# Loops

Loops keeps you current on your field without a daily search habit. You choose up to 5 keywords and a weekly schedule, and Loops searches the last 7 days for new papers, preprints, and findings that match. It then emails you a short digest with source links and saves the same digest as an Insight in your workspace, so every week's findings stay searchable alongside your research.

<img src="/screenshots/alfred-scholar-loops-weekly-research-digest.webp" alt="Loops in Alfred Scholar: weekly digest schedule with keywords, day and time pickers, and recent insights" width="1800" height="1125" loading="lazy" decoding="async" />

## Setting up a Loop

1. Click **Loops** in the sidebar.
2. **Add your keywords**, up to 5 per Loop. Keep them specific: the terms you would type into a search engine to find new work in your area.
3. **Pick a day and time** for the digest to arrive. Times are in your own timezone.
4. Toggle the Loop **Active**.

Your first digest arrives on the next scheduled day. If you would rather not wait to see what one looks like, click **Send a test digest now** and a digest is prepared and emailed right away.

## What arrives each week

At your scheduled day and time, Loops searches the last 7 days for new papers, preprints, and findings that match your keywords. Then it:

- **Emails you a short digest** with links to every source, so you can follow up on anything that matters.
- **Saves the digest as an Insight** in your workspace, so you can revisit any week later without digging through your inbox.

## Quiet weeks

Some weeks, nothing new matches your keywords. When that happens, Loops tells you so honestly instead of padding the digest with loosely related results. A quiet week is a real finding too: it means nothing notable surfaced for your terms in the last 7 days.

## Pausing a Loop

To pause a Loop, toggle **Active** off. No digests are sent while it is paused. Toggle it back on whenever you want the weekly digest to resume.

## Availability

Loops is available on the **Pro** and **Lab** plans. See [Plans & Billing](/docs/v1.x/plans-and-billing) for details.

## Next steps

- **[Telescope](/docs/v1.x/telescope)** - Compare a stack of papers in one page-cited matrix.
- **[Chat with your documents](/docs/v1.x/chat-with-documents)** - Ask focused questions about the papers already in your library.