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πŸ” NotaeSearch

NotaeSearch is the platform's built-in research engine. It lives inside every Study Room at /study-rooms/[slug]/notaesearch β€” searches you run become part of the room's shared knowledge corpus, queryable by Sage and visible to all members.

🌐 Web SearchπŸ“š ResearchπŸ€– AI AskπŸ’Ύ Save to RoomπŸͺ™ Credits
πŸ”

What is NotaeSearch?

NotaeSearchis more than a search bar. It's a research engine built into every Study Room. When you search from inside a room β€” say, the Bird Watching Group β€” your searches are automatically attributed to that room. Other members can see what you searched, what you saved, and build on your research.

There are two surfaces for search on NotaeLibrary:

🏠 Room-Scoped Search

At /study-rooms/[slug]/notaesearch. Searches are attributed to the room. Results can be saved to the room's bookshelf and become part of the shared knowledge corpus.

🌐 Federated Home View

At /homeroom/notaesearch. Aggregates research across all your rooms. Personal searches mixed in. Filter by room, date, and search type.

ℹ️No provider names appear anywhere in the interface. You search NotaeSearch β€” not Brave, Valyu, or You.com. Those are backend engines that platform tech swaps in and out without code deploys or UX changes.
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The Three Search Tabs

NotaeSearch has three tabs β€” every tab is available to every user. Nothing is greyed out. You pay credits per search, not per tab.

🌐

Web

1 credit per search

Traditional link results β€” fast and familiar. Type a query, see links with snippets and favicons, click through to results. Think Google or DuckDuckGo, but inside your study room. Default tab.

πŸ“š

Research

2–4 credits per search

Deep research with academic, financial, and medical sources. Pulls from arXiv, PubMed, SEC filings, clinical trials, WHO, NIH grants, and more. Full extracted content appears inline β€” read papers without leaving NotaeLibrary.

πŸ€–

AI Ask

5 credits per search

AI-synthesised answers with inline citations. Ask a natural language question and get a written answer with clickable source links. Think Perplexity, but inside NotaeLibrary β€” and you can save the answer to your room.

🌐

Web Tab β€” Fast Link Search

The Web tab is the default. It gives you traditional search results β€” titles, snippets, favicons, and domain names. Type your query and press Enter. Results appear instantly.

Each result card shows:

  • Page title (clickable link)
  • Domain name with favicon
  • Snippet preview of the page content
  • Thumbnail image when available
  • Save to Room button (permission-gated β€” see below)
πŸ’‘Web search costs 1 creditper query. It's the cheapest tab β€” great for quick lookups, fact-checking, and casual research.
πŸ“š

Research Tab β€” Deep Academic Search

The Research tabsearches academic papers, financial filings, medical studies, and government databases β€” all from one query. It's designed for serious research where a simple link list isn't enough.

Sources searched (depending on depth):

πŸ“„ arXiv
🧬 PubMed
πŸ“ˆ SEC Filings
πŸ’Š Clinical Trials
πŸ§ͺ ChemBL
βš—οΈ PubChem
πŸ₯ WHO
πŸ”¬ NIH Grants

Source Depth Slider:

2 credits

Basic

Web + arXiv + PubMed

3 credits

Standard

+ Stock prices, SEC Filings, Clinical Trials

4 credits

Deep

+ ChemBL, PubChem, WHO, NIH Grants

ℹ️Research tab results include full extracted content β€” you can read the entire paper or filing inline without ever leaving NotaeLibrary.
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AI Ask Tab β€” Synthesised Answers

The AI Ask tab turns your question into a written, AI-synthesised answer with inline citations. Each citation is a clickable link to the source. Think of it as having a research assistant who reads dozens of sources and writes you a summary on the spot.

1

Type your question

Use natural language β€” just like you'd ask a person. "What are the latest treatments for CRISPR-related delivery vectors?"
2

See the credit cost

AI Ask costs 5 credits per query. The cost is displayed before you submit β€” no surprises.
3

Read the answer

The AI writes a synthesised answer with numbered citations. Each citation links to the original source.
4

Ask follow-ups

You can ask follow-up questions within the same thread β€” the AI remembers context from your previous question.
5

Save to Room

Save the entire answer + citations as a formatted note in the room. Other members can read and discuss it.
⚠️AI-synthesised answers are powerful but not infallible. Always check the cited sources β€” the AI can make mistakes or misinterpret data.
⌨️

How to Search

1

Navigate to a Study Room

Go to any Study Room you're a member of. Click the NotaeSearch tab (or navigate to /study-rooms/[slug]/notaesearch).
2

Choose your tab

Select Web, Research, or AI Ask from the tab bar. Web is the default.
3

Type your query

Enter your search terms in the search bar. Press Enter or click the search button. Your credit balance is shown inline β€” you always know what a search will cost.
4

Browse results

Results appear below. Click any link to open the source in a new tab. For Research tab results, full content is shown inline.
5

Save what matters

Click Save to Roomon any result to add it to the room's bookshelf. A post is automatically created so other members can discover and discuss it.
πŸŽ›οΈ

Filters & Depth Slider

Every tab supports filters to narrow your results. Available filters:

  • Date range β€” from/to dates (YYYY-MM-DD)
  • Source types β€” academic, financial, medical, web
  • Relevance threshold β€” 0.0 to 1.0 slider
  • Country code β€” bias results toward a region
  • Excluded sources β€” block specific domains
  • Natural language instructionsβ€” describe how results should be ranked (e.g. "prioritise peer-reviewed papers from the last 2 years")

The Research tab adds a Source Depth slider β€” Basic, Standard, or Deep. Deeper searches cost more credits but search more databases.

πŸ’‘Use natural language instructions to fine-tune results. For example: "Only show papers with more than 50 citations" or "Prioritise recent clinical trials over older studies."
πŸ’Ύ

Saving Results to the Room

This is what makes NotaeSearch different from any other search engine. When you save a result, it doesn't just go into a personal bookmark folder β€” it becomes part of the room's knowledge infrastructure.

When an owner or moderator saves a result:

πŸ“š Added to Bookshelf

The result appears on the room's bookshelf as an Uploaded File / Link. It has a title, URL, snippet description, source type label, and cover image.

πŸ“ Auto-Post Created

A post is automatically created in the room: "Jimmy saved a research article: [title]." Members can comment, react, and discuss the new knowledge. The post appears in the room feed and on members' home feeds.

πŸ”— Cross-Referenced

The post links to the bookshelf entry, and the bookshelf entry links back to the post. Everything is connected.

🧠 MCP-Knowledge

Once saved, the result becomes part of the room's MCP-served knowledge. Sage can query it. The room's AI knowledge base grows with every save.

πŸ’‘Saving is the bridge between individual research and collaborative knowledge. Every saved result makes the room smarter for every member.
πŸ”

Who Can Save What

Not everyone can save results to the room corpus. The permission model is:

RoleCan SearchSave to RoomManage Corpus
Ownerβœ…βœ…βœ…
Moderatorβœ…βœ…βœ…
Contributorβœ…βœ…βŒ
Memberβœ…βŒ (bookmarks only)❌

Members(the lowest role) can still search and use all three tabs. Their searches are recorded in their personal history. They can bookmark results for themselves. But the "Save to Room" button is disabled for them with the message: "Contributor access required to save research to this room."

ℹ️This is intentional β€” searching is a participation funnel. New members explore the room's research landscape, see the value, and are motivated to contribute. Locking search behind contributor status would prevent that.
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Search History

Every search you run in a room is recorded. The room's search history is visible to all members β€” it's a shared research corpus that shows what the group has been investigating.

πŸ‘₯ Room History

At /study-rooms/[slug]/notaesearch/history. All members can view the room's search history β€” who searched for what, when, and with which tab.

πŸ‘€ Personal History

Your personal search history is also available. Filter by tab, see past queries, and revisit saved results.

πŸ—‘οΈ Delete Controls

Owners and moderators can delete any search from the room history. Regular members can delete only their own searches.

πŸ’‘Room search history is a knowledge asset. Over time, it becomes a record of what your group has researched β€” a collaborative research journal that Sage can query later.
πŸͺ™

Credit Model

NotaeSearch uses the platform's unified credit system. Every search costs credits β€” the amount depends on which tab and depth you use. Credits are shared across all AI features (chat, editing, image generation, search, Sage agents).

TabCostFree User?
🌐 Web1 creditβœ…
πŸ“š Research (Basic)2 creditsβœ…
πŸ“š Research (Standard)3 creditsβœ…
πŸ“š Research (Deep)4 creditsβœ…
πŸ€– AI Ask5 creditsβœ…

All tabs are available to all users β€” free and paid. No greyed-out tabs, no feature gates. Free users get a small monthly credit pool (10 credits). Subscribers get larger pools (100–500/month depending on tier). Top-ups are always available.

ℹ️Credit costs are configurable by platform tech at /admin/providers. Tech can adjust pricing, swap providers, or A/B test engines without code deploys or UX changes.
🧠

Sage Integration

Sage β€” the platform's AI assistant β€” can use NotaeSearch on your behalf. Three Sage skills expose search:

/web

Search the web. Results auto-attributed to the current room when Room Only is checked.

/research

Deep academic/medical search. Results checked against existing room papers.

/ask

AI-synthesised answer with citations. Room context included in the prompt for relevance.

When you use a Sage search skill with Room Only checked, the search is automatically attributed to that room β€” same as if you'd run it from the NotaeSearch page. Results can be saved by contributors and above.

πŸ’‘Sage can also answer questions aboutyour past searches: "What did I search for about molecular bonding last month?" or "Find the article I saved about quantum computing."
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Mobile vs Desktop

FeatureMobileDesktop
Tab navigationSwipe left/rightClick tabs
Search inputFull-width, sticky topCentered, max-w-2xl
ResultsStacked cards, vertical scrollList with side panel for filters/history
Save to RoomBottom sheetInline button on each card
FiltersCollapsible accordion above resultsPersistent side panel
HistoryBottom sheet from search barSide panel
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FAQ

β–ΆDoes NotaeSearch use Google or Bing?

No. NotaeSearch uses configurable backend providers (Valyu by default for Web and Research, You.com for AI Ask). Tech can swap providers at /admin/providers without code deploys. Users never see provider names.

β–ΆCan I search without being in a Study Room?

Yes β€” use /homeroom/notaesearch. Searches there are personal and not attributed to any room. You can still save results as personal bookmarks.

β–ΆWhat happens to my credits if a search fails?

Credits are only deducted on successful searches. If the provider returns an error or the request times out, no credits are consumed.

β–ΆCan I see what other members have searched?

Yes β€” visit the room's search history at /study-rooms/[slug]/notaesearch/history. All members can view the shared search history.

β–ΆWhy can't I save results to my room?

You need Contributor role or higher to save results to the room corpus. Members (the default role) can search and bookmark personally, but the Save to Room button is disabled. Ask a moderator to promote you to Contributor.

β–ΆDo saved search results count toward my storage?

No. Saved results are stored as links with metadata β€” not full page downloads. They take negligible storage. If you use the Research tab's full content extraction, the extracted text is stored with the bookmark.

β–ΆCan I delete a search from the room history?

Yes, if you're the owner or moderator β€” you can delete any search. Regular members can delete only their own searches.

Ready to start researching?

Open any Study Room and click the NotaeSearch tab to begin.

πŸ” Browse Study Rooms β†’