Scira (formerly MiniPerplx) is an open-source AI search engine built by indie developer Zaid Mukaddam as a Perplexity-style assistant for research and analysis. It runs queries through multiple LLMs, browses the web, and returns answers with inline citations so you can verify the sources yourself.

Beyond plain web search, Scira can connect to over 100 third-party apps including GitHub, Notion and Slack, letting you ask questions across your own data without leaving the chat UI. The full project is published on GitHub under an AGPL-style license and the hosted version at scira.app offers a free tier with a Pro upgrade for higher quotas and the latest models.

The project started as a minimalist Perplexity clone called MiniPerplx and rebranded as Scira after gaining traction in the open-source AI community. It has been featured in HN and Twitter threads as one of the more polished open-source alternatives to closed AI search tools.