Getting started

Cortex is an LCA data workbench. It searches background data across fourteen databases, matches a bill of materials to emission factors, and — in Cowork — runs the calculation in the engine you already use. It does not invent numbers. Every value carries a source, a version, a region, a system model, and a DQI score.

Two ways to use it

Cortex Chat — the web surface, for single questions. Look up a material, compare a factor across databases, ask why two datasets disagree on a system model. Conversations sync across devices. Free to try; Pro for daily work.

Cortex Cowork — the desktop surface, for projects that run for weeks. It reads files from your machine, writes results back, keeps an audit log, and drives a calculation engine. Cowork is on the Plus plan.

Chat answers questions. Cowork runs workflows.

Install

Cowork ships as a native app for macOS, Windows, and Linux. Download the latest build from the releases page. Install does not require a login; database search and cloud sync do.

Your first query

Open Chat and name a material — in English or Chinese. Cortex asks at most one clarifying question, then returns a ranked candidate list: top-k, not top-1. Each row shows the GWP value where you have access, the source and version, the region, the system model, and the DQI breakdown.

For a commercial database you have not licensed, the row still appears — name, source, version, region — with the number withheld until access exists. Cortex never fills the gap with a literature estimate.

Where to go next

• Connecting a database — which databases are free, which are licensed, and how to turn one on. See Connecting a database.
• Running a full calculation — from BOM to impact assessment in Cowork. See Running a calculation.