Literature reviews, in one small file.

HALO takes a review from search to generating a PRISMA flow diagram: searching, duplicate checking, screening, team agreement checks and corrections. It runs entirely in your browser. No account set up, and your records are never uploaded or stored.

HALO stands for Hyper-lightweight Analysis of Literature Outlines. The web app is called HaloReviews.

Open HaloReviews Try the practice guide

Free to use. Tested in Chrome and Edge.

Walking groups and mood in imaginary adultsExampleton A. et al., 2020

IncludeMaybeExclude

From search results to a flow diagram

Search PubMed, Scopus, Europe PMC, OpenAlex, Crossref or DOAJ from inside the tool, or export results from any database and drop the files in. Then work through the steps in order. Everything you decide is saved as you go, and any decision can be undone.

Web of Science, Google Scholar and AJOL searches are run on their own sites and the results are imported. All searches are recorded in HALO, and every file keeps its own record count.

1
Search and import Search a database from inside the tool, or import RIS files (SCOPUS, Web of Science, Google Scholar, AJOL) and NBIB files (PubMed). Every search is written to a search report, and each file keeps its own record count.
2
Duplicates Records that are certainly the same paper are merged AUTOMATICALLY. For the rest which HALO is not sure of, you see the two side by side with the differences marked, and decide. Nothing is deleted.
3
Titles and abstracts One paper at a time, with keyboard keys, optional highlighted keywords, and a progress bar.
4
Full text Open each paper by its DOI, tick the ones you hold, choose a reason when you exclude, or mark “full text not found”. That is a normal outcome, not a failure.
5
Team only when you work with others
Blinded screening, conflicts settled together, and agreement figures. See Team work for more information.
6
PRISMA flow diagram The diagram is built from your saved decisions. Did you make a mistake? Submit a correction request to HALO, and a new diagram is generated. For research fidelity, every version of your generated PRISMA diagram is kept in your project folder.

What HALO holds to

Your records stay with you.Your project lives in a folder you choose in YOUR computer, or in YOUR browser. HALO never sends nor stores your records anywhere.
Only what is verified.HALO shows what is in your files and links papers by their DOI. It is not an AI tool. It never invents a reference or a count, and no AI makes decisions in it.
Every decision is YOURS.The tool points out where two records differ and where reviewers disagree. YOU decide. Every decision can be undone and is kept in a log.
Light on purpose.The whole app is under 200 kB. Install it from Chrome or Edge and it opens without internet, on an ordinary laptop. Suitable for low bandwidth, poor connectivity and for use in the field or in a library.
Built for limited access.No subscription and no sign-up. Installing is optional (your browser will ask you if you want it installed).
Free and open.Free to use, with the code open to inspect.

Alone, or with a team?

Alone? Choose “Just me”, pick a folder on your computer or your work in your browser, and go. We recommend that you download a backup often especially when working in a browser, since a browser can clear its own storage.

With a team? The lead shares a folder in OneDrive or Google Drive, and locks the library once duplicate checks are complete. That way, everyone screens exactly the same papers. Team screening is blinded by default until screening is completed. Each person works in their own browser window on their own time. HALO shows where reviewers disagree and disagreements are settled at a meeting: Unanimous decisions are recorded and the log records it. Full text and the PRISMA diagram open only when every decision is unanimous.

HALO shows Cohen’s kappa for each pair of reviewers, with the raw agreement beside it. An optional pilot of 50 random records lets the team compare before the full screen.

Each person writes only their own file, so a shared folder never overwrites anyone’s work:

appendix-review/
  project.json
  records/
  events/
    Ada.jsonl
    Bo.jsonl
    Chidi.jsonl

Team members work in Chrome or Edge on a computer, because browsers must be able to open a shared folder.

Showcase

Finished a review with HaloReviews? After you save your PRISMA diagram, the app offers, once, to add it to a public list. You read five lines first (title, kind of review, year, an optional PROSPERO or OSF link and the version), then press Send, or open your own email program instead. Nothing is sent unless you choose to, and your records and numbers are never included.

HALO does not track use. The Showcase page shows the reviews researchers CHOSE to list and the papers that cite HALO, and says plainly what is not counted.

What HALO does not do

It cannot search Web of Science, Google Scholar or AJOL for you (their sites do not allow it).
It does not store PDFs. It links to the paper and keeps a tick-list.
It has no accounts and no cloud sync. Teams share a folder instead. You must regularly download a backup if you work in a browser, since a browser can clear its own storage.
The showcase lists only what researchers choose to send, so its numbers may be lower than real use.
Folders and team work need Chrome or Edge. Firefox and Safari have not been tested.

Contact

Questions, problems or ideas about HaloReviews? Send Halo a mail.

Send Halo a Mail

contacthalo@haloreviews.org

"Send Halo a Mail" opens the Contact page in the app, where you can send the message from there, with the version filled in. If that does not suit you, the second button opens your own email program with the address filled in. Please do not send records or review data by email.

How to cite

Obasuyi, O. C. (2026). HaloReviews (HALO: Hyper-lightweight Analysis of Literature Outlines) (Version 1.0) [Computer software]. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.23657206