Literature Review
neflibata-feng/MyArxiv-Agent
Conduct comprehensive, systematic literature reviews using multiple academic databases (PubMed, arXiv, bioRxiv, Semantic Scholar, etc.).
Agent skill
Academic Paper Search
by brycewang-stanford in brycewang-stanford/Auto-Empirical-Research-Skills
This skill should be used when the user asks to "search for academic papers", "find working papers on SSRN", "look up a DOI", "download paper PDF", "check open access availability", "search NBER…
Install Academic Paper Search
$ npx skills add brycewang-stanford/Auto-Empirical-Research-Skills --skill academic-paper-search -a claude-codeProject install by default; add -g for ~/.claude/skills/.
$ gh skill install brycewang-stanford/Auto-Empirical-Research-Skills academic-paper-search --agent claude-codeProject scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/brycewang-stanford/Auto-Empirical-Research-Skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/68-research-productivity-skills/academic-paper-search .claude/skills/academic-paper-search && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.claude/skills/ instead of .claude/skills for a personal install. The folder must contain SKILL.md.
Claude Code skills documentation · loads skills from .claude/skills/
Install the "academic-paper-search" agent skill from https://github.com/brycewang-stanford/Auto-Empirical-Research-Skills/tree/main/skills/68-research-productivity-skills/academic-paper-search into .claude/skills/academic-paper-search/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "academic-paper-search", then confirm the skill loads.Claude Code copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
$skill-installer install https://github.com/brycewang-stanford/Auto-Empirical-Research-Skills/tree/main/skills/68-research-productivity-skills/academic-paper-searchType this inside Codex. $skill-installer <name> installs a curated skill from openai/skills. The installer writes to $CODEX_HOME/skills (default ~/.codex/skills). Restart Codex if the skill does not show up.
$ npx skills add brycewang-stanford/Auto-Empirical-Research-Skills --skill academic-paper-search -a codexProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.codex/skills/.
$ gh skill install brycewang-stanford/Auto-Empirical-Research-Skills academic-paper-search --agent codexProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/brycewang-stanford/Auto-Empirical-Research-Skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .agents/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/68-research-productivity-skills/academic-paper-search .agents/skills/academic-paper-search && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.agents/skills/ instead of .agents/skills for a personal install.
Codex skills documentation · loads skills from .agents/skills/
Install the "academic-paper-search" agent skill from https://github.com/brycewang-stanford/Auto-Empirical-Research-Skills/tree/main/skills/68-research-productivity-skills/academic-paper-search into .agents/skills/academic-paper-search/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "academic-paper-search", then confirm the skill loads.Codex copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
$ npx skills add brycewang-stanford/Auto-Empirical-Research-Skills --skill academic-paper-search -a cursorProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.cursor/skills/.
$ gh skill install brycewang-stanford/Auto-Empirical-Research-Skills academic-paper-search --agent cursorProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/brycewang-stanford/Auto-Empirical-Research-Skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .cursor/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/68-research-productivity-skills/academic-paper-search .cursor/skills/academic-paper-search && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.cursor/skills/ instead of .cursor/skills for a personal install.
Cursor skills documentation · loads skills from .cursor/skills/, .agents/skills/, .claude/skills/, .codex/skills/
Install the "academic-paper-search" agent skill from https://github.com/brycewang-stanford/Auto-Empirical-Research-Skills/tree/main/skills/68-research-productivity-skills/academic-paper-search into .cursor/skills/academic-paper-search/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "academic-paper-search", then confirm the skill loads.Cursor copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
$ gemini skills install https://github.com/brycewang-stanford/Auto-Empirical-Research-Skills.git --path skills/68-research-productivity-skills/academic-paper-search--scope user (default) or --scope workspace; --path is the subfolder of the repo that holds the skill; --consent skips the security confirmation prompt.
$ npx skills add brycewang-stanford/Auto-Empirical-Research-Skills --skill academic-paper-search -a gemini-cliProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.gemini/skills/.
$ gh skill install brycewang-stanford/Auto-Empirical-Research-Skills academic-paper-search --agent gemini-cliProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/brycewang-stanford/Auto-Empirical-Research-Skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .gemini/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/68-research-productivity-skills/academic-paper-search .gemini/skills/academic-paper-search && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.gemini/skills/ instead of .gemini/skills for a personal install, then run /skills reload.
Gemini CLI skills documentation · loads skills from .gemini/skills/, .agents/skills/
Install the "academic-paper-search" agent skill from https://github.com/brycewang-stanford/Auto-Empirical-Research-Skills/tree/main/skills/68-research-productivity-skills/academic-paper-search into .gemini/skills/academic-paper-search/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "academic-paper-search", then confirm the skill loads.Gemini CLI copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
$ gh skill install brycewang-stanford/Auto-Empirical-Research-Skills academic-paper-searchInstalls for Copilot at project scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Preview a skill first with gh skill preview. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).
$ npx skills add brycewang-stanford/Auto-Empirical-Research-Skills --skill academic-paper-search -a github-copilotProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.copilot/skills/.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/brycewang-stanford/Auto-Empirical-Research-Skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .github/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/68-research-productivity-skills/academic-paper-search .github/skills/academic-paper-search && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.copilot/skills/ instead of .github/skills for a personal install. Commit .github/skills so cloud agent and code review can use it.
GitHub Copilot skills documentation · loads skills from .github/skills/, .claude/skills/, .agents/skills/
Install the "academic-paper-search" agent skill from https://github.com/brycewang-stanford/Auto-Empirical-Research-Skills/tree/main/skills/68-research-productivity-skills/academic-paper-search into .github/skills/academic-paper-search/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "academic-paper-search", then confirm the skill loads.GitHub Copilot copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
$ npx skills add brycewang-stanford/Auto-Empirical-Research-Skills --skill academic-paper-search -a opencodeOpenCode documents no install command of its own. Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.config/opencode/skills/.
$ gh skill install brycewang-stanford/Auto-Empirical-Research-Skills academic-paper-search --agent opencodeProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/brycewang-stanford/Auto-Empirical-Research-Skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .opencode/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/68-research-productivity-skills/academic-paper-search .opencode/skills/academic-paper-search && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.config/opencode/skills/ instead of .opencode/skills for a personal install.
OpenCode skills documentation · loads skills from .opencode/skills/, .claude/skills/, .agents/skills/
Install the "academic-paper-search" agent skill from https://github.com/brycewang-stanford/Auto-Empirical-Research-Skills/tree/main/skills/68-research-productivity-skills/academic-paper-search into .opencode/skills/academic-paper-search/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "academic-paper-search", then confirm the skill loads.OpenCode copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
Facts
- Skill name
academic-paper-search- GitHub stars
- 4.6k
- Token cost
- ~3.5k tokens
- SKILL.md length
- 810 words
- Files
- 2 (incl. references)
- Skills in repo
- 383
- Repo updated
- First seen
- Licence
- Custom licence
At a glance
This skill should be used when the user asks to "search for academic papers", "find working papers on SSRN", "look up a DOI", "download paper PDF", "check open access availability", "search NBER…
- Works in 7 steps: OpenAlex API (Best All-Round) → CrossRef API (Best for DOI Metadata) → arXiv API (Preprints —… → …
- Asks to search for academic papers
- SKILL.md covers Decision Tree: Which API to Use, 1. OpenAlex API (Best All-Round), 2. CrossRef API (Best for DOI… and 3. arXiv API (Preprints —…, plus 4 more sections
- Calls curl and python3; reaches api.openalex.org and nber.org
What it does
Academic Paper Search is an agent skill from brycewang-stanford/Auto-Empirical-Research-Skills. This skill should be used when the user asks to "search for academic papers", "find working papers on SSRN", "look up a DOI", "download paper PDF", "check open access availability", "search NBER papers", "find arXiv preprints", or "search CrossRef". Provides unified search, metadata retrieval, and PDF download across arXiv, NBER, SSRN, CrossRef, OpenAlex, Unpaywall, and Semantic Scholar. Covers economics, finance, social science, CS/AI, and all academic disciplines.
Its SKILL.md is about 3.5k tokens, which your agent loads only when the skill is triggered. The skill folder holds 2 other files, including reference files (for example `references/journal_identifiers.md`).
It sits in Research & Science, covering Academic paper search. It works with arXiv and Semantic Scholar. The repository describes itself as: 🔬 A curated collection of 23,000+ agent skills for empirical research across 8 social science disciplines. | 精选 23,000+ AI Agent 技能库，覆盖8大社会科学学科的实证研究。CoPaper.AI…
When your agent uses it
- Asks to search for academic papers
- Find working papers on SSRN
- Download paper PDF
- Check open access availability
Example prompts
- “search for academic papers”
- “find working papers on SSRN”
- “look up a DOI”
- “/academic-paper-search”
Requirements
- Python 3
- A credential in YOUR_KEY
- Pre-approved tools (allowed-tools): Bash, Read, Write, Edit, Glob, Grep, WebFetch, WebSearch, Agent
Workflow steps
7 steps, taken from the step headings in SKILL.md.
- OpenAlex API (Best All-Round)
- CrossRef API (Best for DOI Metadata)
- arXiv API (Preprints — CS/AI/Physics/Math/Econ)
- NBER API (Economics Working Papers)
- Unpaywall API (Open Access PDF Finder)
- Semantic Scholar API (Citations & Impact)
- Tavily Search (Fallback for Any Source)
What it can do on your machine
Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit 9fa87d8. It shows what the files ask for, not the result of running them.
Tool permissions
Pre-approves these tools, so the agent can use them without asking each time:
BashReadWriteEditGlobGrepWebFetchWebSearchAgent
From allowed-tools in the SKILL.md frontmatter.
Runs code
Shell commands in SKILL.md call:
curlpython3
From the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.
Network
Hosts in commands or code, which the agent is likely to contact:
api.openalex.orgnber.orgarxiv.orgapi.crossref.orgapi.semanticscholar.orgdoi.orgexport.arxiv.orgapi.unpaywall.org
Also links to:
semanticscholar.org
From URLs in SKILL.md, links to its own repository left out.
Credentials
Names no API keys, tokens, secrets or passwords.
From names ending in _API_KEY, _TOKEN, _SECRET, _KEY or _PASSWORD in SKILL.md.
Context cost
Academic Paper Search loads about 3.5k tokens when it runs, and up to ~6k if it reads all its reference files. Until then it costs about 123 tokens; SKILL.md has 810 words of instructions outside code blocks.
Estimates: characters ÷ 4, the usual rule of thumb; real counts depend on the model's tokenizer. Scripts and assets cost tokens only if the agent reads them.
Safety
Auto-check: notes
The automated check noted patterns worth knowing about, such as sudo or a known installer.
- NotePre-approves every shell command (allowed-tools: Bash)SKILL.md
allowed-tools: Bash, Read, Write, Edit, Glob, Grep, WebFetch, WebSearch, Agent
Automated static check — not a guarantee. Review scripts before installing. It scans the text of SKILL.md for risky patterns (piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files, hidden Unicode, destructive commands); files beside SKILL.md are not scanned.
SKILL.md
Its licence (Custom licence) doesn't allow us to republish the file, so here is its outline and opening line. It has 810 words (~3,495 tokens).
“A unified toolkit for discovering, retrieving metadata, and downloading academic papers across all major sources. The right API depends on the task — this skill routes to the best source.”
- name
- academic-paper-search
- allowed-tools
- Bash, Read, Write, Edit, Glob, Grep, WebFetch, WebSearch, Agent
Files
SKILL.md and 1 other file (references) in skills/68-research-productivity-skills/academic-paper-search of brycewang-stanford/Auto-Empirical-Research-Skills.
- SKILL.md
- references/journal_identifiers.md
Open the folder on GitHubat commit 9fa87d8
Compare with similar skills
Academic Paper Search next to the 5 skills that share the most tags, products or categories with it. Stars are the repository's; “used in” counts other GitHub owners with a copy.
| Skill | Stars | Used in | Tokens | Auto-check | Licence | Repo updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Academic Paper Search this skillbrycewang-stanford/Auto-Empirical-Research-Skills | 4.6k | — | ~3.5k | Automated safety check: Notes | Custom licence | |
| Literature Reviewneflibata-feng/MyArxiv-Agent | 126 | 20 repos | ~5.9k | Automated safety check: Notes | MIT | |
| Paper Research on arXivXiaomiMiMo/MiMo-Code | 14k | — | ~1.5k | Automated safety check: Pass | MIT | |
| Paper Searchopenags/paper-search-mcp | 2.8k | — | ~1.2k | Automated safety check: Notes | MIT | |
| Literature Review AgentAr9av/PaperOrchestra | 679 | 1 repos | ~5.2k | Automated safety check: Pass | Custom licence | |
| Nature Academic Searchwp-a/nature-academic-search | 304 | — | ~1.4k | Automated safety check: Pass | MIT |
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Related
Works with
Categories
Questions about Academic Paper Search
What does Academic Paper Search do?
This skill should be used when the user asks to "search for academic papers", "find working papers on SSRN", "look up a DOI", "download paper PDF", "check open access availability", "search NBER…. Academic Paper Search is an agent skill from brycewang-stanford/Auto-Empirical-Research-Skills. This skill should be used when the user asks to "search for academic papers", "find working papers on SSRN", "look up a DOI", "download paper PDF", "check open access availability", "search NBER papers", "find arXiv preprints", or "search CrossRef".
When should I use Academic Paper Search?
Academic Paper Search fits situations like: asks to search for academic papers; find working papers on SSRN; download paper PDF; check open access availability.
How do I install Academic Paper Search in Claude Code?
Run `npx skills add brycewang-stanford/Auto-Empirical-Research-Skills --skill academic-paper-search -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/68-research-productivity-skills/academic-paper-search in brycewang-stanford/Auto-Empirical-Research-Skills) into .claude/skills/academic-paper-search in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.
How do I install Academic Paper Search in Codex?
Run `npx skills add brycewang-stanford/Auto-Empirical-Research-Skills --skill academic-paper-search -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/68-research-productivity-skills/academic-paper-search in brycewang-stanford/Auto-Empirical-Research-Skills) into .agents/skills/academic-paper-search in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.
Can I use Academic Paper Search in Cursor, Gemini CLI or GitHub Copilot?
Cursor, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot and OpenCode also load SKILL.md folders. With the skills CLI, run `npx skills add brycewang-stanford/Auto-Empirical-Research-Skills --skill academic-paper-search -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/academic-paper-search, .gemini/skills/academic-paper-search, .github/skills/academic-paper-search and .opencode/skills/academic-paper-search in your project.
What does Academic Paper Search need to run?
Going by SKILL.md and its folder, Academic Paper Search needs the command-line tools its instructions call (curl and python3). Our summary lists: Python 3; A credential in YOUR_KEY. Its frontmatter pre-approves these tools: Bash, Read, Write, Edit, Glob, Grep, WebFetch, WebSearch, Agent.
Does Academic Paper Search access the network?
SKILL.md names 9 domains. In commands or code: api.openalex.org, nber.org, arxiv.org, api.crossref.org, api.semanticscholar.org, doi.org, export.arxiv.org and api.unpaywall.org; the agent is likely to contact these when it follows the instructions. As links in the text: semanticscholar.org. This is read from the text; nothing was executed.
Is Academic Paper Search safe to install?
Our automated static check of SKILL.md found notes only (pre-approves every shell command (allowed-tools: bash)), nothing it rates as a warning. It is not a guarantee. Review the folder before installing.
What licence does Academic Paper Search use?
Academic Paper Search has a licence file (the repository's licence) that doesn't match a standard licence. Read it on GitHub before reusing the skill.
How many tokens does Academic Paper Search use?
About 3.5k tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 14k characters). Agents keep only the skill's name and description in context until a task matches; then they load SKILL.md in full. Its references folder adds about 2.5k tokens, read only when the agent opens those files.
What are the alternatives to Academic Paper Search?
Skills that share tags, products or a category with Academic Paper Search: Literature Review (neflibata-feng/MyArxiv-Agent, 126 stars), Paper Research on arXiv (XiaomiMiMo/MiMo-Code, 14k stars), Paper Search (openags/paper-search-mcp, 2.8k stars) and Literature Review Agent (Ar9av/PaperOrchestra, 679 stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.
Who maintains Academic Paper Search?
brycewang-stanford (a GitHub user) maintains it in brycewang-stanford/Auto-Empirical-Research-Skills, which has 4,556 GitHub stars. The repository holds 383 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on October 5, 2026.
Source: brycewang-stanford/Auto-Empirical-Research-Skills on GitHub. Facts on this page come from the repository at the commit we read; the author's words are quoted as theirs.