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Dynamic Research Object (DROs)

Dynamic Research Objects (DROs)

A Dynamic Research Object, or DRO, is a portable, human-readable record of research developed in Theo . It is designed to make research easier to review, share, archive, and continue.

The current version of a DRO captures the work associated with one chat, including its research goal and supported completed artifacts. Depending on the work performed, this may include research questions, literature reviews, methods, mathematical results, Python code and outputs, analysis, references, images, and provenance information.

A DRO is not a complete backup of a Theo session. It is a chat-scoped research record rather than a reconstruction of every chat, source, artifact, phase, and item of session state.


Create a DRO

You can create a DRO in several ways:

  • Open the three-dot menu for a chat and select Export DRO.

  • Open the main three-dot menu and select Export DRO (Current Chat).

  • Select Export DRO from a completed Summary.

  • Ask Theo to export the current chat as a DRO. Theo’s orchestrator can direct the request to the DRO export workflow.

The Export DRO window lets you download an HTML file or create a shareable link.


Download an HTML file

Select Download .html to save the DRO as a standalone HTML document on your device. Downloading the file does not publish it or upload it to a public sharing location.

The HTML document can be opened in a standard web browser. It may include:

  • The session and chat names and the research goal.

  • Supported research artifacts produced from the chat.

  • Equations, mathematical content, Python code, and results.

  • Plots, citations, and reference lists.

  • Connections between derived and upstream artifacts.

  • Artifact types, versions, and creation dates.

  • Concise and detailed reading modes where available.

You can download the HTML version of the same chat multiple times. Each downloaded file is an independent snapshot of the research at the time it was generated. Later downloads do not alter earlier files.

The HTML file can be stored locally, archived with other research materials, sent to a collaborator, or added to another Theo session as a source.

Create a shareable link

Select Create link to publish a read-only version of the DRO. Similar to the html, every time you create an update, a new shareable link is created. It is recommended to un-share the old link before creating a new one.

Anyone with the link can read the DRO, including its included artifacts. Do not publish or distribute a link if the DRO contains research that should remain private or confidential.

After creating a link, you can:

  • Copy and share the link.

  • Select Update link to publish a newer snapshot from the chat.

  • Select Un-share to make the published DRO unavailable.

Updates and un-sharing usually reach readers within about one minute. Un-sharing prevents future access through the link, but it cannot recall HTML files or other copies that readers have already downloaded.

Continue working from a DRO

A DRO can provide the starting context for work in another Theo session.

Continue from the HTML file

  • Download the DRO as an HTML file.

  • Create or open another session.

  • Add the HTML file to the session’s Sources.

  • Ask Theo to review the DRO and continue from its findings.

For example: “Review this DRO and summarize the research completed so far. Identify the unresolved questions, then help me continue the investigation.”

Theo extracts the readable content from the HTML and uses it as a source. This provides useful context about the documented work, but it does not recreate the original chat structure, artifact state, source collection, or phase history.

Continue from the shareable link

You can also add the DRO’s shareable link to Theo as a source. After Theo processes the link, ask it to use the DRO when answering questions or planning the next stage of work.

For example: “Use the DRO in my Sources as the starting point for this session. Review the existing work and recommend the next research steps.”

The link must remain active for Theo to retrieve it. If the DRO is un-shared, Theo may no longer be able to access it from the URL.

DRO versus session export

Use a DRO when you want a readable and portable representation of the research associated with one chat. A DRO is intended for reviewing, sharing, archiving, and giving Theo or another researcher enough context to continue the documented work.

Use session export when you need a more comprehensive transfer of the research workspace. A .theo session package can preserve multiple chats, shared sources, artifacts, phase history, and related research state, and it can be imported to create a separate copy of the session.

Adding a DRO to another session as a source will not reconstruct the original session. Theo will not receive the same comprehensive history and internal working state supplied by a session export, but the DRO should contain enough of the documented research to support meaningful continuation.

The future of DROs

DROs are a foundational pillar of the FirstPrinciples research system. The current release is an early, chat-scoped version focused on making research outputs portable and shareable.

Future releases will develop the DRO into a durable, evolving scientific research object—not merely an export, but a continuing representation of the research itself. Its role will expand toward supporting long-term scientific continuity, provenance, collaboration, reproducibility, and reuse.