Research Notes is a free, open-source tool for reading academic papers and dense documents with AI assistance. Most PDF readers let you highlight. Research Notes makes those highlights intelligent. The AI reads your entire paper upfront, so every explanation is grounded in the full context, not just one sentence. Highlight to explain, ask questions, attach diagrams, or chat freely. Notes auto-save and link back to exact pages. Export as PDF, Word, or Markdown. Free with Groq, Gemini, or Ollama.