Getting Started with Cerise Scholar
Updated May 13, 2026
Set up your account, understand the laptop-first workflow, and create your first research project.
Quick start checklist
Follow these steps to get set up and running.
Create or sign in
Check Local Setup
Create your first project
Add papers or notes
Continue from Dashboard
1. What Cerise Scholar is for
Cerise Scholar helps you organize research projects, papers, notes, literature review rows, citations, course materials, and writing steps in one workspace. It is built for students and early researchers who need a calm place to move from source material to synthesis and draft work without losing track of evidence.
2. Create or sign in to your account
Create a Cerise Scholar account or sign in if you already have one. After signing in, check that your email, profile, and beta access are correct. If you received beta access through a specific email address, use that same email when signing in.
3. Understand the laptop-first setup
Cerise Scholar is designed around a trusted laptop. Account access, reading, help pages, and lighter app features may work from the browser, but private source-file workflows are meant to happen from the device where your research folder, local workspace, Local Agent, and local AI tools live.
4. Check Local Setup
Go to Settings > Local Setup to confirm your local environment is ready. The main checks are Local Agent, Ollama or selected local provider, Research Folder, Knowledge Base, File Index, and Safety. If a check is not ready, follow the on-screen guidance before starting private source-file workflows.
5. Create your first research project
Start with one research question, paper topic, course assignment, or thesis idea. Give the project a clear title, add a short description, and keep one active project selected while you work. This helps Cerise keep your sources, notes, evidence rows, citations, and draft sections connected.
6. Add research materials
Add PDFs, readings, links, course notes, article references, or datasets that belong to the project. Use notes and literature review rows to record claims, methods, findings, limitations, and source context. Avoid mixing unrelated sources into the same project.
7. Continue from the Dashboard
The Dashboard shows your most recent project, current phase, next action, today's tasks, local setup readiness, and learning progress. Use it as the starting point when you are unsure what to do next.
8. Where to get help
Use Help Center articles for setup and workflow questions. Use Contact Us for account access, bugs, setup problems, or confusing pages. Do not send private source files, passwords, datasets, or auth codes in support messages.