Zotero Taxonomy Curator
ganzoth/zotero-taxonomy-curator
Domain-configurable Zotero-to-Obsidian literature curation and paper close-reading skill.
Conduct a systematic literature review that maps the current landscape of a research question.
Install Scholar Lit Review
$ npx skills add joshzyj/open-scholar-skill --skill scholar-lit-review -a claude-codeProject install by default; add -g for ~/.claude/skills/.
$ gh skill install joshzyj/open-scholar-skill scholar-lit-review --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-lit-review .claude/skills/scholar-lit-review && 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-lit-review" agent skill from https://github.com/joshzyj/open-scholar-skill/tree/main/.claude/skills/scholar-lit-review into .claude/skills/scholar-lit-review/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "scholar-lit-review", 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-lit-reviewType 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-lit-review -a codexProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.codex/skills/.
$ gh skill install joshzyj/open-scholar-skill scholar-lit-review --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-lit-review .agents/skills/scholar-lit-review && 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-lit-review" agent skill from https://github.com/joshzyj/open-scholar-skill/tree/main/.claude/skills/scholar-lit-review into .agents/skills/scholar-lit-review/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "scholar-lit-review", 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-lit-review -a cursorProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.cursor/skills/.
$ gh skill install joshzyj/open-scholar-skill scholar-lit-review --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-lit-review .cursor/skills/scholar-lit-review && 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-lit-review" agent skill from https://github.com/joshzyj/open-scholar-skill/tree/main/.claude/skills/scholar-lit-review into .cursor/skills/scholar-lit-review/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "scholar-lit-review", 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-lit-review--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-lit-review -a gemini-cliProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.gemini/skills/.
$ gh skill install joshzyj/open-scholar-skill scholar-lit-review --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-lit-review .gemini/skills/scholar-lit-review && 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-lit-review" agent skill from https://github.com/joshzyj/open-scholar-skill/tree/main/.claude/skills/scholar-lit-review into .gemini/skills/scholar-lit-review/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "scholar-lit-review", 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-lit-reviewInstalls 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-lit-review -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-lit-review .github/skills/scholar-lit-review && 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-lit-review" agent skill from https://github.com/joshzyj/open-scholar-skill/tree/main/.claude/skills/scholar-lit-review into .github/skills/scholar-lit-review/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "scholar-lit-review", 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-lit-review -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-lit-review --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-lit-review .opencode/skills/scholar-lit-review && 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-lit-review" agent skill from https://github.com/joshzyj/open-scholar-skill/tree/main/.claude/skills/scholar-lit-review into .opencode/skills/scholar-lit-review/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "scholar-lit-review", 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-lit-review- GitHub stars
- 168
- Token cost
- ~14k tokens
- SKILL.md length
- 4,652 words
- Files
- 3 (incl. references)
- Skills in repo
- 30
- Repo updated
- First seen
- Licence
- Custom licence
At a glance
Conduct a systematic literature review that maps the current landscape of a research question.
- Works in 9 steps: Setup, Argument Parsing, and Mode… → Search Local Reference Library (Always… → Multi-Wave Web Search → …
- The user wants to map the existing literature
- SKILL.md covers Arguments, Phase 0: Setup, Argument…, Phase 1: Search Local… and Phase 2: Multi-Wave Web Search, plus 2 more sections
- Calls bash, sqlite3 and pdftotext; needs PDF_KEY
What it does
Scholar Lit Review is an agent skill from joshzyj/open-scholar-skill. Conduct a systematic literature review that maps the current landscape of a research question. Produces a structured literature landscape map (field evolution, theoretical landscape, established/contested/null findings, mechanism inventory, methodological landscape, gap analysis), a publication-ready review draft, and a search log. Three modes: full landscape map (40-80 papers), targeted review for a paper's intro (15-30 papers), or rapid scoping review (10-20 papers). Searches local reference library…
Its SKILL.md is about 14k tokens, which your agent loads only when the skill is triggered. The skill folder holds 3 other files, including reference files (for example `references/search-strategies.md` and `references/synthesis-guide.md`).
It sits in Research & Science, covering Citation management, Literature review and Hypothesis generation. It works with Zotero and LaTeX. The repository describes itself as: Open scholar skill, a claude code plugin, for academic research.
When your agent uses it
- The user wants to map the existing literature
- Identify research gaps
- Synthesize findings
- Build a foundation for a paper
Example prompts
- “/scholar-lit-review”
Workflow steps
9 steps, taken from the step headings in SKILL.md.
- Setup, Argument Parsing, and Mode Selection
- Search Local Reference Library (Always Do First)
- Multi-Wave Web Search
- Annual Reviews + Review Articles Checkpoint (Always Do)
- Build the Literature Landscape Map (Core Deliverable)
- Structure the Review Narrative
- Write the Literature Review Draft
- Verification Subagent
- Save Output to Disk
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:
bashsqlite3pdftotextpython3
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 these keys or tokens, usually read from environment variables:
PDF_KEY
From names ending in _API_KEY, _TOKEN, _SECRET, _KEY or _PASSWORD in SKILL.md.
Context cost
Scholar Lit Review loads about 14k tokens when it runs, and up to ~20k if it reads all its reference files. Until then it costs about 231 tokens; SKILL.md has 4,652 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.
- NoteMentions a .env fileSKILL.md:222
TERO_DIR/zotero.sqlite (auto-detected or .env; copy to /tmp; .bak fallback)
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 4,652 words (~14,439 tokens).
“You are an expert sociologist and social scientist conducting a rigorous, publication-quality literature review. Your primary deliverable is a structured literature landscape map that comprehensively maps who has studied this question, what they found, how they studied it, what theories…”
- name
- scholar-lit-review
- tools
- WebSearch, WebFetch, Read, Bash, Write, Agent
- argument-hint
- [topic or research question] [optional: landscape|targeted|rapid] [optional: target journal] [optional: population, time period, geographic scope]
- user-invocable
- true
Files
SKILL.md and 2 other files (references) in .claude/skills/scholar-lit-review of joshzyj/open-scholar-skill.
- SKILL.md
- references/search-strategies.md
- references/synthesis-guide.md
Open the folder on GitHubat commit 6e5ac8e
Compare with similar skills
Scholar Lit Review 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 Lit Review this skilljoshzyj/open-scholar-skill | 168 | — | ~14k | Automated safety check: Notes | Custom licence | |
| Zotero Taxonomy Curatorganzoth/zotero-taxonomy-curator | 160 | — | ~2.3k | Automated safety check: Pass | MIT | |
| Research SurveyEvoScientist/EvoSkills | 478 | 3 repos | ~2.5k | Automated safety check: Pass | Apache-2.0 | |
| Research Proposalluwill/research-skills | 862 | — | ~4.5k | Automated safety check: Notes | None | |
| Systematic Review ScreenerImbad0202/academic-research-skills | 51k | — | ~8.4k | Automated safety check: Pass | Custom licence | |
| Academic Paper Writing PipelineImbad0202/academic-research-skills | 51k | — | ~16k | Automated safety check: Pass | Custom licence |
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Runs a 12-agent pipeline that plans, drafts, cites, reviews and formats academic papers, with modes for revision, rebuttals, abstracts and citation checks.
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Step 3 of the PaperOrchestra pipeline (arXiv:2604.05018). An agent skill from Ar9av/PaperOrchestra.
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Related
Categories
Questions about Scholar Lit Review
What does Scholar Lit Review do?
Conduct a systematic literature review that maps the current landscape of a research question. Scholar Lit Review is an agent skill from joshzyj/open-scholar-skill. Conduct a systematic literature review that maps the current landscape of a research question.
When should I use Scholar Lit Review?
Scholar Lit Review fits situations like: the user wants to map the existing literature; identify research gaps; synthesize findings; build a foundation for a paper.
How do I install Scholar Lit Review in Claude Code?
Run `npx skills add joshzyj/open-scholar-skill --skill scholar-lit-review -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (.claude/skills/scholar-lit-review in joshzyj/open-scholar-skill) into .claude/skills/scholar-lit-review in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.
How do I install Scholar Lit Review in Codex?
Run `npx skills add joshzyj/open-scholar-skill --skill scholar-lit-review -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (.claude/skills/scholar-lit-review in joshzyj/open-scholar-skill) into .agents/skills/scholar-lit-review in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.
Can I use Scholar Lit Review 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-lit-review -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-lit-review, .gemini/skills/scholar-lit-review, .github/skills/scholar-lit-review and .opencode/skills/scholar-lit-review in your project.
What does Scholar Lit Review need to run?
Going by SKILL.md and its folder, Scholar Lit Review needs the command-line tools its instructions call (bash, sqlite3, pdftotext and python3) and credentials named PDF_KEY.
Does Scholar Lit Review 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 Lit Review safe to install?
Our automated static check of SKILL.md found notes only (mentions a .env file), nothing it rates as a warning. It is not a guarantee. Review the folder before installing.
What licence does Scholar Lit Review use?
Scholar Lit Review 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 Lit Review use?
About 14k tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 58k 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 5.8k tokens, read only when the agent opens those files.
What are the alternatives to Scholar Lit Review?
Skills that share tags, products or a category with Scholar Lit Review: Zotero Taxonomy Curator (ganzoth/zotero-taxonomy-curator, 160 stars), Research Survey (EvoScientist/EvoSkills, 478 stars), Research Proposal (luwill/research-skills, 862 stars) and Systematic Review Screener (Imbad0202/academic-research-skills, 51k stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.
Who maintains Scholar Lit Review?
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.