# Best open-source AI repos for research with AI agents (2026)

Source: https://dedupedai.com/best-ai-repos-for/research-agents/ (Deduped, updated 2026-10-26). Markdown twin of the page; JSON: https://dedupedai.com/best-ai-repos-for/research-agents/index.json

## What is the best open-source repo for doing research with AI agents?

The best open-source AI repos for research with AI agents right now are Last30days Skill, Academic Research Skills and Scientific Agent Skills. last30days researches any topic across Reddit, X, YouTube, Hacker News and more in parallel; Academic Research Skills covers a paper from literature review to revision; Scientific Agent Skills covers scientific packages and databases.

## Comparison

| Repo | What it does | Best for | Stars | Language |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| [Last30days Skill](https://dedupedai.com/use-cases/mvanhorn-last30days-skill/) (mvanhorn/last30days-skill) | /last30days is an agent skill that researches any topic across Reddit, X, YouTube, Hacker News, Polymarket, GitHub and many other sources in parallel, scores results by real engagement such as upvotes, likes and prediction market money, and has the agent write one brief on what happened in the last 30 days. | Anyone who needs the last month's real conversation on a person, company, ticker or trend before a meeting, a trade idea or a launch. | 65,344 | Python |
| [Academic Research Skills](https://dedupedai.com/use-cases/imbad0202-academic-research-skills/) (Imbad0202/academic-research-skills) | A set of Claude Code skills that cover academic research from planning and literature review through writing, peer review, revision and finalizing a paper. | Researchers and graduate students who write academic papers and want AI help with each stage while keeping authorship and final decisions. | 53,078 | Python |
| [Scientific Agent Skills](https://dedupedai.com/use-cases/k-dense-ai-scientific-agent-skills/) (K-Dense-AI/scientific-agent-skills) | A library of 177 Agent Skills that give AI agents documented, validated guidance for scientific packages, databases, and research workflows. | Scientists, lab staff, and developers who want an AI coding agent to handle science tasks using curated skill documentation. | 53,781 | Python |
| [Textfold](https://dedupedai.com/use-cases/chenxiachan-textfold/) (chenxiachan/textfold) | TextFold is an open-source Python tool that folds papers, web pages, files, and AI replies into five levels of detail, from a one-screen overview down to the original text. | Researchers, students, and people who read long documents or long AI replies and want to zoom from an overview to the full text. | 425 | Python |

## When to pick which

### Last30days Skill (mvanhorn/last30days-skill)

/last30days is an agent skill that researches any topic across Reddit, X, YouTube, Hacker News, Polymarket, GitHub and many other sources in parallel, scores results by real engagement such as upvotes, likes and prediction market money, and has the agent write one brief on what happened in the last 30 days. Reddit, HN, Polymarket and GitHub work with zero config; a setup wizard unlocks more sources.

Best for: Anyone who needs the last month's real conversation on a person, company, ticker or trend before a meeting, a trade idea or a launch.

Needs: Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, Copilot, Gemini CLI or another Agent Skills host; Optional keys or sessions for extra sources such as X, YouTube and TikTok.

Start here: [Brief yourself on a person before a meeting](https://dedupedai.com/use-cases/mvanhorn-last30days-skill/brief-yourself-on-a-person-before-a-meeting/) (Beginner, 15 minutes)

1. In Claude Code run /plugin marketplace add mvanhorn/last30days-skill then /plugin install last30days
2. For Codex, Cursor, Copilot or Gemini CLI run npx skills add mvanhorn/last30days-skill -g
3. Run /last30days followed by the person's name
4. Run the setup wizard once if you want X, YouTube and other sources added

All 3 use cases: https://dedupedai.com/use-cases/mvanhorn-last30days-skill/ | GitHub: https://github.com/mvanhorn/last30days-skill

### Academic Research Skills (Imbad0202/academic-research-skills)

A set of Claude Code skills that cover academic research from planning and literature review through writing, peer review, revision and finalizing a paper.

Best for: Researchers and graduate students who write academic papers and want AI help with each stage while keeping authorship and final decisions.

Needs: Claude Code CLI, VS Code, or JetBrains with the plugin marketplace available (plugin install needs v3.7.0+ of this repo); An Anthropic API key set up as described in docs/SETUP.md; Optional: Pandoc or tectonic for DOCX or PDF output, per docs/SETUP.md; For the Claude Science path: a Claude Science account and this repo at v3.14.0+.

Start here: [Map a paper's chapter structure through guided dialogue](https://dedupedai.com/use-cases/imbad0202-academic-research-skills/plan-paper-structure-socratic/) (Intermediate, 30 minutes)

1. Run /plugin marketplace add Imbad0202/academic-research-skills
2. Run /plugin install academic-research-skills
3. Run /ars-plan in Claude Code.
4. Describe the paper you are working on and answer the Socratic questions as they come.

All 4 use cases: https://dedupedai.com/use-cases/imbad0202-academic-research-skills/ | GitHub: https://github.com/Imbad0202/academic-research-skills

### Scientific Agent Skills (K-Dense-AI/scientific-agent-skills)

A library of 177 Agent Skills that give AI agents documented, validated guidance for scientific packages, databases, and research workflows.

Best for: Scientists, lab staff, and developers who want an AI coding agent to handle science tasks using curated skill documentation.

Needs: An agent host that supports Agent Skills, such as Claude Code, Cursor, or Codex; Git, to clone the repository; Python, since the repository language is Python; API keys or accounts for any registered or licensed database you plan to query.

Start here: [Pull compound and protein records with source provenance](https://dedupedai.com/use-cases/k-dense-ai-scientific-agent-skills/look-up-compound-and-protein-records/) (Intermediate, 45 minutes)

1. git clone https://github.com/K-Dense-AI/scientific-agent-skills
2. Follow the install steps in the Getting Started section of the README for your agent host.
3. Open skills/database-lookup/SKILL.md, which documents 80 databases with endpoint selection, pagination, and provenance.
4. Give your agent the target list and the databases to query, such as PubChem, ChEMBL, or UniProt.

All 4 use cases: https://dedupedai.com/use-cases/k-dense-ai-scientific-agent-skills/ | GitHub: https://github.com/K-Dense-AI/scientific-agent-skills

### Textfold (chenxiachan/textfold)

TextFold is an open-source Python tool that folds papers, web pages, files, and AI replies into five levels of detail, from a one-screen overview down to the original text.

Best for: Researchers, students, and people who read long documents or long AI replies and want to zoom from an overview to the full text.

Needs: Python 3.9 or newer, or the TextFold desktop app for macOS or Windows; A model you already have, such as Claude Code, Codex, a ChatGPT plan, an API key, or a free OpenRouter setup.

Start here: [Read a long paper from overview to full text](https://dedupedai.com/use-cases/chenxiachan-textfold/read-a-paper-in-five-levels/) (Beginner, 15 minutes)

1. Run python3 -m pip install textfold in a terminal, then run python3 -m textfold serve.
2. Open http://localhost:3017 in your browser.
3. If the first page asks, connect a model: use Claude Code, Codex, or your ChatGPT plan, or click OpenRouter in one click.
4. Paste the paper's arXiv or PubMed Central link and pick a language.

All 5 use cases: https://dedupedai.com/use-cases/chenxiachan-textfold/ | GitHub: https://github.com/chenxiachan/textfold

## Questions

### What is the best open-source repo for doing research with AI agents?

The best open-source AI repos for research with AI agents right now are Last30days Skill, Academic Research Skills and Scientific Agent Skills. last30days researches any topic across Reddit, X, YouTube, Hacker News and more in parallel; Academic Research Skills covers a paper from literature review to revision; Scientific Agent Skills covers scientific packages and databases.

### Which repo for research with AI agents is easiest to start with?

Last30days Skill: its starter use case "Brief yourself on a person before a meeting" is rated Beginner and takes about 15 minutes.

### How do I get started with Last30days Skill?

In Claude Code run /plugin marketplace add mvanhorn/last30days-skill then /plugin install last30days; For Codex, Cursor, Copilot or Gemini CLI run npx skills add mvanhorn/last30days-skill -g; Run /last30days followed by the person's name. Full steps and a copy-paste agent prompt: https://dedupedai.com/use-cases/mvanhorn-last30days-skill/brief-yourself-on-a-person-before-a-meeting/

### Are these research with AI agents repos free?

They are open-source projects on GitHub (check each license; some, like fair-code projects, limit commercial use). Some also sell a hosted version or need a paid model API key; the requirements for each repo are listed on this page.

### How is this list of research with AI agents repos chosen?

Deduped tracks the hottest AI repos on GitHub and writes step-by-step use cases from each README. For this page we picked the repos that do this job, ordered by fit and then GitHub stars. Repos we only inferred from a short README, or that we do not index, are left out. The page is rebuilt with the site; stars are as of the last build in 2026.

Third-party repos we don't own or vouch for. AI-written use cases can be wrong: review everything and run at your own risk.
