Academic Literature

Search papers via arXiv, Scholar MCP, and citations.

Skill metadata

Source	Bundled (installed by default)
Path	skills/research/academic-literature
Version	1.0.0
Author	VibeOS
License	MIT
Platforms	linux, macos, windows
Tags	research, academic, arxiv, semantic-scholar, citations
Related skills	arxiv, professional-research, source-critique

Reference: full SKILL.md

info

The following is the complete skill definition that VibeOS loads when this skill is triggered. This is what the agent sees as instructions when the skill is active.

Academic Literature Skill

Find, expand, and summarize scholarly papers. Prefer structured academic APIs over general web search when the question is literature-shaped.

When to Use

• “Papers on X”, literature review, citation chase, related work.
• Need DOI / arXiv id / citation graph — not news or product pages.

Prerequisites

• Bundled arxiv skill (curl / scripts/search_arxiv.py) always available.
• Optional: install catalog MCP scholar-search: vibeos mcp install scholar-search (Semantic Scholar + arXiv; optional SEMANTIC_SCHOLAR_API_KEY for higher limits).
• web_extract for PDF/HTML full text when needed.

How to Run

1. Clarify scope: years, venues, must-include authors, survey vs SOTA.
2. Search:
   • If Scholar MCP tools exist → search_papers (or equivalent).
   • Else → arxiv skill / Semantic Scholar HTTP as documented in arxiv.
3. Expand: citations, references, author papers, recommendations.
4. Read abstracts; extract 2–5 key PDFs with web_extract.
5. Deliver a literature brief (template below). Critique venue/quality lightly.

Quick Reference

Need	Tool
Keyword / category search	Scholar MCP search_papers or arXiv API
One paper by id/DOI	get_paper_details / arXiv id_list
Who cites this	get_paper_citations
Bibliography	get_paper_references
Similar work	get_paper_recommendations
Full text	web_extract on abs/pdf URL; optional download_arxiv_source

Literature brief template

# Literature: <topic>

## Scope
Years / venues / inclusion rules

## Key papers
| # | Title | Year | Venue/arXiv | Why it matters | Cite |
|---|-------|------|-------------|----------------|------|

## Themes
1. ...
2. ...

## Gaps / open questions
- ...

## Suggested reading order
1. Survey / foundation
2. Core method papers
3. Recent SOTA

## Sources
...

Pitfalls

• Don’t treat arXiv as peer-reviewed; say “preprint” when relevant.
• Check withdrawal/retraction notes in abstracts.
• Prefer versioned arXiv ids in citations when you read a specific version.
• General web_search is a fallback for blogs/talks — not the primary lit path.

Verification

• At least 3 real paper ids/URLs (or honest “few results”).
• Years/venues stated when available.
• Reading order present for 3+ papers.