NotebookLM Research Assistant
PleasePrompto/notebooklm-skill
Lets Claude Code ask questions of your Google NotebookLM notebooks through browser automation and return answers grounded in your uploaded sources.
Initialize a new research project directory for open-scholar-skill.
Custom licenceAuto-check passed
Install Scholar Init
$ npx skills add joshzyj/open-scholar-skill --skill scholar-init -a claude-codeProject install by default; add -g for ~/.claude/skills/.
$ gh skill install joshzyj/open-scholar-skill scholar-init --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/joshzyj/open-scholar-skill.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/.claude/skills/scholar-init .claude/skills/scholar-init && 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 "scholar-init" agent skill from https://github.com/joshzyj/open-scholar-skill/tree/main/.claude/skills/scholar-init into .claude/skills/scholar-init/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "scholar-init", 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/joshzyj/open-scholar-skill/tree/main/.claude/skills/scholar-initType 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 joshzyj/open-scholar-skill --skill scholar-init -a codexProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.codex/skills/.
$ gh skill install joshzyj/open-scholar-skill scholar-init --agent codexProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/joshzyj/open-scholar-skill.git skills-src && mkdir -p .agents/skills && cp -r skills-src/.claude/skills/scholar-init .agents/skills/scholar-init && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.agents/skills/ instead of .agents/skills for a personal install.
Codex skills documentation · loads skills from .agents/skills/
Install the "scholar-init" agent skill from https://github.com/joshzyj/open-scholar-skill/tree/main/.claude/skills/scholar-init into .agents/skills/scholar-init/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "scholar-init", 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 joshzyj/open-scholar-skill --skill scholar-init -a cursorProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.cursor/skills/.
$ gh skill install joshzyj/open-scholar-skill scholar-init --agent cursorProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/joshzyj/open-scholar-skill.git skills-src && mkdir -p .cursor/skills && cp -r skills-src/.claude/skills/scholar-init .cursor/skills/scholar-init && 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 "scholar-init" agent skill from https://github.com/joshzyj/open-scholar-skill/tree/main/.claude/skills/scholar-init into .cursor/skills/scholar-init/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "scholar-init", 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/joshzyj/open-scholar-skill.git --path .claude/skills/scholar-init--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 joshzyj/open-scholar-skill --skill scholar-init -a gemini-cliProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.gemini/skills/.
$ gh skill install joshzyj/open-scholar-skill scholar-init --agent gemini-cliProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/joshzyj/open-scholar-skill.git skills-src && mkdir -p .gemini/skills && cp -r skills-src/.claude/skills/scholar-init .gemini/skills/scholar-init && 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 "scholar-init" agent skill from https://github.com/joshzyj/open-scholar-skill/tree/main/.claude/skills/scholar-init into .gemini/skills/scholar-init/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "scholar-init", 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 joshzyj/open-scholar-skill scholar-initInstalls 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 joshzyj/open-scholar-skill --skill scholar-init -a github-copilotProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.copilot/skills/.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/joshzyj/open-scholar-skill.git skills-src && mkdir -p .github/skills && cp -r skills-src/.claude/skills/scholar-init .github/skills/scholar-init && 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 "scholar-init" agent skill from https://github.com/joshzyj/open-scholar-skill/tree/main/.claude/skills/scholar-init into .github/skills/scholar-init/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "scholar-init", 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 joshzyj/open-scholar-skill --skill scholar-init -a opencodeOpenCode documents no install command of its own. Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.config/opencode/skills/.
$ gh skill install joshzyj/open-scholar-skill scholar-init --agent opencodeProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/joshzyj/open-scholar-skill.git skills-src && mkdir -p .opencode/skills && cp -r skills-src/.claude/skills/scholar-init .opencode/skills/scholar-init && 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 "scholar-init" agent skill from https://github.com/joshzyj/open-scholar-skill/tree/main/.claude/skills/scholar-init into .opencode/skills/scholar-init/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "scholar-init", 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
scholar-init- GitHub stars
- 168
- Token cost
- ~8.2k tokens
- SKILL.md length
- 2,952 words
- Files
- 1
- Skills in repo
- 30
- Repo updated
- First seen
- Licence
- Custom licence
At a glance
Initialize a new research project directory for open-scholar-skill.
- Works in 12 steps: 1 — Parse the arguments → 1.5 — Scaffold-first path (slug only, no… → 2 — Invoke the init script → …
- SKILL.md covers Arguments, Dispatch Table, MODE 1 — Initialize a new… and MODE 2 — Review NEEDS_REVIEW…, plus 7 more sections
- Calls bash, jq and claude
What it does
Scholar Init is an agent skill from joshzyj/open-scholar-skill. Initialize a new research project directory for open-scholar-skill. Creates the standard layout (data/raw, data/interim, data/processed, materials, output, .claude, logs), copies or symlinks raw files and materials into place, runs a local safety scan on every ingested file, and writes .claude/safety-status.json so the PreToolUse guard knows which files Claude may Read. Four modes: (1) init — create a fresh project from a slug and file list; (2) review — walk through NEEDSREVIEW entries interactively and resolve…
Its SKILL.md is about 8.2k tokens, which your agent loads only when the skill is triggered. It is a single SKILL.md file with no bundled scripts.
The repository describes itself as: Open scholar skill, a claude code plugin, for academic research.
Example prompts
- “/scholar-init”
Workflow steps
12 steps, taken from the step headings in SKILL.md.
- 1 — Parse the arguments
- 1.5 — Scaffold-first path (slug only, no files yet)
- 2 — Invoke the init script
- 2.5 — Write the auto-managed project memory file
- 3 — If NEEDS_REVIEW entries exist, go straight into review
- 4 — If no NEEDS_REVIEW entries, recommend the next skill
- 1 — Locate the sidecar
- 2 — Enumerate NEEDS_REVIEW entries
- 3 — Walk each entry
- 4 — Summary
- 1 — Verify we're in a project directory
- 2 — For each file, copy/link and scan
What it can do on your machine
Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit 6e5ac8e. It shows what the files ask for, not the result of running them.
Tool permissions
Pre-approves nothing: there is no allowed-tools line, so your agent's usual permission prompts apply.
From allowed-tools in the SKILL.md frontmatter.
Runs code
Shell commands in SKILL.md call:
bashjqclaudepython3
From the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.
Network
No URLs in SKILL.md.
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
Scholar Init loads about 8.2k tokens when it runs. Until then it costs about 210 tokens; SKILL.md has 2,952 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 passed
The automated check found no risky patterns in SKILL.md.
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 2,952 words (~8,158 tokens).
“You are the project onboarding assistant for open-scholar-skill. Your job is to take a researcher from "I have some files on my disk" to "I have a standardized project directory where every file has been scanned and triaged, and Claude…”
- name
- scholar-init
- tools
- Read, Bash, Write, Edit, Glob
- argument-hint
- [init <slug> <file1> <file2> ...] | [review] | [add <file1> ...] | [status] — defaults to init if a slug-looking argument is provided, review otherwise
- user-invocable
- true
Files
Just SKILL.md in .claude/skills/scholar-init of joshzyj/open-scholar-skill.
Open the folder on GitHubat commit 6e5ac8e
Compare with similar skills
Scholar Init 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scholar Init this skilljoshzyj/open-scholar-skill | 168 | — | ~8.2k | Automated safety check: Pass | Custom licence | |
| NotebookLM Research AssistantPleasePrompto/notebooklm-skill | 7.8k | 14 repos | ~2.4k | Automated safety check: Notes | MIT | |
| Hypothesis Generationspacering-net/codeg | 3.8k | 15 repos | ~3.6k | Automated safety check: Notes | MIT | |
| Agent ReachPanniantong/Agent-Reach | 93k | 1 repos | ~1.4k | Automated safety check: Pass | MIT | |
| GitHub Deep Researchbytedance/deer-flow | 83k | 5 repos | ~1.3k | Automated safety check: Pass | MIT | |
| Tavily Web Searchallenpeng0705/EnvoyMesh | 3.1k | 4 repos | ~2.5k | Automated safety check: Notes | None |
Similar skills
Hypothesis Generation
spacering-net/codeg
Structured hypothesis formulation from observations. An agent skill from spacering-net/codeg.
Agent Reach
Panniantong/Agent-Reach
Routes web research and platform lookups across 16 sites, including Twitter, Reddit, YouTube, Bilibili, Xiaohongshu and GitHub, through one command-line tool.
GitHub Deep Research
bytedance/deer-flow
Researches a GitHub repository over four rounds using the GitHub API and web search, then writes a structured markdown report with timeline, metrics and Mermaid diagrams.
Tavily Web Search
allenpeng0705/EnvoyMesh
Searches the web through the Tavily API with LLM-friendly output: clean structured results, optional AI-written answers, domain filters, news mode, images and raw content.
Nature Paper Card
Yuan1z0825/nature-skills
Builds a structured deep-reading card for one scientific paper, covering methods, how experiments support claims, limitations and research ideas, with a script to prepare the source.
More from joshzyj/open-scholar-skill
All 30 skills in this repoScholar Annotate
joshzyj/open-scholar-skill
Turn unstructured text into validated, structured variables at corpus scale with LLMs: codebook design, dev/gold-set construction, DSPy prompt optimization, a hard reliability gate (Cohen κ ≥ 0.70)…
Scholar Auto Research
joshzyj/open-scholar-skill
Stable, deterministic social-science research-paper pipeline from idea or data to verified manuscript, citations, replication package, and final md/docx/tex/pdf outputs.
Scholar RAG
joshzyj/open-scholar-skill
Build and query a local vector database + GraphRAG over your entire reference library (Zotero or a PDF folder) for literature review.
Scholar Causal
joshzyj/open-scholar-skill
Comprehensive causal inference toolkit for social science research.
Scholar Data
joshzyj/open-scholar-skill
Comprehensive open data directory (100+ datasets across 14 categories) with auto-fetch capability, plus data collection instrument design, variable dictionaries, data management, IRB materials, and…
Scholar Eda
joshzyj/open-scholar-skill
Conduct exploratory data analysis (EDA) before hypothesis testing.
Questions about Scholar Init
What does Scholar Init do?
Initialize a new research project directory for open-scholar-skill. Scholar Init is an agent skill from joshzyj/open-scholar-skill. Initialize a new research project directory for open-scholar-skill.
How do I install Scholar Init in Claude Code?
Run `npx skills add joshzyj/open-scholar-skill --skill scholar-init -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (.claude/skills/scholar-init in joshzyj/open-scholar-skill) into .claude/skills/scholar-init in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.
How do I install Scholar Init in Codex?
Run `npx skills add joshzyj/open-scholar-skill --skill scholar-init -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (.claude/skills/scholar-init in joshzyj/open-scholar-skill) into .agents/skills/scholar-init in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.
Can I use Scholar Init 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 joshzyj/open-scholar-skill --skill scholar-init -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/scholar-init, .gemini/skills/scholar-init, .github/skills/scholar-init and .opencode/skills/scholar-init in your project.
What does Scholar Init need to run?
Going by SKILL.md and its folder, Scholar Init needs the command-line tools its instructions call (bash, jq, claude and python3).
Does Scholar Init access the network?
SKILL.md contains no URLs. Any network use would come from the scripts or tools the agent runs. This is read from the text; nothing was executed.
Is Scholar Init safe to install?
Our automated static check of SKILL.md found no risky patterns, such as piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files or hidden Unicode. It is not a guarantee. Review the folder before installing.
What licence does Scholar Init use?
Scholar Init 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 Scholar Init use?
About 8.2k tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 33k characters). Agents keep only the skill's name and description in context until a task matches; then they load SKILL.md in full.
What are the alternatives to Scholar Init?
Skills that share tags, products or a category with Scholar Init: NotebookLM Research Assistant (PleasePrompto/notebooklm-skill, 7.8k stars), Hypothesis Generation (spacering-net/codeg, 3.8k stars), Agent Reach (Panniantong/Agent-Reach, 93k stars) and GitHub Deep Research (bytedance/deer-flow, 83k stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.
Who maintains Scholar Init?
joshzyj (a GitHub user) maintains it in joshzyj/open-scholar-skill, which has 168 GitHub stars. The repository holds 30 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on September 18, 2026.
Source: joshzyj/open-scholar-skill on GitHub. Facts on this page come from the repository at the commit we read; the author's words are quoted as theirs.