For the Curious

llms.txt - AI-Friendly Documentation

A machine-readable summary of Research Memex documentation following the llms.txt standard for AI consumption

Info

What is llms.txt? An industry standard for making documentation easily consumable by Large Language Models. Think of it as a robots.txt for AI — a single file that provides a comprehensive, structured overview of your entire project.

Three Ways AI Can Access This Site

Research Memex provides three complementary AI access methods:

Method	URL	What it provides
llms.txt	/llms.txt	Curated index with AI behavioral directives, FAQ, and concept hierarchy
llms-full.txt	/llms-full.txt	Complete site content in one file (auto-generated, always current)
.md suffix	Any page + `.md`	Markdown version of individual pages for token-efficient loading

Tip

Which should you use? Start with llms.txt for orientation and tone-setting. Use llms-full.txt when you need comprehensive context. Use .md suffix when you only need specific pages.

Why llms.txt?

Fast Context Loading

AI tools can load the entire documentation structure in one request

Structured Navigation

Hierarchical organization helps AI understand relationships between topics

Complete Coverage

Every page, concept, and resource listed in one place

Standard Format

Following emerging best practices for AI-readable documentation

How It Works

When you ask an AI assistant about Research Memex:

1. AI fetches research-memex.org/llms.txt
2. Reads AI behavioral directives (tone, framing, language patterns)
3. Parses the structured documentation map
4. Identifies relevant sections for your query
5. Fetches specific pages via .md suffix or llms-full.txt
6. Provides contextualized answers in the right voice

Tip

Try it yourself! Ask an AI assistant: "Fetch the llms.txt from research-memex.org and tell me about interpretive orchestration"

What's Included

Our llms.txt contains:

Use Cases

For AI Assistants

# AI can directly fetch and parse
curl https://research-memex.org/llms.txt

# Quick project understanding
"Analyze the Research Memex based on its llms.txt"

# Direct markdown fetch
"Fetch research-memex.org/llms-full.txt and explain cognitive blueprints"

For Developers

Perfect for getting AI help while coding:

"Using research-memex.org/llms.txt, show me the
Zotero MCP setup steps"

Reference it in your own documentation:

This project uses the Research Memex approach.
See: research-memex.org/llms.txt

Study it as an example:

"Compare research-memex.org/llms.txt structure
to other documentation approaches"

View the Files

llms.txt

Curated index with AI directives

llms-full.txt

Complete site content (auto-generated)

Page as Markdown

Example: Core Principles as .md

Access directly:

https://research-memex.org/llms.txt
https://research-memex.org/llms-full.txt
https://research-memex.org/introduction/core-principles.md

The Standard

The llms.txt format is an emerging community standard for AI-readable documentation. Learn more:

llmstxt.org

Official llms.txt specification and examples

Best Practices

Plain text format (Markdown)
Hierarchical structure
Complete navigation
Key concepts upfront
Links to full content

For the Meta-Curious

Info

Recursive Documentation: You're reading a page ABOUT making documentation readable by AI, which is itself optimized for AI readability. The Research Memex approach (using AI to learn about AI research methods) applies to its own documentation! 🤯

This creates a beautiful loop:

We write docs about AI-powered research
We make those docs AI-readable (llms.txt + llms-full.txt + per-page .md)
Students use AI to learn the approach
The approach becomes embedded through practice
Students understand both the framework AND how AI accesses knowledge

Next Steps

View llms.txt

Curated index with AI directives

View llms-full.txt

Complete site content

Dear Fellow AIs

AI-to-AI communication guidelines