RWA 2026.06.30

Google Workspace MCP server, OpenRouter model guidance with pricing table, author name normalization, and bibliography sync improvements.

Added

• Google Workspace MCP server: New google-workspace server providing OAuth-secured Google Drive and Google Docs integration, including file listing/import/upload and a comment-to-proposal review-workflow round-trip with deterministic line anchors (11 tools total).
• Google Workspace guide: New docs/google-workspace-guide.md covering OAuth setup, the review-workflow round-trip, full tool reference, configuration, and troubleshooting.
• OpenRouter model guidance: Expanded the README "Model note" callout to document OpenRouter as a routing service that connects GitHub Copilot to models from many providers. Added a pricing table of open-source/open-weight models (GLM 5.2, DeepSeek V4 Pro/Flash, MiniMax M3, Qwen3.7 Max, Kimi K2.6) alongside frontier model pricing for comparison, sourced from the OpenRouter agentic-sorted catalog.
• Author name normalization: Implemented author name normalization in the shared result store with corresponding tests.

Changed

• Bibliography sync refactor: Simplified the dictionary comprehension in sync_project_bibliography for cleaner code.
• Documentation cross-references: Added links from docs/api-setup-guide.md and README.md to the new Google Workspace guide.
• Infrastructure updates: Updated workflows, setup agent, copilot-instructions, tasks, and config files to register and support the new google-workspace server.

Fixed

• (none)

Removed

• (none)

RWA 2026.04.06

Verification coordinator agent, reusable verification templates, and workflow integration for end-to-end reproducibility checks.

Added

• Verification coordinator agent: Added .github/agents/verification-coordinator.agent.md for human-friendly and LLM-executable verification workflows, including verifier preference capture and execution contract requirements.
• Verification template set: Added templates/verification/verification-workbook.qmd, templates/verification/verifier-preferences.yaml, templates/verification/llm-execution-contract.yaml, and templates/verification/verification-instructions-tracker.qmd.

Changed

• Orchestration stage flow: Updated research-orchestrator to include a dedicated verification stage routed to @verification-coordinator across supported workflow types.
• User and contributor docs: Updated README.md, docs/getting-started.md, docs/architecture.md, and CONTRIBUTING.md to document the new verification workflow capability.

RWA 2026.03.29

Script-first literature search workflow, Zotero attachment uploads, README Philosophy section, and infrastructure improvements.

Added

• Script-first search workflow: draft_*_search and run_search_script tools added to all five database MCP servers (PubMed, OpenAlex, Semantic Scholar, Europe PMC, CrossRef). Formal literature searches now generate a standalone Python script for user review before execution, improving reproducibility and auditability.
• Shared search script engine: generate_search_script, execute_search_script, and generate_and_run_script functions added to rwa_result_store shared library, powering the draft/run workflow across all servers.
• Zotero attachment upload: upload_attachment tool added to zotero-server for uploading PDFs and other files to Zotero items via the Web API.
• PDF upload utility scripts: scripts/_upload_pdfs.py and scripts/_upload_pdfs2.py for batch-uploading PDFs to Zotero library items.
• Search results backfill utility: scripts/backfill_search_exports.py for regenerating Excel exports from existing search_results.db files.
• Bug report issue template: .github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/bug-report.yml for structured issue reporting.
• README Philosophy section: Added project philosophy explaining RWA as a proof of concept, the case against platform lock-in, and the existing research tech stack, with a link to the LinkedIn launch post.
• Search strategy template update: Added script-first workflow instructions to templates/systematic-review/search-strategy.qmd.
• Agent instructions for script-first workflow: Updated systematic-reviewer and research-orchestrator agents with the mandatory draft-then-approve search protocol, including allowed direct MCP tool usage and DB-as-source-of-truth rules.
• Global copilot instructions: Added Literature Search Protocol section enforcing the script-first, DB-as-source-of-truth workflow across all agents.

Changed

• MCP server project path handling: Improved error messages and validation for project_path parameters across PubMed, OpenAlex, Semantic Scholar, Europe PMC, and CrossRef servers.
• API documentation: Updated docs/api-setup-guide.md, docs/database-access.md, and docs/getting-started.md with clarified instructions.
• Search runners: Improved search_runners.py in the shared library for better script execution handling.

Fixed

• Chat parser: Handle non-string content in thinking blocks to prevent parsing errors in chat export.

Removed

• Obsolete search_results.db files from sample project directories (data now lives in project-specific paths).
• Stale prisma-flow.json from sample project (replaced by PRISMA tracker server workflow).

RWA 2026.03.18

Initial public release of the Research Workflow Assistant.

Added

MCP Servers (11 total)

• pubmed-server: Search PubMed/MEDLINE via NCBI E-utilities (search, fetch abstracts, MeSH terms, related articles)
• openalex-server: Search OpenAlex for works, authors, sources, concepts, citations, and references
• semantic-scholar-server: Search Semantic Scholar Academic Graph; get paper details, citations, references, recommendations
• europe-pmc-server: Search Europe PMC for biomedical literature; access full text, citations, references, text-mined terms
• crossref-server: DOI resolution, metadata verification, reference validation, and scripted search
• zotero-server: Manage Zotero reference library via Web API (search, add items, tag, export, notes, annotations, collections)
• zotero-local-server: Access local Zotero data — PDF text/annotation extraction, full-text keyword search, Better BibTeX integration
• bibliography-manager: Local reference management for non-Zotero users — import BibTeX/RIS, link PDFs, notes, annotations, export for Quarto
• prisma-tracker: Track PRISMA 2020 systematic review flow — record searches, screening, deduplication; generate flow diagrams
• project-tracker: Track research project phases, milestones, tasks, decisions, meetings; generate progress briefs
• chat-exporter: Export Copilot Chat sessions to Quarto Markdown (QMD) files for reproducibility audit trails

Shared Library

• mcp-servers/_shared: Common utilities shared across all MCP servers (rate limiting, error handling, HTTP client helpers)

Custom Copilot Agents (10 total)

• systematic-reviewer: Guides PRISMA/PRISMA-ScR/MOOSE/Cochrane systematic reviews end-to-end
• data-analyst: Generates reproducible R/Python analysis scripts in Quarto documents
• academic-writer: Scaffolds manuscripts, manages citations, drafts sections with ICMJE compliance
• research-planner: Helps plan research projects, protocols, ethics applications, study design
• project-manager: Phase tracking, milestones, tasks, progress briefs, decision logging, meeting notes
• critical-reviewer: Structured critical appraisal using validated checklists (CASP, JBI, STROBE, CONSORT)
• research-orchestrator: Orchestrates end-to-end workflows across specialist agents
• developer: Resolves bugs, implements features, improves the RWA codebase
• setup: Guided first-time configuration — prerequisites, environment, API keys, MCP servers
• troubleshooter: Diagnoses environment, configuration, and MCP server issues

Compliance Documents (6)

• ICMJE authorship checklist
• AI disclosure template
• PRISMA 2020 checklist
• PRISMA-ScR checklist
• MOOSE checklist
• Cochrane RoB 2 template

Templates (12+)

• Systematic review: protocol, manuscript, search strategy, PRISMA flow diagram
• Manuscript: IMRaD format
• Project management: progress brief (Quarto + markdown), meeting notes, decision log
• Critical appraisal: CASP RCT, CASP qualitative, STROBE, cross-study summary
• Analysis: R and Python citation helpers, R summary table
• Project configuration: project-config.yaml, portable MCP config

CSL Citation Styles (11)

• APA (7th edition), AMA, BMJ, Chicago (author-date + fullnote), Harvard Cite Them Right, IEEE, NLM, Nature, Vancouver, Vancouver (superscript)

Documentation

• Getting started guide
• API setup guide
• Database access reference
• Architecture overview with diagram
• Posit/Quarto ecosystem guide
• Zotero plugins guide
• Quick start guide

Infrastructure

• GitHub Actions CI/CD: multi-platform validation (Ubuntu, Windows, macOS) + ruff linting
• Python virtual environment configuration with hatchling build system
• .vscode/mcp.json for MCP server configuration
• .env.example for API key setup
• Comprehensive .gitignore for Python, R, Quarto, and IDE artifacts

Versioning & Community Standards

• CalVer versioning scheme (YYYY.MM.DD)
• CHANGELOG.md (human-readable) + versions.yaml (machine-readable) dual changelog
• Local release script (scripts/release.py) with backup and tagging
• GitHub Actions release workflow for automated GitHub Releases
• CONTRIBUTING.md with development guidelines
• CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md (Contributor Covenant v2.1)
• SECURITY.md with responsible disclosure policy
• Feature request issue template
• Pull request template

Notes

• All databases are free-tier (no institutional access required for core functionality)
• ICMJE compliance is enforced globally via .github/copilot-instructions.md
• Python 3.11+ required; R optional (for analysis templates only)
• License: MIT