Questions and answers
Frequently asked questions
About the Rubicon plugin for Claude.
What do I need to use it?
The Claude desktop app on a paid plan (Pro, Max, Team or Enterprise), and a folder of documents such as interview transcripts or reports. See how to install it.
What does it cost?
Nothing beyond your Claude subscription. The plugin is free. The AI work runs on your own Claude plan.
We also run workshops and help teams use Rubicon on live evaluations: email hello@causalmap.app.
Where do my documents go?
To Anthropic, under the terms of your Claude plan, as anything you share with Claude does. Nothing goes to Causal Map. On a Pro or Max plan, switch off “Help improve Claude” in Claude’s privacy settings before using client material.
The zip Rubicon makes holds your documents, so share it only with people who may read them.
Which Claude model should I use?
Opus or Fable. On Sonnet the answer may miss passages, and Rubicon does not run on Haiku.
What kinds of question does it answer?
Questions about what documents say: who says what, how many, why, and how groups of documents compare. Rubicon starts by agreeing how your questions fit together and what analysis they can share; each question is then answered by a run of its own, which makes one report. It does not summarise everything in your documents or list themes, because neither can be checked.
It counts what people said, not what happened in the world: “7 of the 20 people interviewed said the training helped” is a Rubicon finding, while “35% of farmers benefited” is not, unless the documents are a sample designed to support it.
Can it judge how good something was?
Yes, against your standard. Before any document is read, it helps you set a rubric: the criteria, the levels and what earns each. It then applies that rubric beside the counts. It never chooses the standard for you.
Does it give identical results every time?
No. Language models do not give the same output twice, so a rerun will not match word for word or count for count.
What Rubicon offers is a run anyone can check: the counts are made by code from the coded passages, so anybody can recount them, and every number and quotation opens the passages behind it.
Can I change the analysis after seeing the results?
Yes. You can revise, update or expand a finished report. Changes of substance go back through the workflow and are recounted. Every revision is dated and kept beside the earlier ones.
What if we stop using Rubicon?
Nothing is locked in. Every run is saved as plain files in an open format, from which another evaluator or a future AI can rebuild the analysis without Rubicon. The plugin’s code is open source, under the MIT licence, on GitHub.
How does Rubicon relate to Causal Map?
Rubicon is an experiment from Causal Map Ltd. It is not a feature of Causal Map. The plugin runs on your own Claude plan and sends nothing to Causal Map.