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đŸŒ± ACORN1 is a research assistant and metascience multi-tool that provides and operationalizes an ontology for research activity data (RAD). ACORN enables adding linked data context and transforming RAD into a knowledge graph that is amenable to automated reasoning and artifact generation (e.g. PDFs, PPTX, etc.)

ACORN is a command line multi-tool that employs automated processes for informing and enforcing defined content schemas. With these content schemas, ACORN builds communication assets such as PDFs, presentation files, and web pages. It also lays the foundation for deep data insights about ORNL’s — and any institution’s — corpus of research. Built using the memory-safe Rust programming language, ACORN can be used on any Windows, Mac, or Linux machine

AI-enabled, without making AI mandatory. ACORN’s core validation, formatting, linking, and export workflows are deterministic. Optional tooling can discover and download local GGUF models, configure them for OpenCode, VS Code, Goose, and llama-swap, and provide compatible AI agents with ACORN-specific operating instructions through acorn skill.

Note

AI-Assisted Development Disclosure — Level 4. ACORN uses AI in accordance with VisidataMachineAssistanceLevel::Significant: humans author the majority of project code and retain review and decision authority over all changes; AI tools may directly create or edit code which is reviewed and refactored before being merged.


ACORN turns structured research data into reusable outputs

Choose your trail

Start with the outcome closest to your work:

I am a
Start hereYou will learn to

ResearcherValidate your first RADcheck, improve, link, and export a project record
DeveloperBuild with ACORNuse schemas, prompt and model APIs, agent skills, Python, and WebAssembly
Platform engineerOperate ACORNoperate local models, agent tools, runners, and automation services

Not sure yet? The role guide shows every trail at a glance.

Explore ACORN

Choose a route to explore its concepts and commands.

Research activity data

Research activity data Check and format Linked data Shareable artifacts

Explore: research activity data · check and format · linked data · shareable artifacts

Persistent identifier lifecycle

Research activity data Persistent identifiers

Explore the persistent identifier lifecycle →

Local AI And Agent Tooling

Model Catalog Local GGUF Models Agent And Inference Apps

Explore: local models · application sync · agent skill · 
but is it agentic?

  1. ACORN stands for “Accessible Content Optimization for Research Needs ↩