This mod is inspired directly by the main feature of Terraria's "Journey Mode". It is a pseudo-creative mode where it is possible to create infinite resources, but you first have to earn that ability per item by obtaining a specific quantity of said item, and then using it for "research". This means that instead of having god-like powers from the start, you have to play the game in a survival-esque way, using mostly traditional methods, with duplication often only aiding in reducing the total amount of grinding, and in some cases, providing more of a reason to build big, intricate, and/or luxurious structures.
No hard dependencies are necessary. There is support for sfinv and unified_inventory, though, which lets the research and duplication menus appear as tabs in the regular survival inventory. Without either, those menus are accessed through the /research and /duplicate commands.
