How to Use Research Think Widgets with Scriptable and E-Ink

Start with the native iPhone widgets

If you are using an iPhone, the normal path is the built-in Research Think widgets. Add them from the iPhone home screen widget gallery by searching for Research Think.

Research Think includes a project overview widget and a goal widget. They are the simplest way to keep a project visible on your phone without any extra setup beyond signing in and choosing the project you want the widget to display.

If the widget shows "Open Research Think to get started" after you have signed in, check that a token has been generated for the project. In the mobile app, go to Settings → Projects → [your project] → E-ink & Widgets and confirm a token is listed. If not, tap to generate one. The native iPhone widget uses the same token to fetch your project data.

What the widget actually shows

Research Think's widget data is tied to a specific project. Depending on the surface you use, you can show your project name, total word count, target progress, writing done today, writing done this week, average score, sync state, and recent chapter updates.

In practice, that means you get something more useful than a generic productivity widget. You get a live snapshot of whether the thesis is moving and whether the writing is improving.

Use Scriptable when you want extra surfaces

Scriptable is useful if you want the same project on an iPad, Mac desktop, or another Scriptable-supported setup. It is not the main iPhone widget path. It is the flexible option when you want to go beyond the built-in widgets.

Step 1: Generate the project token

Every widget and e-ink view in Research Think is project-specific. To connect one, start in the web app and open the project you want to track.

• Open /app/ and select the project you want to display.
• Open project settings and go to the E-ink tab.
• Click Generate Token if you do not already have one.

Treat this token like a private link. If you regenerate it later, any old widget or display configuration will stop working.

Step 2: Set up the Scriptable widget on iPhone

Research Think includes a ready-made Scriptable widget script. Scriptable lets you build custom widgets from JavaScript, which makes it a practical way to get thesis data onto your iPhone, iPad, or Mac desktop before shipping a fully native widget flow for every case.

1. Install Scriptable on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac.
2. Download the ready-made Scriptable script.
3. Create a new Scriptable script and paste it in.
4. Set the TOKEN value to your project's e-ink token.
5. Set BASE_URL to your Research Think deployment, for example https://researchthink.com.
6. Add a Scriptable widget to your home screen or Mac desktop and choose that script.

The current script supports small, medium, and large widget sizes. Small focuses on top-level stats. Medium and large add recent chapter rows.

Scriptable configuration

const TOKEN = "your-project-token"

const BASE_URL = "https://researchthink.com"

Step 3: Use the widget as a read-only display

The Scriptable widget is intentionally read-only. It shows your latest project data and can open Research Think, but it does not trigger sync or make project changes by itself.

That keeps the widget token limited to display access.

Step 4: Use the e-ink dashboard for a dedicated display

If you want a desk display or wall dashboard, use the image-based e-ink output instead of the Scriptable JSON feed. Research Think exposes a grayscale dashboard image designed for low-refresh screens.

This is a good fit for e-paper panels, browser kiosk tabs, small Raspberry Pi dashboards, or any setup that can periodically reload an image URL. The current output is designed for a landscape 800 by 480 display, which suits many common e-ink panels.

In the project settings panel, the Copy URL action gives you the dashboard URL directly. Use that URL in the device or display software that is rendering the image.

When this setup is worth doing

A widget is useful when visibility changes behaviour. If your thesis progress is already tightly managed, this may be a nice extra. If you tend to avoid the dashboard when the writing is slipping, it is more than a cosmetic feature. It creates a low-friction reminder that the project is either moving or not.

• Use the phone, tablet, or Mac widget if you want fast status checks throughout the day.
• Use the e-ink dashboard if you want a persistent visual anchor on your desk or wall.
• Use both if you want the same project visible in your phone workflow and your writing environment.

Common problems to avoid

Most setup issues are straightforward. The wrong token, the wrong base URL, or a local server address your phone cannot reach are the usual causes.

• Wrong token. Make sure you are using the project's e-ink token from project settings.
• Broken local URL. If you test from a physical phone, 127.0.0.1 points to the phone itself, not your laptop.
• Old configuration after token rotation. If you regenerate the token, update the Scriptable script and any e-ink display URLs.

The simplest version that works

If you want the shortest path, do this: generate the project token, paste it into the Scriptable script, set the correct Research Think base URL, and add the widget to your iPhone, iPad, or Mac. If you want a desk display too, copy the e-ink dashboard image URL into your display device.

The point is not to build a complicated dashboard stack. The point is to keep your thesis in view often enough that progress stays concrete.