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PaperShelf — Roadmap

Current State

Phase 2 complete: Electron + React desktop app with arXiv search, SQLite library (FTS5), PDF download + text extraction, collections, tags, favorites.

Iteration Plan

Phase 3: MCP Server ← next

Spec: spec-mcp.md

Expose PaperShelf's capabilities as an MCP server so Claude (and other MCP clients) can search arXiv, query the local library, and manage papers programmatically.

Why first: High leverage — turns PaperShelf into a research tool that Claude can use directly. Small surface area (reuses existing arXiv client + database). No UI work needed.

Deliverables:

  • MCP server running inside Electron main process (Streamable HTTP on 127.0.0.1)
  • Tools: search_arxiv, search_library, get_paper, list_papers, save_paper, fetch_paper_html, get_bibtex, list_collections, list_tags
  • MCP client config via "url" field

Phase 4: Citations & Discovery

Spec: spec-citations.md

Citation data via Semantic Scholar, category feeds, author following, and smart recommendations.

Depends on: Phase 3 (MCP tools for citations)

Deliverables:

  • Semantic Scholar citation integration (counts, citing papers, references)
  • Category subscriptions with new paper feeds
  • Author following with notifications
  • "Discover" sidebar section showing recommended papers
  • MCP tools for citations and discovery

Phase 5: PDF Viewer

Spec: spec.md Phase 3

Render PDFs inline with pdf.js. Page navigation, zoom, text layer for selection.

Depends on: Nothing (can be done in parallel with Phase 4)

Deliverables:

  • pdf.js integration in right panel
  • Toolbar: page nav, zoom, fit-to-width
  • Text layer enabled (prerequisite for annotations)

Phase 6: Annotations

Spec: spec.md Phase 4

Highlight text in PDFs, add comments, color-code highlights. Annotation side panel.

Depends on: Phase 5 (PDF viewer)

Deliverables:

  • Highlight mode with text selection → PDF coordinate rects
  • Persist highlights to SQLite
  • Comment popovers, color picker
  • Annotation side panel with navigation

Phase 7: RAG Chat

Spec: spec.md Phase 5

Chat with your papers using retrieval-augmented generation. Scope to single paper, collection, or entire library.

Depends on: Enhanced by Phase 6 (highlight chunks get boosted), but can start without it

Deliverables:

  • Chunking pipeline (on save)
  • FTS5-based retrieval (v1), vector embeddings (v2)
  • Vercel AI SDK streaming (multi-provider)
  • Chat UI with citations linking back to source pages
  • Highlight-boosted retrieval

Phase 8: Polish

Settings, keyboard shortcuts, error handling, loading/empty states.

Deliverables:

  • Settings modal (LLM provider, API keys, theme)
  • All keyboard shortcuts
  • Error handling, loading states, empty states

Phase 9: Mac App Packaging

Ship PaperShelf as a proper macOS application using electron-builder.

Depends on: Phase 8 (app should be polished before distributing)

Deliverables:

  • electron-builder config (electron-builder.yml)
  • .app bundle (universal binary: Intel + Apple Silicon)
  • DMG installer with background image + Applications symlink
  • Code signing with Developer ID certificate
  • Apple notarization for Gatekeeper
  • Auto-updater via electron-updater (GitHub Releases or S3)
  • App icon (.icns)
  • Proper Info.plist metadata (bundle ID, version, copyright)
  • File associations for .pdf (optional)

Dependency Graph

Phase 3 (MCP Server) ─────┐
        │                  │
        ▼                  │
Phase 4 (Citations)        │
                           │
Phase 5 (PDF Viewer) ──────┤
        │                  │
        ▼                  │
Phase 6 (Annotations)      ├── Phase 8 (Polish) → Phase 9 (Mac App)
        │                  │
        ▼                  │
Phase 7 (RAG Chat) ────────┘

Phases 3+4 and 5+6 can be done in parallel tracks.