PaperWrite AI - Multi-Agent Academic Paper Writing System

A multi-agent system that generates publication-ready academic papers from a research topic and outline. Specialized AI agents collaborate through a DAG-based pipeline to research, write, review, and compile LaTeX papers.

Architecture

                    +-------------------+
                    |   Web Frontend    |  (Next.js + React)
                    |  localhost:3000   |
                    +--------+----------+
                             | REST + WebSocket
                    +--------v----------+
                    |   FastAPI Backend  |  (Python, localhost:8000)
                    +--------+----------+
                             |
              +--------------+--------------+
              |                             |
     +--------v--------+          +--------v--------+
     |   Orchestrator   |          |   Memory System  |
     | TaskGraph (DAG)  |          | Short-term: JSON |
     | Event Bus        |          | Long-term: SQLite|
     | Dispatcher       |          +-----------------+
     +--------+---------+
              |
   +----------+----------+----------+----------+
   |          |          |          |          |
+--v--+  +---v---+  +---v---+  +---v---+  +--v--+
|Task |  |Know-  |  |Method |  |Experi-|  |Writ-|
|Dist.|  |ledge  |  |Constr.|  |ment   |  |er   |
|Agent|  |Search |  |Agent  |  |Agent  |  |Agent|
+-----+  +-------+  +-------+  +-------+  +-----+
              |
         +----v----+
         | ChromaDB |  (RAG - Vector Store)
         +---------+

   +----------+----------+----------+
   |          |          |          |
+--v--+  +---v---+  +---v---+  +--v------+
|Rev- |  |Image  |  |Table  |  |Reference|
|iewer|  |Constr.|  |Constr.|  |Agent    |
|Agent|  |Agent  |  |Agent  |  +---------+
+-----+  +-------+  +-------+

Agents

Agent	Responsibility	Self-Review
Task Distribution	Decomposes topic into a detailed per-section writing plan	-
Knowledge Search	Web search + RAG indexing into ChromaDB	-
Method Construction	Proposes novel research method	Logic, soundness, novelty, completeness
Experiment Construction	Designs experiments with [PLACEHOLDER] data	Reproducibility, metrics, baselines
Writer	Produces LaTeX sections, handles revisions, final compilation	-
Reviewer	3-persona voting (pass if 2/3 score >= 4)	Writing, method, feasibility, reproducibility
Image Constructor	Flowcharts (Graphviz) + charts (Matplotlib)	Text, fonts, formatting
Table Constructor	LaTeX tables with booktabs	-
Reference	BibTeX generation + existence verification	Format, completeness, duplicates

Pipeline Flow

1. User Input -> Task Distribution Agent (creates writing plan)
2. Knowledge Search Agent (web search -> ChromaDB indexing)
3. Method Construction Agent (proposes method with self-review)
4. Experiment Construction Agent (designs experiments with self-review)
5. Writer Agent (produces LaTeX sections)
6. Image + Table Constructor Agents (figures and tables)
7. Reviewer Agent (3 reviewers vote, revision loop if needed)
8. Reference Agent (BibTeX generation + verification)
9. Writer Agent (final assembly + LaTeX compilation -> PDF)

Tech Stack

Layer	Technology
Frontend	Next.js 14 (App Router), React, TypeScript, Tailwind CSS
Backend	Python, FastAPI, asyncio
LLM	LiteLLM (supports GPT-4, Claude, Gemini, DeepSeek)
RAG	ChromaDB + LangChain + sentence-transformers
Memory	SQLite (long-term) + JSON files (short-term)
Figures	Matplotlib (charts) + Graphviz (diagrams)
LaTeX	pdflatex / latexmk (IEEE conference template)
Real-time	WebSocket (FastAPI -> React)
State	Zustand (frontend store)

Prerequisites

• Python 3.10+
• Node.js 18+
• pdflatex (texlive): sudo apt-get install texlive-full or brew install --cask mactex
• Graphviz: sudo apt-get install graphviz or brew install graphviz
• At least one LLM API key (OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, or DeepSeek)
• Tavily API key (for web search, optional but recommended)

Quick Start

1. Clone and Setup

cd paperWrite
chmod +x setup.sh
./setup.sh

2. Configure API Keys

Edit .env with your API keys:

OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-...
ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=sk-ant-...
GOOGLE_API_KEY=AI...
DEEPSEEK_API_KEY=sk-...
TAVILY_API_KEY=tvly-...
DEFAULT_MODEL=gpt-4o

3. Start Backend

cd backend
source venv/bin/activate
uvicorn main:app --reload --port 8000

4. Start Frontend

cd frontend
npm run dev

5. Open the UI

Navigate to http://localhost:3000

Usage

1. Click "New Project"
2. Enter your research topic (e.g., "LLM-Based Fuzzing for PLC Compilers")
3. Configure the outline (pre-filled with standard sections, editable)
4. Select template (IEEE Conference, ACM, etc.) and page count
5. Enter API keys for the LLM providers you want to use
6. Click "Create Project" then "Start Pipeline"
7. Monitor real-time progress via the dashboard (WebSocket updates)
8. Download the compiled PDF when complete

Project Structure

paperWrite/
├── backend/
│   ├── main.py              # FastAPI entry point
│   ├── config.py             # Settings (pydantic-settings)
│   ├── database.py           # SQLite schema + async connection
│   ├── api/
│   │   ├── projects.py       # Project CRUD + pipeline start
│   │   ├── papers.py         # PDF download, LaTeX source
│   │   └── websocket.py      # Real-time event streaming
│   ├── agents/
│   │   ├── base.py           # BaseAgent (LLM, memory, self-review)
│   │   ├── task_distribution.py
│   │   ├── knowledge_search.py
│   │   ├── method_construction.py
│   │   ├── experiment_construction.py
│   │   ├── reviewer.py       # 3-persona voting system
│   │   ├── writer.py         # LaTeX generation + revision
│   │   ├── image_constructor.py
│   │   ├── table_constructor.py
│   │   └── reference.py
│   ├── orchestrator/
│   │   ├── task_graph.py     # DAG-based task management
│   │   ├── dispatcher.py     # Concurrent task execution
│   │   ├── pipeline.py       # End-to-end pipeline controller
│   │   └── events.py         # Async pub/sub event bus
│   ├── memory/
│   │   ├── short_term.py     # JSON conversation context
│   │   ├── long_term.py      # SQLite persistent memory
│   │   └── manager.py        # Unified memory interface
│   ├── rag/
│   │   ├── indexer.py        # ChromaDB document indexing
│   │   ├── retriever.py      # Semantic retrieval
│   │   └── embeddings.py     # sentence-transformers config
│   ├── tools/
│   │   ├── llm_client.py     # LiteLLM wrapper (multi-provider)
│   │   ├── web_search.py     # Tavily web search
│   │   ├── latex_compiler.py # pdflatex compilation pipeline
│   │   ├── matplotlib_gen.py # Chart generation
│   │   └── graphviz_gen.py   # Diagram generation
│   ├── templates/
│   │   └── ieee_conference/  # LaTeX template + Jinja2
│   └── storage/              # Runtime data (gitignored)
├── frontend/
│   ├── src/
│   │   ├── app/              # Next.js App Router pages
│   │   ├── components/       # React components
│   │   ├── hooks/            # Custom hooks (WebSocket)
│   │   ├── lib/              # API client, types, store
│   │   └── styles/           # Tailwind + custom CSS
│   └── package.json
├── .env.example
├── setup.sh
└── README.md

Key Design Decisions

Multi-LLM via LiteLLM

All LLM calls go through a single LLMClient wrapper backed by LiteLLM. Supports GPT-4, Claude, Gemini, DeepSeek with automatic routing. Users can assign different models to different agents.

DAG-Based Task Graph

Tasks are organized in a directed acyclic graph with dependencies. The dispatcher executes ready tasks concurrently (up to 5 parallel) using asyncio semaphores. Failed tasks retry up to 3 times.

3-Persona Reviewer Voting

Three independent reviewer personas (writing quality, method logic, feasibility) each score 1-5 on four criteria. Pass requires >50% (2/3) to give overall >= 4.0. Failed reviews trigger revision cycles (max 3).

Self-Review Loops

Method, Experiment, Image, and Reference agents self-review their output against predefined criteria. Each agent iterates up to 3 times: generate -> review -> revise -> re-review.

RAG with ChromaDB

Web search results are chunked (1000 chars, 200 overlap) and indexed into ChromaDB using sentence-transformers embeddings. Agents retrieve relevant context when writing sections.

Per-Agent Memory

• Short-term: JSON files storing conversation context per agent per session
• Long-term: SQLite storing persistent knowledge, task history, and feedback

Real-time UI

WebSocket connection streams agent status, logs, task progress, and review results from backend to frontend in real-time. Zustand store manages client-side state.

Supported LLM Providers

Provider	Model Examples	API Key Variable
OpenAI	gpt-4o, gpt-4-turbo	OPENAI_API_KEY
Anthropic	claude-sonnet-4-20250514, claude-opus-4-20250514	ANTHROPIC_API_KEY
Google	gemini-pro, gemini-1.5-pro	GOOGLE_API_KEY
DeepSeek	deepseek-chat, deepseek-coder	DEEPSEEK_API_KEY

API Endpoints

Method	Endpoint	Description
GET	/api/health	Health check
POST	/api/projects	Create new project
GET	/api/projects	List all projects
GET	/api/projects/{id}	Get project details
POST	/api/projects/{id}/start	Start pipeline
DELETE	/api/projects/{id}	Delete project
GET	/api/projects/{id}/pdf	Download PDF
GET	/api/projects/{id}/latex	Get LaTeX source
POST	/api/projects/{id}/compile	Recompile
WS	/ws/{id}	Real-time events

Database Schema

SQLite tables: projects, tasks, task_dependencies, agent_knowledge, reviews, agent_logs

License

MIT