Arin: Spatial Intelligence for Are.na Channels

Transform any Are.na channel into an intelligent knowledge base. Experience multimodal AI across websites, PDFs, images, and videos.

✨ Try It Now (No Signup Required)

Paste any public Are.na channel URL → Instant AI intelligence

Live Demo: https://www.arin.im/

🎯 Perfect For

• Designers discovering patterns in visual research
• Researchers extracting insights from academic collections
• Creators exploring connections across curated content
• Teams building intelligence from shared knowledge

🚀 Features

Complete Multimodal Intelligence

• Websites: Extract and analyze web content using Jina AI
• PDFs: Process documents and research papers
• Images: Visual analysis with GPT-4V
• Videos: YouTube content extraction with official API
• Text blocks: Index user annotations and thoughts

Intelligent Chat Interface

• Hybrid knowledge mode: Prioritizes your curated content while providing helpful general knowledge
• Visual context: See thumbnails of referenced content
• Source attribution: Direct links to original Are.na blocks

Content Generation

• Newsletter creation: Transform research into readable insights
• Research summaries: Extract key patterns and themes

🗺️ Spatial Canvas (NEW - Supabase LW15 Feature)

• Semantic clustering: Automatically organizes blocks by meaning using pgvector
• Three-way view: Grid (default), Similarity (semantic clusters), Random (exploration)
• Drag-and-drop: Rearrange and explore your knowledge spatially
• Spatial chat: AI understands what you're looking at on the canvas

💡 Quick Start

Option 1: Try the Hosted Service

Visit www.aryn.im and paste any public Are.na channel URL.

Option 2: Self-Host (Open Source)

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/adlai88/aryn.git
cd aryn

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Set up environment variables
cp .env.example .env.local
# Edit .env.local with your API keys

# Set up database
npm run db:setup

# Start development server
npm run dev

Open http://localhost:3000 in your browser.

📋 Prerequisites

• Node.js 18+ and npm
• PostgreSQL database with pgvector extension
• OpenAI API key (for embeddings and GPT-4)
• Are.na API key (optional, for private channels)

🔧 Environment Setup

Required environment variables for self-hosting:

# Core Configuration
DATABASE_URL="postgresql://..."
OPENAI_API_KEY="sk-..."

# Optional (for private channels)
ARENA_API_KEY="your-arena-api-key"

# Optional (for video processing)
YOUTUBE_API_KEY="your-youtube-api-key"

# Optional (for enhanced web extraction)
JINA_API_KEY="your-jina-api-key"

See docs/SELF_HOSTING.md for detailed setup instructions.

🏗️ Architecture

src/
├── app/              # Next.js app router pages
├── components/       # React UI components  
├── lib/              # Core intelligence layer
│   ├── arena.ts      # Are.na API client
│   ├── extraction.ts # Content processing pipeline
│   ├── embeddings.ts # Vector similarity search
│   └── chat.ts       # AI conversation interface
└── hooks/           # React state management

Open Source Core: Complete multimodal intelligence pipeline Hosted Service: Adds user accounts, private channels, higher limits

📊 Supported Content Types

Type	Source	Processing	Status
Websites	Link blocks	Jina AI extraction	✅ Complete
PDFs	Attachment blocks	Jina AI processing	✅ Complete
Images	Image blocks	GPT-4V analysis	✅ Complete
Videos	Media/Link blocks	YouTube API extraction	✅ Complete
Text	Text blocks	Direct indexing	✅ Complete

🎨 Built With

• Frontend: Next.js 15, React, TypeScript, Tailwind CSS
• UI Components: shadcn/ui design system
• Backend: Vercel Edge Functions, Supabase (PostgreSQL + pgvector)
• AI: OpenAI (embeddings + GPT-4 + GPT-4V), YouTube Data API v3
• Content: Are.na API, Jina AI Reader

🤝 Contributing

We welcome contributions! Please see CONTRIBUTING.md for guidelines.

Development Workflow

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch: git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature
3. Make your changes and test locally
4. Commit with clear messages: git commit -m 'Add amazing feature'
5. Push to your fork: git push origin feature/amazing-feature
6. Open a Pull Request

Areas for Contribution

• Integrations: Additional content sources and APIs
• UI/UX: Design improvements and accessibility
• Documentation: Setup guides and tutorials
• Testing: Expanded test coverage

📚 Documentation

• Self-Hosting Guide
• API Documentation
• Architecture Overview
• Contributing Guidelines

💰 Hosted Service vs Self-Hosting

Open Source (Self-Hosted)

• ✅ Complete multimodal intelligence
• ✅ Public channel processing
• ✅ Unlimited usage
• ✅ Full source code access
• ❌ Requires technical setup
• ❌ Public channels only

Hosted Service

• ✅ Zero setup required
• ✅ Private channel access
• ✅ User account management
• ✅ Professional support
• 💰 Founding Member: $7/month forever (unlimited blocks, private channels)

🌟 Community & Support

• GitHub Discussions: Community support and feature requests
• Issues: Bug reports and technical problems
• Are.na: Follow our Are.na channel for updates

📄 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

🙏 Acknowledgments

• Are.na for creating an incredible platform for thoughtful curation
• The Are.na community for inspiration and feedback
• OpenAI for GPT-4 and embedding capabilities
• Jina AI for excellent content extraction
• shadcn/ui for the beautiful component system

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Made with 🧠 for the Are.na community

Transform your curation advantage into your intelligence advantage.