Source types
Sources are imported materials Atlas can process for reading, search, chat, summaries, maps, and citations. Choose the source type that best matches the original material.
What this page covers
Complete supported-format inventory, acquisition methods, processing states, plan boundaries, and known limitations.
Supported source categories
| Source type | Best for | Watch for |
|---|---|---|
| Papers, reports, chapters, whitepapers, stable documents. | Scanned files, password protection, unusual layouts, missing selectable text. | |
| Website | Public articles, documentation pages, essays, blog posts. | Login walls, heavy scripts, cookie gates, navigation-heavy pages. |
| YouTube | Lectures, talks, interviews, tutorials. | Missing transcripts, inaccurate captions, long videos with loose structure. |
| Academic paper search | Finding scholarly sources by title, DOI, arXiv ID, author, or topic. | Metadata mismatches, unavailable full text, duplicate records. |
| Markdown or text notes | Existing research notes or structured drafts. | Formatting differences after import. |
| Attachments | Temporary files for chat or notes. | Not always durable, searchable, or citable like sources. |
PDF sources
PDFs are the best choice for stable research documents. They support close reading, citation checks, and map generation when the text can be extracted.
If a PDF is image-only or scanned, processing quality depends on extraction and OCR.
Website sources
Website imports work best for public, article-like pages with clear main content. Atlas may struggle with pages that require login, hide content behind scripts, or mix the article with unrelated navigation.
Use the most direct URL you can find.
YouTube sources
YouTube sources are useful when the transcript is the meaningful source. If the transcript is missing or poor, citations and summaries will be weaker.
Academic paper search
Paper search is for finding academic sources before or during project setup. Exact identifiers are best. Topic queries can help exploration but should be reviewed before import.
Source versus attachment
Import as a source when the material should become part of the project evidence base. Attach when the material is temporary context for one chat or note.