3. The local cache
Every paper a search returns goes into a SQLite database, ~/.local/share/mosaic/cache.db. After the searches of the first two chapters it already holds a small library:
$ mosaic cache stats
Papers cached 80
with abstract 63
open access 47
with PDF URL 49
Downloads (ok) 0
Searches logged 7
Exports tracked 0
DB size 0.22 MBWhen a paper arrives again, from another source or another search, mosaic fills in what the stored record lacks: it keeps the first PDF link it learned, the longer of the two abstracts, a citation count, and the open-access flag if any source set it.
Searching offline
--cached searches the database and nothing else: no network, no keys, an answer in a fraction of a second.
$ mosaic search "thruster simulation" --cached --sort year
Searching local cache for 'thruster simulation'…
# Title Authors Year DOI Source OA PDF Cited
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
1 Near-Wall Pathways of Anomalous Zhe Liu et 2026 10.1103/p8v6-66mq arXiv yes ✓ –
Electron Transport in Hall al.
Thrusters Revealed b…
2 Axial-azimuthal Fluid Modelling Poli D & 2026 10.21203/rs.3.rs- Europe PMC no – –
of the Hall Effect Thruster Ahedo E. 10852565/v1
Discharge
3 Analysis of plasma oscillations Miranda RA 2025 10.21203/rs.3.rs- Europe PMC no – –
in numerical simulations of a et al. 6346950/v1
Hall thruster usi…
4 Data-driven analysis of Bayón-Buján 2025 10.1007/s44205-02 Europe PMC yes ✓ –
⋮ (115 lines not shown)
40 result(s)The words of the query must all appear in the title or the abstract, in any order. The options of a live search work on cached results too: filters, --sort, --output, --download.
Browsing and reading a record
$ mosaic cache list -n 5
# Title Authors Year Source OA PDF Abstr
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
1 Plasma-induced surface cooling. Tomko JA et al. 2022 PubMed Central ✓ ✓ –
2 Spatiotemporal dynamics of Kawachi Y et al. 2022 PubMed Central ✓ ✓ –
high-wavenumber turbulence in a
basic laboratory plas
3 Modulated electron cyclotron drift Tsikata S & Minea T 2015 PubMed ✗ – –
instability in a high-power pulsed
magnetron
4 Nonlinear simulations and anomalous Koshkarov, O. et al. 2016 Crossref ✗ – –
transport in hall thruster plasma
5 Optimal Experimental Design for Allen, Madison G. et 2024 Crossref ✗ – –
Inferring Anomalous Electron al.
Transport in a Hall
Showing 1–5 of 80mosaic cache list pages through the cache, newest first: -n papers per page, --offset to move on, -q to filter. mosaic cache show prints one record in full, given a DOI, an arXiv ID or a uid:
$ mosaic cache show 10.3390/aerospace10010044
Title PIC-DSMC Simulation of a Hall Thruster Plume with Charge Exchange Effects Using pdFOAM
Authors Sang Hun Kang
Year 2023
DOI 10.3390/aerospace10010044
arXiv ID –
Journal Aerospace
Source DOAJ
Open access yes
PDF URL https://www.mdpi.com/2226-4310/10/1/44
Citation count –
UID doi:10.3390/aerospace10010044
Abstract To develop technologies for the stable operation of electric propulsion systems, the effects of
charge exchange (CEX) on the exhaust plume of a Hall thruster were studied using the
particle-in-cell direct simulation Monte Carlo (PIC-DSMC) method. For the numerical analysis, an
OpenFOAM-based code, p…The PDF URL of this record is the MDPI article page, not a PDF. Chapter 4 shows what happens when you ask for it.
Preferring what you have
A live search shows the records the sources return today. With --prefer-cache, a paper whose cached record is complete (title, year, authors and abstract) is shown from the cache instead:
mosaic search "hall thruster particle-in-cell" --prefer-cacheUse it when earlier searches built richer records than a source returns now.
What you learned
The cache records every result; --cached searches it offline; mosaic cache stats, list and show inspect it. Reference: cache, guide: The cache.
Next: 4. Getting the PDFs.