Competitive research
Preserve screenshots, reports and the observations you made about them. See how
Long-term research
Reconnect old material when a question becomes relevant again. See how
Unpublished research stays unpublished.
A research library can hold pre-print drafts, licensed PDFs, interview material and findings nobody has seen yet.
Shelf indexes and searches all of it locally on your Mac. Nothing is uploaded to be read. Features that use an external model are optional and clearly marked, so you decide what, if anything, ever leaves the machine.
Research accumulates. Understanding depends on what comes back.
Keep the evidence close.
Find the finding, then follow it back to the page it came from.
Next thought
Finding the document is easy compared with rebuilding the moment you read it.
How Shelf rebuilds contextKeep exploring
Shelf V3 is out now
Shelf V3 is the current build. Shelf does not use automatic updates, so download the latest build here and install it over your current version.
This is intentional. Shelf is built around a local-first, privacy-focused philosophy. An automatic updater requires additional background processes, network connections, update infrastructure, and another system with permission to modify the app. We prefer to keep Shelf’s network footprint and background activity as small as possible.
Manual updates keep the process explicit: Shelf only checks the internet when a feature actually needs it, and you decide when a new version is downloaded and installed.