> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.consensus.app/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Full text access to paywalled papers
> Consensus reads the whole paper, not just the abstract, including paywalled articles from major publishers, open-access PDFs, and papers you upload yourself.
Most AI research tools only read titles and abstracts. The answer you need is usually buried in the methods, results, or discussion. Consensus reads deeper: it analyzes the full text of papers, including paywalled articles from major publishers, to decide whether a paper actually answers your question and to ground its analysis in complete context.
## Where full text comes from
Consensus has agreements with the publishers below to read the full text of paywalled papers for AI analysis inside Consensus, including 6 of the 12 largest publishers in the world.
For any open-access paper, Consensus pulls the full PDF directly into the app. When the AI quotes from it, you can click straight to the passage in the PDF.
If a paper isn't in the index, bring it. Upload PDFs directly or sync your Zotero library. Uploads stay private to your account and are analyzed with the same engine, including full-text search, snippet highlighting, and synthesis. See [Library](/core-features/library).
**What about my institution's subscriptions?** Consensus connects to your university or institution's library through LibKey, but only for link resolving: it gives you direct links to papers your library subscribes to. Consensus doesn't use full text from LibKey. All the full text Consensus analyzes comes from the three sources above.
Full-text availability varies by paper. When it isn't available, Consensus relies on the abstract and indexed metadata.
## Where full text is used
* **Retrieval.** Your query is matched against titles, abstracts, and full text, which is one reason Consensus retrieval tests 10% more accurate than Google Scholar head to head.
* **Pro and Deep analysis.** Answers pull directly from full text when available. A **checkmark** on an in-line citation means the full text was used; no checkmark means the abstract was.
* **Citation Grounding.** Hover a citation to see the exact quote; click to open the paper at that passage. See [Citation Grounding](/core-features/citation-grounding).
* **Comparison tables.** Side-by-side values for methods, sample sizes, findings, and limitations, pulled from the body of each paper.
* **Chat with full text.** Ask questions of one paper, a Collection, or your whole Library.
Analysis access and reading access are different. Consensus may use a paywalled paper's full text to generate summaries and tables, but the article itself may remain behind the publisher's paywall. Viewing or downloading it depends on your institutional or personal subscription.
**Full text in the API and MCP.** The [Consensus API](/api-get-started) can return query-relevant full-text excerpts alongside each paper: pass `include_full_text_chunks=true` and read the `full_text_chunks` field (see the [`/v1/search` reference](/api-reference/query-for-relevant-papers)). The [MCP server](/consensus-mcp) supports the same option in its `search` tool, so your assistant can quote the relevant passages directly. Both are available on all paid plans (Pro, Deep, Teams, and Enterprise).
## How to use it
In any Pro or Deep answer, citations with a checkmark were analyzed from full text.
Hover a citation to see the supporting quote, then click **Show in paper** to open the PDF at the highlighted passage.
Click **+** in the search bar and select papers from your Library or upload new ones, tick papers in a results list, or ask from a paper's details page. Chatting with full text runs in Pro or Deep mode.
Use the **Open access** filter to see only papers whose full text is viewable.
In **Settings › Preferences**, search for your institution to get LibKey links to papers your library subscribes to. This only changes where links take you, not what Consensus analyzes. If a paper is still paywalled, try your library portal directly.
## Availability
Full text is used wherever it's available, on every plan. Chatting with the full text of a paper, Collection, or Library requires a Pro or Deep message, which draws on your plan's credits (see [What is Consensus](/get-started/what-is-consensus#plans)). On all paid plans, the API and MCP can also return full-text excerpts alongside each paper.
## Next
Upload PDFs and import from Zotero.
A tutorial that leans on full text.
