Cogniscor/QUICKSTART.md

Cogniscor - Quick Start Guide

Get up and running with Cogniscor in 5 minutes!

Prerequisites

Ensure you have:

• ✅ Java 17 or higher installed
• ✅ Maven 3.6+ installed
• ✅ Internet connection

Check your Java version:

java -version

Step 1: Build the Project

mvn clean package

This will:

• Download all dependencies
• Compile the source code
• Run tests
• Create an executable JAR file

Expected output: BUILD SUCCESS

Step 2: Run Setup (First Time)

./cogniscor.sh --setup

Follow the prompts to configure (takes 2 minutes).

Step 3: Run Your First Analysis

Easy way - Use the friendly shell script:

./cogniscor.sh "https://github.com"

Or directly with the JAR:

java -jar target/cogniscor-1.0-SNAPSHOT.jar "https://github.com"

Note: Just provide the URL - AI automatically detects the company name!

You'll see:

╔════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
║                      COGNISCOR                             ║
║              Company Research & Analysis                   ║
╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝

📊 Step 1/3: Collecting data from web sources...
   ✓ Collected data from X sources

🔍 Step 2/3: Analyzing collected data...
   ✓ Analysis complete

📝 Step 3/3: Generating reports...
   ✓ Reports generated

Step 3: View Results

Results are saved in the data/ directory:

ls data/github/

You'll find:

• sources/ - Individual Markdown files for each data source
• reports/ - Executive summary and detailed report

View the executive summary:

cat data/github/reports/executive_summary.md

View the detailed report:

cat data/github/reports/detailed_report.md

Example Companies to Try

# Tech Companies
./cogniscor.sh "https://stripe.com"
./cogniscor.sh "https://notion.so"
./cogniscor.sh "https://figma.com"

# Enterprise
./cogniscor.sh "https://salesforce.com"
./cogniscor.sh "https://ibm.com"

# Startups
./cogniscor.sh "https://vercel.com"

Common Options

Show help:

./cogniscor.sh --help

Enable verbose logging:

./cogniscor.sh -v "Company" "https://url.com"

Custom output directory:

./cogniscor.sh --output ./results "Company" "https://url.com"

Force rebuild:

./cogniscor.sh --build "Company" "https://url.com"

Troubleshooting

Build Fails

Solution: Make sure Java 17+ is active

export JAVA_HOME=/path/to/java17
mvn clean package

Slow Execution

Normal: Each company takes 30-60 seconds due to rate limiting (respectful scraping)

Few Sources Found

Tip: Try the exact official website URL (with or without www)

Connection Errors

Check: Your internet connection and firewall settings

Next Steps

1. Read the README.md for detailed documentation
2. Check example output in data/example_company/
3. Customize configuration in src/main/resources/config.properties
4. View logs in logs/cogniscor.log for debugging

Tips for Best Results

✅ DO:

• Use the official company website URL
• Include https:// in the URL
• Wait for the process to complete (30-60 seconds)
• Check the logs if something goes wrong

❌ DON'T:

• Use shortened URLs or redirects
• Interrupt the process mid-execution
• Run too frequently (respect rate limits)

What to Expect

Successful Sources (usually work well):

• Official company website ✅
• Wikipedia (for established companies) ✅
• Public company pages ✅

May Not Work:

• Sites requiring login (LinkedIn, Glassdoor)
• Sites with heavy JavaScript
• Sites with aggressive bot protection

This is normal! The tool gracefully handles failures and still generates useful reports from available sources.

Example Output Structure

data/
└── github/
    ├── sources/
    │   ├── 01_official_website.md    ← Raw data from GitHub.com
    │   ├── 02_wikipedia.md           ← GitHub Wikipedia page
    │   ├── 03_linkedin.md            ← Attempt at LinkedIn (may fail)
    │   ├── 04_crunchbase.md          ← Crunchbase data (if available)
    │   ├── 05_glassdoor.md           ← Reviews (may fail)
    │   └── 06_news.md                ← Recent news
    │
    └── reports/
        ├── executive_summary.md      ← Quick overview (1-2 pages)
        └── detailed_report.md        ← Full analysis (10+ sections)

That's It! 🎉

You're ready to research companies with Cogniscor. For more details, see:

• README.md - Full documentation
• PROJECT_SUMMARY.md - Technical details
• data/example_company/ - Sample output

Happy researching! 🚀