Show HN: SpatialRead – A Research Paper Reading Tool

This is SpatialRead, a non-linear research paper reading tool that is truly yours.

I tried all the "Chat with PDF" apps. They're useful, but I always felt... trapped. My research process isn't a single, linear chat log. It's a branching, messy, and visual process of connecting ideas. I'd get a great explanation from an AI, but it would just get lost in the chat history. I was still stuck copy-pasting insights into a separate app. Not to mention the subscription lock-ins.

I built SpatialRead to fix this. It’s built on a simple idea: Your research tool should work like your brain, not like a chatbot.

SpatialRead combines a PDF reader with an infinite spatial canvas, all supercharged by AI. Instead of just "chatting," you can highlight any piece of text (from your original PDF or from a previous AI-generated answer) and use actions like Simplify, Explain, or Expand. Each new insight is added to the canvas as a new, connected node. You can literally watch your knowledge graph grow as you dive deeper into a topic.

Here are the features that make SpatialRead a great tool:

- Multimodal Diagram Explanations: This is one of my favorites. Screenshot a complex diagram, chart, table, or figure (like the Transformer architecture in our demo) and just ask, "Can you explain this?"

- AI Knowledge Graphs: Highlight any text and click "Expand" to go one level deeper. Then "Simplify" that new explanation. Then "Expand" a new term from that answer. You're building a branching tree of knowledge, not a flat list.

- Infinite Spatial Canvas: The heart of SpatialRead. Drag & drop PDF research papers or books, use the Text node for articles and essays, or simply start a canvas with a chat prompt. Organize your thoughts visually, not in a list.

- Bring Your Own Key (BYOK): SpatialRead is not a wrapper on a single model. Plug in your own API keys for OpenAI (GPT), Google (Gemini), Perplexity (Sonar), and Anthropic (Claude). You get full control over your cost, privacy, and access to the best models. New models are added as soon as they are released.

- Full Organization Tools: You can organize your library in customizable folders (with colors and icons) and switch between a beautiful light and dark mode.

SpatialRead has genuinely changed the way I research, turning it from a passive act into an active, creative one. And if you ever felt trapped by subscriptions or platform lock-ins, you'll love SpatialRead.

Here is a demo video: https://youtu.be/Z9x237wWAOo

Hope you like it!

P.S. It is priced at $49 for the first 100 users and there is a 20% student discount.