From idea to evaluation

This tutorial takes an idea-stage project from a paragraph to a concept review with checked citations. It needs no prototype, no code, and no WorldSpec. An idea is a complete, valid input.

You need: a running local Alive app and API with Supabase, or access to a hosted pilot once one is configured. Sign in to the app, or use an API token with the read, write and run scopes. Signed-in pilot users can create a 90-day API token on the app's Settings page. The token is shown once; copy it before leaving the page. You do not need an API token for the app itself. The AI draft and concept review steps require a configured hosted model and key. The copyable intake prompt can replace hosted drafting, but a concept review still needs a configured provider.

1. Describe what you have

In the app, choose Paste an idea / Upload material and paste a paragraph, or upload a TXT, Markdown, JSON or PDF file. Alive first reads and screens the material without any AI:

• each source gets a status: processed, unsupported, excluded_for_privacy or error;
• possible secrets or patient identifiers quarantine a source, and Alive shows what it found with the values masked;
• files Alive cannot read faithfully (for example scanned PDFs) are reported with a copyable prompt you can run in your own AI assistant to convert them to text. Alive never guesses at unreadable content.

API equivalent: POST /v1/intakes/extract (multipart text and files).

2. Draft and confirm the IntakeSpec

Approve AI drafting to let Alive propose an IntakeSpec from the readable material. Only readable, unflagged sources are sent to the AI provider. Alive then checks the draft itself:

• every claim must cite a source Alive actually processed;
• quoted passages must appear word-for-word in the cited lines, or the citation is dropped;
• statements from your own documents are recorded as user_declared, not observed.

Review the draft under We think this is what you have, correct anything wrong, and confirm. Prefer not to send material to Alive's AI provider? Use the AI intake prompt with your own assistant instead and import the JSON.

API equivalent: POST /v1/projects/{id}/intakes/parse, then POST /v1/projects/{id}/intakes with the confirmed document.

3. Get a plan

Alive's planner decides which evaluations apply. For an idea it recommends a concept and evidence review, skips simulation (there is nothing executable yet), and explains each decision. The plan also lists the approvals needed and an estimated cost in credits. Read its Business questions section before approving the review: check the proposed user, buyer and budget owner, current alternative, dependencies, value hypothesis and suggested buyer interview. Unknowns are explicit. A source ID appears only for a specifically cited intake claim.

API equivalent: POST /v1/projects/{id}/evaluation-plans.

4. Approve and run the concept review

Approve hosted inference (or choose your own provider key) and start the review. Alive:

1. searches Europe PMC for published evidence related to your project;
2. checks each record for retractions and corrections, and excludes retracted work;
3. drafts a review across 13 rubric dimensions (need, users, workflow fit, safety scope, equity, feasibility, adoption, evaluation plan, and more);
4. verifies every evidence claim: the cited record must be one Alive retrieved, the quote must appear in its openly licensed text, and a second AI judge must agree the quote supports the claim.

A claim counts as supported only if all of those checks pass. Sources whose text Alive may not read are marked support not verified instead of being trusted.

API equivalent: POST /v1/projects/{id}/evaluation-plans/{plan_id}/approve with {"scope": "hosted_inference"}, then POST /v1/projects/{id}/reviews, then poll GET /v1/reviews/{review_id}.

5. Read the review honestly

Every dimension is labelled ai_hypothesis: a reasoned starting point for you to test, not a verified finding and not advice. Use the questions and next experiments in each dimension to plan your next step. When your project gains a defined workflow or a prototype, add new material to the same project: Alive keeps the history and re-plans.

The review also includes the intake-derived business questions. In the app, choose Download concept report (JSON) to keep the complete review and its citation record. It does not establish demand, a buyer's willingness to pay, revenue, or clinical benefit.

What it costs

Concept reviews use a small, metered amount of hosted AI, reserved before the review starts and settled at actual usage. A review that fails because of Alive is not charged. With your own provider key, Alive charges no credits for the AI calls. See credits and cost units.