Quick Verdict
The current canonical remains iflow.cn. On July 18, 2026, the official page title identified “Xinliu AI Assistant” and described real-time web-connected answers, long-webpage summaries, document outlines, and creative prompts. Its page metadata also referenced paper search and AI paper reading. The Chinese name Xinliu, written 心流, and the romanized iFlow label coexist. It is more accurate to call the product “Xinliu AI Assistant (iFlow)” than to claim a complete rename to an unrelated product.
Several old claims could not be supported by the current public consumer page, including a fixed 30-million-paper collection, specific model lineage, and corporate attribution details. This review removes them rather than presenting an old directory paragraph as current official fact. Discovery of a paper title does not prove full-text access, database completeness, research quality, or permission to reuse the content.
The product-family boundary is essential. platform.iflow.cn currently presents “iFlow Search,” a developer platform offering Web Search, Image Search, Web Fetch, and agent integration through MCP, Skills, and HTTP. It is related in brand but not the same user interface or commercial scope as the consumer assistant. Separately, the official iFlow CLI repository states that the CLI shut down on April 17, 2026. The CLI closure does not establish that Xinliu Assistant or iFlow Search closed; both had live official pages on the review date.
Best For
- Chinese-speaking students, research assistants, and knowledge workers using web answers, page summaries, and document outlines.
- Content teams that want a domestic Chinese research starting point and will verify original sources.
- Developers separately evaluating a Chinese public-web retrieval layer for agents through iFlow Search.
- Users who need a lightweight bridge from discovery to reading and drafting.
- It is not suitable for relying on an unverified fixed scholarly corpus, deploying the discontinued CLI, or uploading sensitive materials without current data review.
Key Features
- Chinese web-connected answers: the consumer page confirms real-time retrieval and answering. Sources can still be old, duplicated, or insufficient for a conclusion.
- Webpage summarization: helps triage long material, while potentially omitting caveats that remain important in the original.
- Document assistance: organizes outlines and offers drafting ideas. Facts, quotations, references, and final wording remain the user’s responsibility.
- Paper and professional-material discovery: paper search and reading remain part of official page metadata, but no stable public evidence supports a fixed corpus size or complete database list.
- iFlow Search developer platform: separately offers web search, image search, and page fetch through agent-oriented integrations and APIs.
- App and browser behavior: the official page provides an app QR code and warns that older browsers may not support all features. Synchronization and file limits require live account testing.
Use Cases
For early paper exploration, use Xinliu to identify vocabulary, related concepts, and candidate works. Then move to the publisher, DOI, institutional repository, or original database. A search hit is not proof that a paper is reliable or that full text is licensed. An abstract or AI summary cannot replace methods, sample, limitations, and appendices. NotebookLM is stronger when synthesis should remain over a user-selected source set, while Kimi is an alternative for Chinese long-document conversation.
For a report, preserve each original link and publication date before asking for an outline. Label facts, interpretations, and recommendations separately. Every final claim should point to an original source that actually supports it. For Chinese whole-web discovery, compare Metaso; for a developer-facing retrieval component, compare Bocha.
Developers using iFlow Search should set timeouts, bounded retries, caching, URL normalization, duplicate removal, domain policies, and redacted logs. Search snippets must not be presented as verified full-page evidence. The discontinued iFlow CLI should not be selected for new automation. Existing users should migrate workflows and revoke obsolete credentials.
Pricing
The consumer homepage did not expose a complete current paid-plan matrix, so this directory retains pricing: 免费 only as a description of the visible free entry. It does not mean unlimited, permanently free, or free across every feature. iFlow Search has its own pricing entry and its API allowances must not be inferred from the consumer assistant. iFlow CLI is discontinued rather than an active purchasable tier.
| Product scope | Status on July 18, 2026 | Verify before reliance |
|---|---|---|
Xinliu Assistant at iflow.cn | Official consumer page online | Login, questions, files, history, and free limits |
| Xinliu app | Official page provides a QR code | Store version, permissions, synchronization, and parity |
| iFlow Search platform | Official developer page online | API/MCP/Skills, quotas, pricing, logs, and SLA |
| iFlow CLI | Repository announces April 17, 2026 shutdown | Do not deploy; migrate and revoke credentials |
| Historical plan claims | Not treated as current evidence | Use live official account, checkout, and contract |
Pros
- Current consumer positioning clearly covers Chinese web Q&A, webpage summaries, and document drafting.
- Consumer and developer search paths support personal use and agent integration separately.
- A practical Chinese-language bridge from source discovery to reading and writing.
- Developer platform clearly lists Web Search, Image Search, and Web Fetch components.
- Visible free consumer entry supports testing with non-sensitive real work.
Cons
- The public consumer page provides limited detail about pricing, quotas, advanced features, and data handling.
- Xinliu Assistant, iFlow Search, and discontinued iFlow CLI are easily conflated in old guides.
- Historical paper-count, model, and ownership claims lack sufficient current public confirmation.
- Web citations and summaries can omit caveats or point to repeated secondary sources.
- Long-term team requirements such as roles, audits, exports, and support need written verification.
Alternatives
| Tool | Best for | Relative strength | Main tradeoff |
|---|---|---|---|
| Metaso | Chinese whole-web research | More concentrated end-user search workflow | Different developer and product boundaries |
| Kimi | Chinese long documents and context | Mature, direct document conversation | Search API is not the primary identity |
| NotebookLM | Synthesis over specified sources | More controlled evidence collection | Chinese open-web discovery is less central |
| Bocha | Chinese web-search API and RAG | Clear developer retrieval positioning | Different consumer knowledge workflow |
| Zhihu Zhida | Zhihu, web, and personal knowledge Q&A | Strong community and saved-content context | Community bias and data handling need review |
FAQ
Was Xinliu renamed iFlow?
The official product uses both 心流 and iFlow. Its consumer title still says Xinliu AI Assistant, so a dual-name description is more accurate than declaring a complete rename.
Is iflow.cn still the canonical entry?
Yes for the consumer assistant. The developer search platform is separately located at platform.iflow.cn and has its own scope and terms.
Did the iFlow CLI shutdown close Xinliu Assistant?
No. The CLI repository announced an April 17, 2026 shutdown, while the consumer assistant and search-platform pages remained online on the review date. One product status must not be projected onto the entire brand.
Does Xinliu definitely include 30 million authoritative papers?
That historical figure could not be verified from the current public official page, so it is not retained. Verify paper metadata, full text, and source quality in original databases.
Can cited search output be quoted directly?
No. Open the original, verify author, date, version, surrounding text, and the exact proposition. A snippet or generated summary may remove material conditions.
Is Xinliu free?
The consumer page has a visible free entry but no complete public plan matrix. Do not infer permanent unlimited access, and treat developer API pricing separately.
Bottom Line
Xinliu remains a live Chinese knowledge assistant whose current defensible scope is web-connected answering, webpage summaries, and document assistance, with a separate iFlow Search platform for developers. The most important correction is product identity: the discontinued CLI is not the consumer assistant, and historical corpus or model claims are not current proof. Verify original sources, separate each product’s pricing and policy, and pilot only with approved, de-identified information.