Phd Deepread Workflow

PhD Deep Read Workflow

[](https://opensource.org/licenses/MIT) [](https://pypi.org/project/phd-deepread-workflow/) [](https://www.python.org/downloads/) [](https://claude.com/claude-code) [](https://openai.com/codex) [](README.zh-CN.md)

Transform academic PDFs into structured literature notes and critical-thinking canvases for Obsidian.

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*"The human mind... operates by association. With one item in its grasp, it snaps instantly to the next that is suggested by the association of thoughts."* — Vannevar Bush, *As We May Think*, 1945

Bush imagined this in 1945 — a desk where all your reading lives outside its original containers, ready for you to build trails of association through it. That's what this workflow is.

**Step one:** Convert the PDF to Markdown. The knowledge leaves the frozen PDF and becomes something you can return to, search, and connect — today, next month, next year.

**Step two:** Come back anytime and draw out what's relevant now. Connect ideas across papers. Visualize arguments, evidence, and assumptions side by side in an Obsidian canvas. The literature note captures what's there. The canvas lets you see it alongside everything else you know.

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Prerequisites

You need both of these:

• A skill-capable AI coding agent — either Claude Code (download here) or Codex. This workflow installs as a skill in whichever one you use.
• Obsidian — download here. The final output is a JSON canvas file that only renders in Obsidian.

If you just want AI h