bloom

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In 1984, educational psychologist Benjamin Bloom discovered that students receiving one-on-one tutoring scored 2 standard deviations (+2σ) above the classroom average — jumping to the top 2%. Bloom called this the "2 Sigma Problem": the effect is proven, but personal tutors don't scale.

Bloom solves this with AI. It generates a structured syllabus, delivers lessons one at a time, reads your annotations and feedback, then tailors the next lesson to your exact understanding level — just like a real tutor would.

Two Ways to Use

Mode	Setup	Best for
CLI	Claude Code + terminal	Power users who like Markdown editors
Web	Browser (React + FastAPI)	Visual learners, shareable setup

Both follow the same flow: syllabus → lesson → annotate → feedback → next lesson → evaluation → summary.

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Quick Start: CLI Mode

Requires only Claude Code. No backend.

git clone https://github.com/Li-Evan/Bloom.git
cd Bloom

# Install the tutor skill locally for this clone
mkdir -p .claude/skills
cp -R skills/bloom-tutor .claude/skills/

claude

Then say: Create a new folder and help me learn [any topic]

Or install it as a plugin (bundles bloom-tutor plus the learn-* skills) — in Claude Code:

/plugin marketplace add Li-Evan/Bloom
/plugin install bloom@li-evan

See GUIDE.md for the full walkthrough.

Quick Start: Web Mode

Prerequisites

• Python 3.11+ with uv
• Node.js 18+
• An OpenAI-compatible LLM API key (e.g. DashScope, OpenAI, etc.)

Setup

git clone https://github.com/Li-Evan/Bloom.git
cd Bloom

# Configure
cp .env.example .env
# Edit .env — fill in LLM_API_KEY

# Backend
cd backend && uv sync && uv run uvicorn app.main:app --reload --port 8000

# Frontend (new terminal)
cd frontend && npm install && npm run dev

Open http://localhost:5173. Click New Course, choose Topic, Source Upload, or Project Files, and start learning.

Docker

cp .env.example .env   # fill in API key
docker compose up -d   # visit http://localhost:3000

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How It Works

Topic Mode

Create course → AI generates syllabus + lesson 01
                        ↓
        Read lesson → highlight text → add annotations
                        ↓
        Write feedback → answer thought questions
                        ↓
        Click "Done Reading" → AI generates next lesson
        (answer review + annotation responses + new content)
                        ↓
        Repeat until all mastery items checked ✅
                        ↓
        Auto-generate evaluation → then summary

Source Mode

Upload PDF / TXT / MD → AI generates syllabus + source-reading chapter
                          ↓
       Read source → highlight text → ask and get an immediate answer
                          ↓
       Click "Done Reading" → AI reads the full source + Q&A, then generates the next lesson
                          ↓
       Continue with the normal adaptive lesson flow

Project Files

Upload a file / multiple files / a whole folder → each file renders directly as one page
                          ↓
       Read each file → highlight text → ask and get an immediate answer
                          ↓
       No syllabus, no next-lesson generation; the files and highlight Q&A feed next-step recommendations

Features

• Three course modes — generate from a topic, upload a PDF/TXT/MD source, or Project Files (upload files/a folder, render each directly, highlight-ask anytime, no syllabus or next-lesson generation)
• Learning depth — choose simple, standard, or deep syllabus expansion when creating a course; shown as a badge on each course card
• Reference material — paste textbook chapters, papers, or notes when creating a topic course
• Next-topic recommendations — generate 3 course-ready topics from your full learning history, refresh the set, save ideas to a learning queue, or start one directly through the normal syllabus → lesson flow
• Highlight Q&A sessions — select any text in any lesson (or source) and a small icon pops up; click it to ask. The highlighted text stays marked in yellow, the AI answers instantly, and you can keep asking follow-ups in the same thread. The window is draggable and collapses into a margin dot you can reopen anytime. Each session sees the full lesson + the highlighted span + its own conversation, and your questions still feed the next lesson.
• Adaptive lessons — each lesson addresses your specific gaps from the previous one
• Chapter sidebar — quick-jump between lessons while reading
• Collapsible syllabus — track mastery progress without clutter
• Streaming generation — watch AI write the next lesson in real-time
• Personal center & learning calendar — open the profile from the header to see a month calendar shaded by daily activity; click any day to see which courses, lessons, and highlights you studied, alongside overview stat cards and a six-month contribution heatmap (streaks and grouping use your local date)

Skills

Bloom ships a set of portable Claude Code skills in skills/ — self-contained capability packs you can copy into ~/.claude/skills/ (global) or any project's .claude/skills/ and use anywhere.

Skill	What it does
bloom-tutor	The full interactive tutoring system as one skill — syllabus → adaptive lessons → ??? annotations → evaluation → summary. CLI mode, packaged and portable.
learn-deep	Default deep-dive entry — runs all five lenses below in one pass, then helps you pick a direction
learn-crossover	Learn a new concept by leveraging what you already know (structural analogies)
learn-occam	Decide whether / how deeply something is worth learning (ROI, just-enough)
learn-graph	Build a knowledge-graph map of a field plus a learning path
learn-prototype	Learn by building the crappiest working prototype, then iterating
learn-feynman	Verify true understanding by explaining it back

Each folder is dependency-free: copy it into a skills directory, then just talk to Claude Code (e.g. "help me learn X", "I'm done reading").

Tech Stack

Layer	Technology
Backend	Python, FastAPI, SQLAlchemy, SQLite
Frontend	React, Vite, Tailwind CSS
AI	Any OpenAI-compatible LLM API
Container	Docker, docker-compose
Font	Outfit, JetBrains Mono

Commands

make dev-backend      # backend with hot reload
make dev-frontend     # frontend dev server
make test             # run pytest
make up / make down   # docker start / stop

Project Structure

├── GUIDE.md               # CLI usage guide
├── .env.example           # env template
├── backend/
│   └── app/
│       ├── courses.py     # course, lesson, annotation, feedback, stats, summary APIs
│       ├── recommendations.py # next-topic recommendation APIs
│       ├── models.py      # Course, Lesson, Annotation, Feedback, Recommendation
│       └── config.py      # reads .env
├── frontend/
│   └── src/pages/
│       ├── DashboardPage  # course list + create form
│       ├── CoursePage     # syllabus + lesson list
│       └── LessonPage     # reader + annotations + feedback + AI gen
├── example/               # pre-built topics for CLI mode
├── site/                  # marketing website (standalone Astro static build, decoupled from the app)
└── skills/                # portable Claude Code skills (bloom-tutor + learn-*)

The Science

Concept	What it means
Bloom's 2 Sigma	1-on-1 tutoring = +2σ performance over classroom
Mastery Learning	Don't move on until the concept is truly understood
Socratic Method	Ask questions, don't hand answers
Spaced Retrieval	Thought question reviews at lesson start reinforce memory
Adaptive Path	Content adjusts to individual feedback in real-time

Star History

[

![Star History Chart](https://api.star-history.com/svg?repos=Li-Evan/Bloom&type=Date)

](https://star-history.com/#Li-Evan/Bloom&Date)

License

MIT