SynapseScanner v1.3.0

A clean Python CLI that searches open-access research papers and surfaces cross-disciplinary breakthrough patterns.

New in v1.3.0: Multi-source search, AI digest, Knowledge Graph, Obsidian export, Watch mode!

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What it does

SynapseScanner fetches recent papers from arXiv (with more sources planned), scans them for cross-disciplinary patterns (quantum, metamaterials, AI, temporal physics), and suggests concrete low-cost experiments you can try at home.

Demo

  ╭───────────────────────────────────╮
  │       SynapseScanner v1.3.0       │
  │   Quantum Research Intelligence   │
  ╰───────────────────────────────────╯

  ✔ Found 15 papers
  arxiv.org/abs/1104.0917v1  ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━  15/15  100%

  ╭── Discoveries ─────────────────────────────────────────────╮
  │  ⚛  Quantum breakthrough
  │     Test quantum erasure with polarized lenses & laser pointer
  │     ~$30 · Easy
  ╰────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╯

  ⚛  Quantum breakthrough
    Quantum erasure can be demonstrated with inexpensive optical
    components, opening a low-cost pathway for teaching advanced
    quantum-mechanics experiments in undergraduate labs.

  keywords  entanglement ⣿⣿⣿  topology ⣿⣿⣿

  ✔ Done · 15 papers · 1 patterns · 0.7s
  ⚡ github.com/CrazhHolmes/SynapseScanner

Installation

From PyPI (when published):

pip install synapsescanner

From source:

git clone https://github.com/CrazhHolmes/SynapseScanner.git
cd SynapseScanner
pip install .

Or run directly without installing:

git clone https://github.com/CrazhHolmes/SynapseScanner.git
cd SynapseScanner
pip install -r synapsescanner/requirements.txt
python -m synapsescanner.universal_scanner "your query"

Quick start

# Search for a topic
synapsescanner "quantum entanglement"

# Limit results
synapsescanner "CRISPR" --max-results 5

# Fetch recent papers (no query)
synapsescanner

# Greyscale theme
synapsescanner "neural networks" --noir

# Matrix rain easter egg
synapsescanner --matrix

# Show CLI reference card
synapsescanner --cheat

Full usage

Basic usage

synapsescanner [QUERY] [--max-results N] [--noir] [--matrix] [--cheat]

Flag	Effect
--max-results N	Number of papers to fetch (default: 15)
--noir	Greyscale mode -- no color
--matrix	Matrix rain easter egg before scanning
--cheat	Print CLI reference card and exit

v1.3.0 Features

# Multi-source search (default: arxiv, semantic_scholar)
synapsescanner "quantum" --sources arxiv,semantic_scholar,pubmed,biorxiv

# AI-powered summaries (requires Ollama or OpenAI API key)
synapsescanner "neural networks" --summarize

# Export to Obsidian markdown
synapsescanner "graphene" --md > notes.md
synapsescanner "AI" --export-obsidian ~/MyVault

# Export to JSON for piping
synapsescanner "physics" --json | jq '.papers[].title'

# Watch mode (check every 6 hours)
synapsescanner "CRISPR" --watch
synapsescanner "quantum" --watch --notify  # with webhook

# Rabbit hole mode (follow references)
synapsescanner "time crystals" --depth 2

# Bypass cache
synapsescanner "new topic" --fresh

Environment variables

Variable	Equivalent flag	Description
SYNAPSE_MATRIX=1	--matrix	Enable Matrix-rain easter egg
SYNAPSE_NOIR=1	--noir	Force greyscale colors
OPENAI_API_KEY	-	Enable OpenAI summarization
SYNAPSE_AI=ollama	--summarize	Default AI provider

Environment variables and flags can be combined:

SYNAPSE_NOIR=1 synapsescanner --max-results 7

Output features

• Clickable paper URLs -- Click a paper link in the progress bar to open it in your browser (OSC 8 hyperlinks, works in Windows Terminal, iTerm2, GNOME Terminal)
• Braille sparklines -- Keyword frequencies rendered as compact ⣀⣄⣤⣦⣶⣷⣿ bars using Unicode Braille patterns (U+2800)
• True-color gradient banner -- 24-bit RGB interpolation from cyan to purple (not the 256-color palette)
• Discovery explanations -- Each detected pattern includes a short "why it matters" paragraph
• In-place progress bar -- Single-line rewrite with cursor hide/show, no scroll spam
• Crash-safe cursor -- atexit handler guarantees the terminal cursor is restored even on unexpected exit

Pattern detection

SynapseScanner scans paper titles and abstracts for four cross-disciplinary pattern categories:

Pattern	Keywords detected	Suggested experiment	Cost
Quantum breakthrough	quantum, entanglement, superposition	Quantum erasure with polarized lenses & laser pointer	~$30
Metamaterial lens	metamaterial, negative index	Stack microscope slides + oil for negative index demo	~$20
Temporal periodicity	time crystal, temporal, periodic	555 timer + LED at 1 Hz	~$5
AI physics	neural, AI, machine learning	Train tiny model on pendulum data	~$0

Data sources

Active in v1.3.0:

Source	URL	Status
arXiv	arxiv.org	✅ Active -- Atom API
Semantic Scholar	semanticscholar.org	✅ Active -- Graph API
PubMed	ncbi.nlm.nih.gov	✅ Active -- E-utilities
bioRxiv/MedRxiv	biorxiv.org	✅ Active -- Public API

In whitelist (planned):

chemRxiv, OSF, Zenodo, NASA Technical Reports, OSTI, CERN, AIP, APS, IOP, PNAS, Nature, Science, Cell, Quanta Magazine, Phys.org, SciTechDaily

Windows / PowerShell shortcut

Add this function to your PowerShell $PROFILE for a shorter synapse command:

function synapse {
    param(
        [Parameter(Position=0)][string]$Query,
        [int]$MaxResults = 15,
        [switch]$Matrix,
        [switch]$Noir,
        [switch]$Cheat
    )
    $argsList = @()
    if ($Query) { $argsList += $Query }
    if ($MaxResults -ne 15) { $argsList += "--max-results"; $argsList += $MaxResults }
    if ($Matrix) { $argsList += "--matrix" }
    if ($Noir) { $argsList += "--noir" }
    if ($Cheat) { $argsList += "--cheat" }
    python -m synapsescanner.universal_scanner @argsList
}

Then run:

synapse "quantum entanglement"           # search
synapse "CRISPR" -MaxResults 5           # limit results
synapse "neural networks" -Noir          # greyscale
synapse -Matrix                          # matrix rain
synapse -Cheat                           # reference card

CMD shortcut (batch file)

Save as synapse.bat somewhere on your PATH:

@echo off
python -m synapsescanner.universal_scanner %*

Then run:

synapse "quantum entanglement"
synapse "CRISPR" --max-results 5

Contributing

We welcome contributions! Here's how to extend SynapseScanner:

Add a new data source

1. Open synapsescanner/universal_scanner.py
2. Add the domain to the WHITELIST array:

   WHITELIST = [
       "arxiv.org", "biorxiv.org", ...,
       "your-new-source.org",  # add here
   ]

3. Extend fetch_recent_papers() to handle the new domain's API:

   def fetch_recent_papers(domain="arxiv.org", query=None, ...):
       ...
       elif domain == "your-new-source.org":
           # Add API fetching logic here
           pass

Add a new discovery pattern

1. Open synapsescanner/universal_scanner.py
2. Add detection logic in detect_patterns():

   if any(kw in txt for kw in ["keyword1", "keyword2"]):
       patterns.append({
           "pattern": "Your Pattern Name",
           "hint": "Suggested experiment description",
           "cost": "~$X", "difficulty": "Easy/Medium/Research",
       })

3. Open synapsescanner/cli_extras.py
4. Add an icon to _ICONS:

   _ICONS = {
       ...,
       "Your Pattern Name": "🔬",  # pick a Unicode symbol
   }

5. Add an explanation to _EXPLANATIONS:

   _EXPLANATIONS = {
       ...,
       "Your Pattern Name": (
           "A paragraph explaining why this pattern matters "
           "and what the suggested experiment demonstrates."
       ),
   }

Code style

• Run flake8 synapsescanner/ before submitting
• Keep functions focused and well-documented
• Test on Windows (for encoding issues) if possible

PRs welcome!

Requirements

• Python 3.9+
• requests (only runtime dependency beyond stdlib)

License

MIT -- fork, hack, cite.