📚 Research Assistant

A Chrome extension that helps you summarize, take notes, and organize your research - all in one place!

Quick Demo

https://youtu.be/V8Yurh10JwQ

💡 Why I Built This

As someone who spends hours researching online, reading articles, papers, and tons of content, I got tired of jumping between different tools to summarize stuff, take notes, and organize everything. So I built this extension to do it all in one spot. Simple as that.

It's been super helpful for my own research workflow, and I thought others might find it useful too.

What It Does

• Summarize any text you select with AI
• Take notes in an organized side panel
• Paraphrase content to understand it better
• Generate citations (APA format)
• Organize your notes in folders

🛠️ Tech Stack

Frontend:

• JavaScript (Chrome Extension)
• HTML/CSS

Backend:

• Java 17 + Spring Boot
• Google Gemini API

Hosting:

• Backend hosted on Render (free tier)

🚀 Quick Start (Just Use It!)

1. Download the extension-folder from this repo
2. Open Chrome and go to chrome://extensions/
3. Turn on "Developer mode" (top right)
4. Click "Load unpacked" and select the extension-folder
5. That's it! Start using it on any webpage

⏳ First-time note: The backend is on Render's free plan, so it sleeps after 15 minutes of inactivity. The first request might take 30-60 seconds to wake up, just be patient! After that, it's fast. ☕

🔧 Running It Locally (For Developers)

Want to customize it or run your own backend? Here's how:

1. Clone the repo

git clone https://github.com/KananIbadzade/Research-Assistant.git
cd Research-Assistant/research-assistant

2. Get a Gemini API Key

• Go to Google AI Studio
• Sign in and create a free API key
• Copy it

3. Run the backend

export GEMINI_KEY=your_api_key_here
./mvnw spring-boot:run

The backend runs on http://localhost:8080

4. Update extension config

Edit extension-folder/config.js to point to your local backend:

const API_BASE_URL = 'http://localhost:8080';

5. Load the extension

• Go to chrome://extensions/
• Enable "Developer mode"
• Click "Load unpacked"
• Select the extension-folder

☁️ Deploy Your Own (Render Cloud)

Want to host your own version? Super easy:

1. Get Gemini API Key (see above)

2. Deploy to Render:

   • Sign up at render.com
   • Click "New +" → "Web Service"
   • Connect this GitHub repo
   • Set environment: Docker
   • Add environment variable: GEMINI_KEY=your_api_key
   • Click "Create Web Service"
   • Wait 5-10 mins for deployment

3. Update extension config:

   • Edit extension-folder/config.js
   • Change API URL to your Render URL: https://your-app.onrender.com

4. Reload extension in Chrome and you're done!

Contributing

Feel free to fork, improve, and make it better! Found a bug or have an idea? Open an issue or submit a PR. All contributions welcome!

License

MIT - do whatever you want with it!

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Built with ☕ and late-night coding sessions.