Free · open source · not affiliated with arXiv
Get honest feedback on your first paper, and find someone to endorse it on arXiv.
Post your abstract and let endorsers in your field choose to read it. Share the full paper with the reviewers you pick, revise it with people who have published, and leave with an arXiv endorsement once the work is ready. Students, young learners and independent researchers anywhere are welcome.
Learn for free
Every question you have before your first paper is answered openly, with no sign-in.
Get judged on your work
Feedback and endorsement depend on the paper, not on your network, institution or country.
Get credit for helping
Reviewing newcomers is unpaid work, so it shows up as karma, badges and a portable track record.
Keep arXiv open
Endorsers read the full paper before vouching for it, which keeps endorsement mills out.
Writing your first paper?
- Step 1
Learn how arXiv works
Read the free learning center, no sign-in needed, then take the 7-question readiness checkReadiness checkSeven questions you must pass before posting an abstract here: paper type, a complete English version, a finished draft, category, own work, endorsement code, and a promise not to mass-ask..
- Step 2
Post your abstract
Only your abstractAbstractA short summary of a paper: the problem, what you did and what you found. On ResearchGuild, only the abstract is shown until you choose who reads the full paper. goes out, and only to signed-in members. EndorsersEndorserAn arXiv author who is eligible to endorse in a subject area, which depends on their own recent papers there. On ResearchGuild, endorsers are volunteers who opt in to read abstracts. in your categoryCategory (subject class)arXiv's topic label for a paper, such as cs.AI (Artificial Intelligence) or cs.CL (Computation and Language). Moderators and readers use it to route and find papers. choose to accept it.
- Step 3
Share the full paper
Send your full paperFull paperYour complete manuscript as a PDF. It is private: only you, your co-authors and the reviewers you share it with can open it, and it's deleted 30 days after the paper closes. to the reviewers you pick. Three can hold it at once; anyone else waits on a fair waitlistWaitlistA first-come queue for reviewers when a paper already has the maximum number of active reviewers, or a reviewer is at their own capacity. People move in automatically when a slot frees..
- Step 4
Revise with feedback
Work through feedback roundsFeedback roundOne turn of reviewer comments followed by the author's reply or new version. Rounds happen in in-app threads; there are no private messages. with people who have published, and upload new versions as the draft improves.
- Step 5
Get endorsed
A reviewer who has read the full paper can give you an endorsementEndorsementA statement, made on arXiv's own form by an established arXiv author, that you are someone who can reasonably contribute to a subject area. It is not peer review and doesn't guarantee acceptance. on arXivarXivA free, open-access repository where researchers share papers publicly, usually before or alongside formal publication. It is not a peer-reviewed journal.'s own form, and you add your arXiv ID once the paper is announced.
Nobody can endorse without reading the full paper. When one reviewer endorses, everyone else on that paper is notified and their review closes.
Already able to endorse on arXiv?
- Step 1
Claim your categories
Add each arXiv category you can endorse in, with your arXiv “show endorsers” link as evidence.
- Step 2
Choose what to read
Browse abstracts matched to your categories and topics, and accept only the ones you want to review.
- Step 3
Review at your own pace
Set how many papers you hold at once, pause when life gets busy, and give feedback in threads on the platform.
- Step 4
Endorse or decline
Both decisions earn the same karma. Endorsements that lead to a posted paper build your public track recordTrack recordAn endorser's history here: confirmed endorsements, how many were verified as posted on arXiv, and how helpful authors found their feedback..
Pay it forward
Someone vouched for you? Pledge to review for others once you are eligible, and we will remind you three months after your paper is posted.
- Pledges made
- 1
- Pledges fulfilled
- 0
Not sure you are ready?
Take the free arXiv readiness check. It needs no sign-in, and your answers are not stored.
Take the readiness checkFrequently asked questions
Finding an endorser
How do I find an endorser here?
Sign in, pass the 7-question readiness check and post your abstract. Endorsers who listed your arXiv category see it in their feed, and the ones who want to review it accept it. You then share your full paper with them, revise it through feedback rounds, and one of them may endorse you on arXiv's own form when the work is ready.
Who can see my abstract and my paper?
Only signed-in members can read your abstract, and search engines never index it. Your full paper is a private PDF that you share with reviewers you choose, at most 3 at a time, and the file is deleted 30 days after your paper closes.
What if nobody accepts my abstract?
Your abstract stays open while you keep improving it. You can nudge endorsers who publish an availability page (up to 3 nudges per paper each week), and the learning center explains other routes to an endorser, such as co-authors and advisors.
Is an endorsement guaranteed?
No. Endorsers decide on the merits of your full paper, and a decline earns them exactly the same karma as an endorsement, so nobody is rewarded for saying yes. A decline always comes with a reason you can act on.
What does it cost?
Nothing. ResearchGuild is free and open source under AGPL-3.0; it sends no email and shows no ads.
Is ResearchGuild part of arXiv?
No. ResearchGuild is independent and not affiliated with arXiv. Endorsements happen on arXiv's own form using your endorsement code, and we never touch arXiv accounts.
Becoming an endorser
Who can become an endorser?
Anyone arXiv already lets endorse in a category. arXiv bases that on papers you authored in the subject area, submitted between three months and five years ago, and on being registered as an author of those papers. ResearchGuild cannot grant eligibility; it helps eligible people find authors who need them.
How do I add myself as an endorser?
Open Settings, choose a category and paste the arXiv "show endorsers" link for one of your papers as evidence (https://arxiv.org/auth/show-endorsers/ followed by the paper ID). Your capability shows as claimed until a paper you endorse here is verified as posted in that category, and then it becomes confirmed.
How much time does it take?
You set the pace. Choose how many papers you review at once (1 to 10), pause whenever you need to, and accept only the abstracts you want to read. Reviews that go quiet expire, so authors are never left waiting on you indefinitely.
Do I have to endorse every paper I review?
No. Read the full paper and give feedback, then endorse on arXiv's form if the work is ready or decline with a reason; both earn the same karma. Before you can record an endorsement you must have opened the full paper here and checked the author's LinkedIn profile.
What do I get for helping?
Karma on per-category leaderboards, badges, and a public track record of the papers you endorsed that went on to be posted on arXiv. You can also publish an availability page with share buttons so that authors in your field can find you.
Will my name be public?
Only if you turn on your availability page. Otherwise your profile is visible to signed-in members only, and leaderboards show you as "A community member".