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Benchside 0.3.1
Benchside 0.3.1
Benchside brings seven scientific roles, private project memory and optional research-workflow reporting to capable AI assistants. This is the first downloadable GitHub release, intended for research pilots and feedback.
Choose your download
| Where you will use it | Download |
|---|---|
| Claude web or desktop with custom plugins enabled | Claude plugin ZIP |
| ChatGPT/Codex with a supported custom-plugin installation flow | OpenAI / portable plugin ZIP |
| Claude custom-skill installation | Standalone Claude skill ZIP |
| Python installation or development | Python wheel |
Download the appropriate ZIP without extracting it, then install it through your app's plugin or skill controls. In Claude, open Plugins (or Customize → Plugins on older interfaces) and upload the Claude plugin ZIP. Start a fresh conversation, select Benchside and say:
Set up Benchside for my research project. Ask where I want my private records stored, explain the optional sharing choices, and verify that you can save and restore a synthetic decision.
This GitHub release provides installation packages; it does not create a public ChatGPT or Claude directory listing. Custom-plugin availability and permissions depend on the account. Do not use GitHub's automatically generated "Source code" ZIP as an app plugin.
Let an agent handle setup
The repository now starts with a short setup prompt and an agent installation guide. Hand the agent the repository URL; it should handle supported installation steps and ask only for the storage, project and participation choices it needs. Hosted apps without installation tools still require their supported package-upload step.
In Codex, Claude Code or another agent with filesystem and command tools, use:
Set up Science Works' Benchside v0.3.1 from https://github.com/science-works/benchside/tree/v0.3.1. Follow SETUP.md and the guided onboarding instructions. Perform setup for this app, ask where I want my private records stored and whether I want optional research sharing. Verify saving and restoring a synthetic decision. I should not need to type terminal commands.
Private records must live outside the source checkout. The runtime supports Python 3.11–3.14 in macOS/Linux environments; the app ZIPs bundle dependencies for supported Intel/Apple Silicon and Linux x86-64/ARM64 environments. A browser chat needs code execution and suitable durable storage tools. Reading the repository alone does not install Benchside.
Included
- Seven roles: research supervisor, study-design consultant, methods troubleshooter, results discussant, reproducibility auditor, journal-club discussant and scientific peer reviewer.
- Private project records with decisions, unresolved questions, role-specific outputs and resumption across conversations.
- Session tracking and protections against mixing concurrent conversations or overwriting newer notebook state.
- Optional, reviewed workflow-problem reports, usability feedback and usage reporting; separate choices for surveys and selected-conversation analysis.
- Optional problem context including public tool/dataset names, versions, frequency, impact and workarounds.
- Claude Docs file-based notebook transfer, its smaller document limit and clearer guidance when a network policy blocks sending.
Storage and optional sharing
Setup checks the storage tools actually available to the researcher. Local records are separate from the installed package; native or connected cloud storage needs complete reads, guarded updates and readback. A cloud execution folder alone is not durable storage.
Optional participation starts off. Gap, feedback, usage and activity submissions require review and approval of the exact content. Survey answers follow the study agreement accepted before answering. New opted-in contributions include a random store-level contributor ID, so contributions can be grouped over time; this is pseudonymous, not anonymous. Scientific findings and identifying research details are excluded from model-prepared workflow reports.
The Science Works receiving endpoint is included; users do not need Cloudflare access or API credentials. In Claude cloud execution, approved sending may require allowing ingest.benchside.science.works in the account's network settings. Installation does not change those settings.
Validation and limits
- Published packages come directly from the successful CI run for the released commit
e81b5f25953b3c0bf893406740835ebfa2a82c14, including the updated installation documentation. - 486 tests passed on Python 3.11 and 3.14, alongside lint, persona compilation and installation checks for all three archives.
- ChatGPT web 0.3.1 passed a synthetic private save/readback, independent fresh-conversation restore and read-only endpoint check on 29 October.
- The Claude transfer changes were tested with a 52 KB synthetic cloud notebook before merge. The rebuilt 0.3.1 Claude upload has not had a separate installed-account acceptance pass. Its blob replacement operation is not documented in Anthropic's Docs guide; unsupported or failed saves must be reported as unsaved.
- Host and account capabilities vary. Verify persistence in the intended account before relying on it for research, and assess scientific advice independently.
- The time-limited 29 October demo watcher has expired. Future live demonstrations need a new reporting window or an on-demand import; ordinary research reporting is separate.
Updating later
Future changes will be published as new versioned releases. Use the host's complete plugin update flow, preserve the chosen private storage location and reopen the existing project. For source-installed skills, have the agent update the checkout and rerun setup. Do not overlay a packaged ZIP onto a source-installed skill directory; follow the onboarding update instructions.