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Your paper library is the heart of Freiya. Add papers from multiple sources, organize them with tags and collections, take notes, and generate citations in any format, all in one centralized workspace.
Paper library view showing a grid of paper cards, each displaying title, authors, year, abstract pre

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Overview

Freiya’s paper management system helps you build and maintain your personal research library. Whether you have 5 papers or 500, you’ll have powerful tools to keep everything organized and accessible. Key features:
  • Multiple import methods (DOI, manual, PDF)
  • Automatic metadata fetching
  • Full-text search across your library
  • Flexible tagging system
  • Notes and annotations
  • Citation generation in multiple formats
  • Integration with PDF viewer and AI chat

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Adding papers

Freiya supports three methods for adding papers to your library. Choose the one that works best for your workflow.

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Method 1: Search by DOI

The fastest and most accurate way to add papers with complete metadata.
1

Click Add Paper

Find the Add Paper button in the top-right corner of your library
2

Select DOI tab

The DOI search tab is usually selected by default
3

Enter the DOI

Paste the DOI (e.g., 10.1038/s41586-021-03819-2)
4

Fetch metadata

Click Search and Freiya automatically retrieves all paper information
5

Review and save

Verify the information and click Save to Library
Add Paper modal with the DOI tab selected, showing the DOI input field with an example DOI entered,
Find DOIs on journal websites, in paper PDFs (usually in the header or footer), or on Google Scholar.
What gets fetched:
  • Title and abstract
  • Complete author list with affiliations
  • Publication venue and year
  • Citation count
  • DOI and URL links
  • PDF URL (when available via open access)
  • Institution information
Data sources:
  • Semantic Scholar API (primary)
  • CrossRef API (backup)
  • OpenAlex (institutions)

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Method 2: Manual entry

Perfect for papers without DOIs, preprints, or when you need to customize metadata.
1

Open Add Paper

Click Add Paper button
2

Select Manual Entry tab

Switch to the Manual Entry tab
3

Fill in details

Enter the paper information:
  • Title (required)
  • Authors
  • Publication name
  • Year
  • Abstract
  • DOI (optional)
  • URL (optional)
4

Add tags

Optionally add tags for organization
5

Save

Click Save to Library
Add Paper modal showing the Manual Entry tab with form fields for title, authors, publication, year,
Manual entry is great for working papers, dissertations, technical reports, or historical papers that don’t have DOIs.

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Method 3: PDF upload

Upload a PDF and let Freiya extract metadata automatically.
1

Open Add Paper

Click Add Paper button
2

Select PDF Upload tab

Switch to the Upload PDF tab
3

Choose file

Click Browse and select a PDF from your device
4

Wait for processing

Freiya extracts text and metadata from the PDF
5

Review and edit

Verify the extracted information and make any corrections
6

Save

Click Save to Library
File size limits:
  • Free tier: 10 MB
  • Pro tier: 50 MB
  • Nova tier: 100 MB
PDF text extraction works best with text-based PDFs. Scanned PDFs may have incomplete metadata extraction.

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Paper library interface

Your library provides multiple ways to view and interact with your papers.

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View modes

Best for: Browsing and visual scanningPapers displayed as cards in a grid layout. Each card shows:
  • Paper title
  • Authors (first 3)
  • Year and publication
  • Abstract preview (first 150 characters)
  • Tags
  • Quick action buttons
Grid view of paper library showing 6-8 paper cards in a 2-3 column layout

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Search and filters

Find papers quickly with powerful search and filtering options. Search capabilities:
  • Title search - Find by paper title
  • Author search - Search by author name
  • Full-text - Search abstracts and notes
  • Tag search - Find by tags
  • Publication search - Filter by venue
Search bar at the top of the library with filter dropdown menu open, showing options for filtering b
Filter options:
  • By year - Range slider or specific years
  • By tags - Multi-select tag filter
  • By collection - Show papers in specific collection
  • By citation count - Sort by influence
  • By date added - Find recent additions
Sort options:
  • Relevance (when searching)
  • Date added (newest/oldest)
  • Title (A-Z)
  • Year (newest/oldest)
  • Citation count (most/least)
  • Author name (A-Z)
Use Ctrl/Cmd + F to quickly jump to the search box from anywhere in your library.

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Paper detail page

Click any paper to see its complete information and available actions.

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Paper information

The detail page displays comprehensive metadata: Header section:
  • Full title
  • Complete author list with affiliations
  • Publication venue and year
  • Citation count
  • Open access indicators
Paper detail page header showing the full title, author list with institutions as links, publication
Content tabs:
  • Full abstract
  • Key metadata (DOI, URLs)
  • Publication details
  • Date added to library

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Paper actions

Available actions:
  • View PDF - Open in Focus mode for reading and annotation
  • Edit - Modify metadata
  • Add to Collection - Organize into collections
  • Generate Citation - Create citations in any format
  • Chat about Paper - Start AI chat with paper context
  • Share - Get shareable link
  • Delete - Remove from library
Paper detail page action buttons toolbar showing icons for View PDF, Edit, Add to Collection, Cite,

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Tags and organization

Tags are flexible labels you can apply to papers for organization and quick filtering.

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Creating and applying tags

1

Open a paper

Click on any paper to view its details
2

Click Add Tag

Find the tags section and click Add Tag or +
3

Type tag name

Enter a tag name (e.g., “machine-learning” or “to-read”)
4

Press Enter

Tag is created and applied to the paper
Tag best practices:
  • Use lowercase with hyphens: neural-networks
  • Be consistent with naming
  • Create a tagging system early
  • Use both topic tags and status tags
Example tagging system: 
Topic tags:
- methodology
- theory
- applications
- review-paper

Status tags:
- to-read
- reading
- read
- key-paper
- to-cite

Project tags:
- thesis-ch1
- thesis-ch2
- grant-proposal
- conference-paper
Paper card showing multiple colorful tag badges like 'machine-learning', 'to-read', and 'key-paper'

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Managing tags

Bulk tagging:
  1. Select multiple papers (checkbox or Ctrl/Cmd + Click)
  2. Click Add Tags in the bulk actions toolbar
  3. Choose or create tags
  4. Apply to all selected papers
Tag management:
  • Rename tags (updates all papers)
  • Merge tags (combine similar tags)
  • Delete tags (removes from all papers)
  • Change tag colors (visual organization)

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Notes and annotations

Keep track of insights, questions, and connections with personal notes.

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Paper notes

Each paper has a dedicated notes section with a rich text editor. Features:
  • Markdown formatting support
  • Bold, italics, headings, lists
  • Code blocks and inline code
  • Links to other papers or external resources
  • Auto-save (saves as you type)
  • Timestamp tracking
Paper notes editor showing rich text formatting toolbar and sample notes with headings, lists, and f
Use cases for notes:
  • Summarize key findings
  • Critique methodology
  • List questions for further research
  • Connect to other papers
  • Note relevance to your work
  • Draft citation text
Use notes to create a personal abstract summarizing why the paper matters to YOU and your research.

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Citations and export

Generate properly formatted citations for any paper in your library.

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Generate citations

1

Open paper detail

Navigate to the paper you want to cite
2

Click Cite button

Click the Cite or Generate Citation button
3

Select format

Choose from available citation formats
4

Copy or download

Copy to clipboard or download as a file

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Supported citation formats

  • APA (American Psychological Association)
  • MLA (Modern Language Association)
  • Chicago (Author-Date and Notes)
  • Harvard referencing style
  • IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers)
Citation modal showing a formatted APA citation with tabs for different citation styles at the top a

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Bulk export

Export citations for multiple papers at once:
1

Select papers

Use checkboxes to select papers in your library
2

Click Export

Find the Export Citations button in the bulk actions
3

Choose format

Select BibTeX, RIS, or other format
4

Download file

Save the file and import into your reference manager
For LaTeX users, export your entire library as BibTeX and include it in your project. Update the file whenever you add new papers.

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Paper limits by tier

Your subscription tier determines how many papers you can store and add each month.
TierTotal PapersPapers/MonthCollections
Free552
Pro50050020
Nova50050020
Monthly limits:
  • Reset on the 1st of each month
  • Prevent accidental bulk imports
  • Can be monitored in Settings
When you reach your paper limit, you’ll need to delete papers or upgrade to add more.
Compare subscription tiers →

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Advanced features

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Duplicate detection

Freiya automatically detects potential duplicates when adding papers:
  • Matching titles
  • Same DOI
  • Similar author lists and years
You’ll be prompted to confirm if you want to add a potential duplicate.

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Paper linking

Link related papers together:
  • Cite papers that reference each other
  • Group papers by methodology
  • Track paper evolution (v1, v2, preprint → published)
  • Create reading order

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Collaboration (coming soon)

Future features for teams:
  • Shared libraries
  • Collaborative notes
  • Team collections
  • Permission management

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Integration with other features

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With PDF viewer

  • Click View PDF to open in Focus mode
  • Annotations sync automatically
  • Highlights appear in paper detail
  • Ask AI questions about the paper while reading
Learn about PDF viewer →

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With AI chat

  • Click Chat about Paper to start context-aware conversation
  • AI has access to full paper metadata
  • Better responses with paper context
  • Link papers to existing chats
Learn about AI chat →

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With collections

  • Add papers to multiple collections
  • Filter library by collection
  • Collection-based organization
  • Export collections
Learn about collections →

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Keyboard shortcuts

Work faster with keyboard shortcuts:
ActionShortcut
Add paperCtrl/Cmd + P
Search libraryCtrl/Cmd + F
Select allCtrl/Cmd + A
Multi-selectCtrl/Cmd + Click
Range selectShift + Click
Open selectedEnter
Delete selectedDelete
Add to collectionCtrl/Cmd + M
See all shortcuts →

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Troubleshooting

Try these steps:
  1. Verify the DOI is correct (check for typos)
  2. Try the full DOI URL (https://doi.org/…)
  3. Use manual entry if DOI search fails
  4. Check if the paper is recently published (indexing delay)
Common issues:
  • File too large for your tier
  • File is corrupted or password-protected
  • PDF is actually a scanned image (use manual entry)
  • Network connection interrupted
You’ve likely reached your limit:
  • Check your tier limits in Settings
  • Wait for monthly reset (1st of the month)
  • Delete old papers you no longer need
  • Upgrade to a higher tier
Check these locations:
  • Search for the paper title
  • Check all collections (might be filtered)
  • Look in trash/deleted (coming soon)
  • Verify you’re logged into correct account
Citation generation is automatic but may need adjustment:
  • Verify the paper metadata is correct
  • Edit the paper details if needed
  • Manual citation editing coming soon
  • Contact support if consistently wrong

Collections

Organize papers into topic-based collections

PDF viewer

Read and annotate papers in Focus mode

AI chat

Chat about specific papers with AI assistance

Research workflow

Learn best practices for organizing your research