Added the BeyondFacts Lab as a prototype (#1175)

app/MindWork AI Studio/Tools/AppResources.cs

@@ -0,0 +1,64 @@
+using System.Text;
+
+using Microsoft.Extensions.FileProviders;
+
+#if RELEASE
+using System.Reflection;
+#endif
+
+namespace AIStudio.Tools;
+
+/// <summary>
+/// Reads files which come with AI Studio, such as prompts, guides, or the built-in plugins.
+/// </summary>
+/// <remarks>
+/// The files lie below the project folder and are listed as EmbeddedResource in the project file. A development
+/// build reads them from the disk, so that a change shows without building again; a release reads them from the
+/// resources embedded into the app. Paths are relative to the project folder and use forward slashes.
+/// </remarks>
+public static class AppResources
+{
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Gets a file provider for a folder of the app.
+    /// </summary>
+    /// <param name="relativeFolder">The folder, relative to the project folder, e.g., "Plugins".</param>
+    /// <returns>The file provider, whose paths are relative to that folder.</returns>
+    public static IFileProvider FolderProvider(string relativeFolder)
+    {
+        var folder = Normalize(relativeFolder);
+#if DEBUG
+        return new PhysicalFileProvider(Path.Join(Environment.CurrentDirectory, folder));
+#else
+        return new ManifestEmbeddedFileProvider(Assembly.GetAssembly(typeof(Program))!, folder);
+#endif
+    }
+
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Reads a text file of the app.
+    /// </summary>
+    /// <param name="relativePath">The file, relative to the project folder, e.g., "Assistants/PromptOptimizer/prompting_guideline.md".</param>
+    /// <param name="token">The cancellation token.</param>
+    /// <returns>The text, or an empty string when the app has no such file.</returns>
+    public static async Task<string> ReadTextAsync(string relativePath, CancellationToken token = default)
+    {
+        var path = Normalize(relativePath);
+#if DEBUG
+        var filePath = Path.Join(Environment.CurrentDirectory, path);
+        return File.Exists(filePath) ? await File.ReadAllTextAsync(filePath, Encoding.UTF8, token) : string.Empty;
+#else
+        var file = new ManifestEmbeddedFileProvider(Assembly.GetAssembly(typeof(Program))!).GetFileInfo(path);
+        if (!file.Exists || file.IsDirectory)
+            return string.Empty;
+
+        await using var stream = file.CreateReadStream();
+        using var reader = new StreamReader(stream, Encoding.UTF8);
+        return await reader.ReadToEndAsync(token);
+#endif
+    }
+
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Turns a path into the form both kinds of builds understand: forward slashes, without a slash at either end.
+    /// </summary>
+    /// <param name="relativePath">The path.</param>
+    private static string Normalize(string relativePath) => relativePath.Replace('\\', '/').Trim('/');
+}

app/MindWork AI Studio/Tools/AssistantVisibilityExtensions.cs

@@ -72,6 +72,7 @@ public static class AssistantVisibilityExtensions
                 Components.BATCH_PROCESSING_ASSISTANT => ConfigurableAssistant.BATCH_PROCESSING_ASSISTANT,
                 Components.SLIDE_BUILDER_ASSISTANT => ConfigurableAssistant.SLIDE_BUILDER_ASSISTANT,
                 Components.VISUAL_BRIEFING_ASSISTANT => ConfigurableAssistant.VISUAL_BRIEFING_ASSISTANT,
+                Components.BEYOND_FACTS_LAB_ASSISTANT => ConfigurableAssistant.BEYOND_FACTS_LAB_ASSISTANT,
                 Components.I18N_ASSISTANT => ConfigurableAssistant.I18N_ASSISTANT,
                 Components.LOG_VIEWER_ASSISTANT => ConfigurableAssistant.LOG_VIEWER_ASSISTANT,
 

app/MindWork AI Studio/Tools/Components.cs

@@ -43,4 +43,5 @@ public enum Components
     LOG_VIEWER_ASSISTANT,
     VISUAL_BRIEFING_ASSISTANT,
     BATCH_PROCESSING_ASSISTANT,
+    BEYOND_FACTS_LAB_ASSISTANT,
 }

app/MindWork AI Studio/Tools/ComponentsExtensions.cs

@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@ public static class ComponentsExtensions
         public PreviewFeatures RequiredPreviewFeature => component switch
         {
             Components.VISUAL_BRIEFING_ASSISTANT => PreviewFeatures.PRE_VISUAL_BRIEFING_ASSISTANT_2026,
+            Components.BEYOND_FACTS_LAB_ASSISTANT => PreviewFeatures.PRE_BEYOND_FACTS_LAB_2026,
 
             _ => PreviewFeatures.NONE,
         };
@@ -33,15 +34,16 @@ public static class ComponentsExtensions
         /// <remarks>
         /// Components return <c>false</c> for three different reasons. The chat has no assistant sessions
         /// at all. Dynamic assistants key their sessions per plugin. The visual briefing assistant keys
-        /// its sessions per briefing, so it owns one slot per stored briefing rather than one per
-        /// component. All must be excluded from the single-slot checks, which is why this is a
-        /// capability and not a component comparison.
+        /// its sessions per briefing, and the BeyondFacts Lab per step of a preparation, so they own one
+        /// slot per stored item rather than one per component. All must be excluded from the single-slot
+        /// checks, which is why this is a capability and not a component comparison.
         /// </remarks>
         /// <value><c>true</c> when the component owns exactly one session slot.</value>
         public bool HasSingleSessionSlot => component switch
         {
             Components.CHAT or Components.DYNAMIC_ASSISTANT => false,
             Components.VISUAL_BRIEFING_ASSISTANT => false,
+            Components.BEYOND_FACTS_LAB_ASSISTANT => false,
 
             _ => true,
         };
@@ -68,7 +70,10 @@ public static class ComponentsExtensions
             Components.DOCUMENT_ANALYSIS_ASSISTANT => false,
             Components.BATCH_PROCESSING_ASSISTANT => false,
             Components.LOG_VIEWER_ASSISTANT => false,
-        
+
+            // The lab takes in nothing from other places, and its answers stay in its own steps:
+            Components.BEYOND_FACTS_LAB_ASSISTANT => false,
+
             Components.APP_SETTINGS => false,
             Components.WRITER => false,
         
@@ -105,7 +110,8 @@ public static class ComponentsExtensions
             Components.VISUAL_BRIEFING_ASSISTANT => TB("Visual Briefing Assistant"),
             Components.META_ASSISTANT => TB("Assistant Builder"),
             Components.LOG_VIEWER_ASSISTANT => TB("Log Viewer Assistant"),
-        
+            Components.BEYOND_FACTS_LAB_ASSISTANT => TB("BeyondFacts Lab"),
+
             Components.CHAT => TB("New Chat"),
         
             _ => Enum.GetName(component)!,
@@ -157,7 +163,10 @@ public static class ComponentsExtensions
             Components.SLIDE_BUILDER_ASSISTANT => settingsManager.ConfigurationData.SlideBuilder.PreselectOptions ? settingsManager.ConfigurationData.SlideBuilder.MinimumProviderConfidence : default,
             Components.META_ASSISTANT => settingsManager.ConfigurationData.AssistantBuilder.PreselectOptions ? settingsManager.ConfigurationData.AssistantBuilder.MinimumProviderConfidence : default,
             Components.VISUAL_BRIEFING_ASSISTANT => settingsManager.ConfigurationData.VisualBriefing.MinimumProviderConfidence,
-        
+
+            // Unpublished research is the usual material of the lab, so its minimum never drops below the floor:
+            Components.BEYOND_FACTS_LAB_ASSISTANT => settingsManager.ConfigurationData.BeyondFactsLab.MinimumProviderConfidence > DataBeyondFactsLab.MINIMUM_CONFIDENCE_FLOOR ? settingsManager.ConfigurationData.BeyondFactsLab.MinimumProviderConfidence : DataBeyondFactsLab.MINIMUM_CONFIDENCE_FLOOR,
+
             // The minimum confidence for the Document Analysis Assistant is set per policy.
             // We do this inside the Document Analysis Assistant component:
             Components.DOCUMENT_ANALYSIS_ASSISTANT => ConfidenceLevel.NONE,
@@ -191,6 +200,7 @@ public static class ComponentsExtensions
             Components.SLIDE_BUILDER_ASSISTANT => settingsManager.ConfigurationData.SlideBuilder.PreselectOptions ? settingsManager.GetProviderById(settingsManager.ConfigurationData.SlideBuilder.PreselectedProvider) : Settings.Provider.NONE,
             Components.META_ASSISTANT => settingsManager.ConfigurationData.AssistantBuilder.PreselectOptions ? settingsManager.GetProviderById(settingsManager.ConfigurationData.AssistantBuilder.PreselectedProvider) : Settings.Provider.NONE,
             Components.VISUAL_BRIEFING_ASSISTANT => settingsManager.GetProviderById(settingsManager.ConfigurationData.VisualBriefing.PreselectedProvider),
+            Components.BEYOND_FACTS_LAB_ASSISTANT => settingsManager.GetProviderById(settingsManager.ConfigurationData.BeyondFactsLab.PreselectedProvider),
 
             // The Document Analysis Assistant does not have a preselected provider at the component level.
             // The provider is selected per policy instead. We do this inside the Document Analysis Assistant component.
@@ -229,6 +239,9 @@ public static class ComponentsExtensions
                 // The profile is selected per policy instead. We do this inside the Document Analysis Assistant component:
                 Components.DOCUMENT_ANALYSIS_ASSISTANT => Profile.NO_PROFILE.Id,
 
+                // The lab works with what the person enters in each preparation and never with a profile:
+                Components.BEYOND_FACTS_LAB_ASSISTANT => Profile.NO_PROFILE.Id,
+
                 _ => string.Empty,
             };
 

app/MindWork AI Studio/Tools/DataBackup/DataBackupContents.cs

@@ -45,6 +45,7 @@ public static class DataBackupContents
         new(DataBackupLocation.DATA_DIRECTORY, PLUGINS_FOLDER, DataBackupEntryKind.PLUGINS),
         new(DataBackupLocation.DATA_DIRECTORY, "tokenizers/", DataBackupEntryKind.TOKENIZERS),
         new(DataBackupLocation.DATA_DIRECTORY, "visualBriefings/", DataBackupEntryKind.VISUAL_BRIEFINGS),
+        new(DataBackupLocation.DATA_DIRECTORY, "beyondFactsLab/", DataBackupEntryKind.BEYOND_FACTS_LAB),
         new(DataBackupLocation.DATA_DIRECTORY, "databases/sqlite/", DataBackupEntryKind.DATA_SOURCE_INDEX),
         new(DataBackupLocation.DATA_DIRECTORY, "databases/vector_database/stores/", DataBackupEntryKind.VECTOR_STORES),
         new(DataBackupLocation.DATA_DIRECTORY, "mediaTranscripts/", DataBackupEntryKind.MEDIA_TRANSCRIPTS),

app/MindWork AI Studio/Tools/DataBackup/DataBackupEntry.cs

@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@ public sealed record DataBackupEntry(DataBackupLocation Location, string Relativ
         or DataBackupEntryKind.PLUGINS
         or DataBackupEntryKind.TOKENIZERS
         or DataBackupEntryKind.VISUAL_BRIEFINGS
+        or DataBackupEntryKind.BEYOND_FACTS_LAB
         or DataBackupEntryKind.DATA_SOURCE_INDEX
         or DataBackupEntryKind.VECTOR_STORES
         or DataBackupEntryKind.MEDIA_TRANSCRIPTS;

app/MindWork AI Studio/Tools/DataBackup/DataBackupEntryKind.cs

@@ -41,6 +41,11 @@ public enum DataBackupEntryKind
     /// </summary>
     VISUAL_BRIEFINGS,
 
+    /// <summary>
+    /// The preparations of the BeyondFacts Lab.
+    /// </summary>
+    BEYOND_FACTS_LAB,
+
     /// <summary>
     /// The SQLite index of the data sources: which files are embedded, and their text chunks.
     /// </summary>

app/MindWork AI Studio/Tools/PluginSystem/ILangExtensions.cs

@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ public static class ILangExtensions
                 typeName = typeName[..typeName.IndexOf('`')];
         
             var ns = $"{typeNamespace}::{typeName}".ToUpperInvariant().Replace(".", "::");
-            var key = $"root::{ns}::T{fallbackEN.ToFNV32()}";
+            var key = $"root::{ns}::T{I18NKeyHash.Of(fallbackEN)}";
         
             if(plugin is NoPluginLanguage)
                 return fallbackEN;

app/MindWork AI Studio/Tools/PluginSystem/PluginConfiguration.cs

@@ -516,6 +516,11 @@ public sealed class PluginConfiguration(bool isInternal, LuaState state, PluginT
         ManagedConfiguration.TryProcessConfiguration(x => x.VisualBriefing, x => x.OptimizeImages, this.Id, settingsTable, dryRun);
         ManagedConfiguration.TryProcessConfiguration(x => x.VisualBriefing, x => x.MinimumProviderConfidence, this.Id, settingsTable, dryRun);
 
+        // Config: BeyondFacts Lab defaults?
+        ManagedConfiguration.TryProcessConfiguration(x => x.BeyondFactsLab, x => x.PreselectedProvider, Guid.Empty, this.Id, settingsTable, dryRun);
+        ManagedConfiguration.TryProcessConfiguration(x => x.BeyondFactsLab, x => x.MinimumProviderConfidence, this.Id, settingsTable, dryRun);
+        ManagedConfiguration.TryProcessConfiguration(x => x.BeyondFactsLab, x => x.AddressForm, this.Id, settingsTable, dryRun);
+
         // Config: Assistant Builder defaults?
         ManagedConfiguration.TryProcessConfiguration(x => x.AssistantBuilder, x => x.PreselectOptions, this.Id, settingsTable, dryRun);
         ManagedConfiguration.TryProcessConfiguration(x => x.AssistantBuilder, x => x.PreselectedProvider, Guid.Empty, this.Id, settingsTable, dryRun);

app/MindWork AI Studio/Tools/PluginSystem/PluginFactory.Internal.cs

@@ -1,9 +1,5 @@
 using Microsoft.Extensions.FileProviders;
 
-#if RELEASE
-using System.Reflection;
-#endif
-
 namespace AIStudio.Tools.PluginSystem;
 
 public static partial class PluginFactory
@@ -48,13 +44,7 @@ public static partial class PluginFactory
     {
         try
         {
-            #if DEBUG
-            var basePath = Path.Join(Environment.CurrentDirectory, "Plugins");
-            var resourceFileProvider = new PhysicalFileProvider(basePath);
-            #else
-            var resourceFileProvider = new ManifestEmbeddedFileProvider(Assembly.GetAssembly(type: typeof(Program))!, "Plugins");
-            #endif
-            
+            var resourceFileProvider = AppResources.FolderProvider("Plugins");
             var metaData = plugin.MetaData();
             var mainResourcePath = $"{metaData.ResourcePath}/plugin.lua";
             var resourceInfo = resourceFileProvider.GetFileInfo(mainResourcePath);

app/MindWork AI Studio/Tools/Services/AssistantPluginGenerationService.cs

@@ -1,7 +1,3 @@
-// ReSharper disable RedundantUsingDirective
-using System.Reflection;
-using Microsoft.Extensions.FileProviders;
-// ReSharper restore RedundantUsingDirective
 using System.Text;
 using System.Text.Json;
 using AIStudio.Assistants.Builder;
@@ -255,7 +251,7 @@ public sealed class AssistantPluginGenerationService(ToolRegistry toolRegistry,
 
         foreach (var contextFile in ASSISTANT_CONTEXT_FILES)
         {
-            var content = await ReadAppResourceTextAsync(contextFile.RelativePath);
+            var content = await AppResources.ReadTextAsync(contextFile.RelativePath);
             if (string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(content))
             {
                 logger.LogError($"The context for \"{contextFile.Title}\" could not be read from the assembly. Path: {contextFile.RelativePath}");
@@ -713,7 +709,7 @@ public sealed class AssistantPluginGenerationService(ToolRegistry toolRegistry,
 
     private async Task<string> LoadLuaResponseSchemaAsync()
     {
-        var responseSchema = await ReadAppResourceTextAsync(LUA_RESPONSE_SCHEMA_PATH);
+        var responseSchema = await AppResources.ReadTextAsync(LUA_RESPONSE_SCHEMA_PATH);
         if (!string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(responseSchema))
             return responseSchema.Trim();
 
@@ -743,26 +739,6 @@ public sealed class AssistantPluginGenerationService(ToolRegistry toolRegistry,
         return builder.ToString().Trim();
     }
 
-    private static async Task<string> ReadAppResourceTextAsync(string relativePath)
-    {
-        relativePath = relativePath.Replace('\\', '/');
-#if DEBUG
-        var filePath = Path.Join(Environment.CurrentDirectory, relativePath);
-        return File.Exists(filePath)
-            ? await File.ReadAllTextAsync(filePath)
-            : string.Empty;
-#else
-        var provider = new ManifestEmbeddedFileProvider(Assembly.GetAssembly(type: typeof(Program))!);
-        var file = provider.GetFileInfo(relativePath);
-        if (!file.Exists)
-            return string.Empty;
-
-        await using var stream = file.CreateReadStream();
-        using var reader = new StreamReader(stream, Encoding.UTF8);
-        return await reader.ReadToEndAsync();
-#endif
-    }
-
     private static bool ProviderIsUsable(ProviderSettings provider) => provider != ProviderSettings.NONE && provider.UsedLLMProvider is not LLMProviders.NONE;
 
     private static bool IsValidChatLaunchRequest(AssistantBuilderChatLaunchRequest? launch)