Open Researcher

A powerful AI-powered research tool that combines Firecrawl's web scraping capabilities with advanced AI reasoning to help you search, analyze, and understand web content.

Features

• AI-Powered Search: Intelligently search and analyze web content
• Real-time Web Scraping: Powered by Firecrawl for accurate, up-to-date information
• Thinking Display: See the AI's reasoning process in real-time
• Smart Citations: Automatic source tracking and citation generation
• Split View Interface: Side-by-side view of chat and search results

Prerequisites

• Node.js 18+ and npm
• API Keys (at least one required):
  • ANTHROPIC_API_KEY - For AI functionality
  • FIRECRAWL_API_KEY - For web scraping (can be added via UI)

Quick Start

1. Clone the repository

   git clone https://github.com/mendableai/open-researcher
   cd open-researcher

2. Install dependencies

   npm install

3. Set up environment variables

   cp .env.local.example .env.local

   Edit .env.local and add your API keys:

   ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=your_anthropic_api_key
   FIRECRAWL_API_KEY=your_firecrawl_api_key  # Optional, can be added via UI
   

4. Run the development server

   npm run dev

5. Open your browser Navigate to http://localhost:3000

Environment Variables

Variable	Required	Description
ANTHROPIC_API_KEY	Yes	Claude API key for AI functionality
FIRECRAWL_API_KEY	No*	Firecrawl API key for web scraping

*Can be provided through the UI if not set in environment variables

Getting API Keys

• Anthropic API Key: Visit Anthropic Console
• Firecrawl API Key: Visit Firecrawl

Usage

1. Basic Search: Enter your query in the chat interface
2. Web Analysis: The AI will automatically search and analyze relevant web content
3. Follow-up Questions: Ask follow-up questions to dive deeper
4. View Sources: Click on citations to see source information

Project Structure

open-research/
├── app/
│   ├── api/              # API routes
│   ├── open-researcher/  # Main application page
│   └── layout.tsx        # Root layout
├── components/           # React components
│   ├── ui/              # UI components
│   └── thinking-chat.tsx # Main chat interface
├── lib/                 # Utility functions
└── public/              # Static assets

Development

# Run development server
npm run dev

# Build for production
npm run build

# Start production server
npm start

# Run linting
npm run lint

Tech Stack

• Next.js 15 - React framework
• TypeScript - Type safety
• Tailwind CSS - Styling
• Anthropic Claude - AI model
• Firecrawl - Web scraping
• Radix UI - UI components

Contributing

1. Fork the repository
2. Create your feature branch (git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature)
3. Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add some amazing feature')
4. Push to the branch (git push origin feature/amazing-feature)
5. Open a Pull Request

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

Acknowledgments

• Built with Firecrawl for powerful web scraping
• Powered by Anthropic's Claude for AI capabilities
• UI components from Radix UI and shadcn/ui