Priorwork
Contents

Quick guide

From installing Priorwork to your first literature review, in six short steps, all in VS Code. Every step has a longer version in the guide.

1. Install

  1. Install VS Code and an AI agent that works in it (Claude Code, Antigravity, …).
  2. Install the Priorwork extension from the Marketplace.

On Windows, open a folder inside WSL first; on a server, connect with Remote - SSH first.

2. Make a workspace

Open an empty folder and press Create a Workspace in the Priorwork sidebar. Choose the language of the reports. Python is set up for you (uv is installed if you have no Python).

Then open the gear (Settings), enter a free Semantic Scholar API key and press Save and Check the Connections. Publish the workspace to GitHub as a private repository from the sidebar: the reports contain abstracts.

3. Ask the agent

In your agent’s chat, say what you want in your own words:

Do a full review of how government organisations staff up when demand for their services changes.

Or New Survey → Ask your agent to do it in the sidebar, which copies the request. The agent sets the scope, searches, screens, chases citations, fills in a card for each paper and writes the review. It stops twice for you to check: once the scope is set, and before writing the cards.

4. Collect the papers in Zotero

At the second stop, the agent shows the DOIs of the included papers. Paste them into Zotero’s Add Item by Identifier (the magic wand), attach the PDFs, and say “carry on”. The cards are then written from the full texts. (Without Zotero, just say “carry on”.)

5. Read the report

When the agent is done, right-click the survey in the sidebar → Export and View the Report. It opens inside VS Code, on a server too.

6. Check and correct

Under the survey in the sidebar are the included, maybe and excluded papers. Click one to read its abstract and the agent’s reason: I, M or X overturns the decision, and a card is corrected on its page (Ctrl+S saves). The agent follows your corrections when you say “carry on”.

7. Where next