Agent skill

Scholar Search

Search Google Scholar via SerpAPI for academic papers on critical minerals with citation counts and metadata

Apache-2.0Auto-check passedResearch & Science

Install Scholar Search

skills CLI

$ npx skills add lamm-mit/scienceclaw --skill scholar-search -a claude-code

Project install by default; add -g for ~/.claude/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install lamm-mit/scienceclaw scholar-search --agent claude-code

Project scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/lamm-mit/scienceclaw.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/scholar-search .claude/skills/scholar-search && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.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/

Paste into Claude Code

Install the "scholar-search" agent skill from https://github.com/lamm-mit/scienceclaw/tree/main/skills/scholar-search into .claude/skills/scholar-search/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "scholar-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

$skill-installer install https://github.com/lamm-mit/scienceclaw/tree/main/skills/scholar-search

Type 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.

skills CLI

$ npx skills add lamm-mit/scienceclaw --skill scholar-search -a codex

Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.codex/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install lamm-mit/scienceclaw scholar-search --agent codex

Project scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/lamm-mit/scienceclaw.git skills-src && mkdir -p .agents/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/scholar-search .agents/skills/scholar-search && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.agents/skills/ instead of .agents/skills for a personal install.

Codex skills documentation · loads skills from .agents/skills/

Paste into Codex

Install the "scholar-search" agent skill from https://github.com/lamm-mit/scienceclaw/tree/main/skills/scholar-search into .agents/skills/scholar-search/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "scholar-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.

skills CLI

$ npx skills add lamm-mit/scienceclaw --skill scholar-search -a cursor

Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.cursor/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install lamm-mit/scienceclaw scholar-search --agent cursor

Project scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/lamm-mit/scienceclaw.git skills-src && mkdir -p .cursor/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/scholar-search .cursor/skills/scholar-search && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.cursor/skills/ instead of .cursor/skills for a personal install.

Cursor skills documentation · loads skills from .cursor/skills/, .agents/skills/, .claude/skills/, .codex/skills/

Paste into Cursor

Install the "scholar-search" agent skill from https://github.com/lamm-mit/scienceclaw/tree/main/skills/scholar-search into .cursor/skills/scholar-search/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "scholar-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

$ gemini skills install https://github.com/lamm-mit/scienceclaw.git --path skills/scholar-search

--scope user (default) or --scope workspace; --path is the subfolder of the repo that holds the skill; --consent skips the security confirmation prompt.

skills CLI

$ npx skills add lamm-mit/scienceclaw --skill scholar-search -a gemini-cli

Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.gemini/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install lamm-mit/scienceclaw scholar-search --agent gemini-cli

Project scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/lamm-mit/scienceclaw.git skills-src && mkdir -p .gemini/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/scholar-search .gemini/skills/scholar-search && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.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/

Paste into Gemini CLI

Install the "scholar-search" agent skill from https://github.com/lamm-mit/scienceclaw/tree/main/skills/scholar-search into .gemini/skills/scholar-search/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "scholar-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.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install lamm-mit/scienceclaw scholar-search

Installs 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).

skills CLI

$ npx skills add lamm-mit/scienceclaw --skill scholar-search -a github-copilot

Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.copilot/skills/.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/lamm-mit/scienceclaw.git skills-src && mkdir -p .github/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/scholar-search .github/skills/scholar-search && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.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/

Paste into GitHub Copilot

Install the "scholar-search" agent skill from https://github.com/lamm-mit/scienceclaw/tree/main/skills/scholar-search into .github/skills/scholar-search/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "scholar-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.

skills CLI

$ npx skills add lamm-mit/scienceclaw --skill scholar-search -a opencode

OpenCode documents no install command of its own. Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.config/opencode/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install lamm-mit/scienceclaw scholar-search --agent opencode

Project scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/lamm-mit/scienceclaw.git skills-src && mkdir -p .opencode/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/scholar-search .opencode/skills/scholar-search && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.config/opencode/skills/ instead of .opencode/skills for a personal install.

OpenCode skills documentation · loads skills from .opencode/skills/, .claude/skills/, .agents/skills/

Paste into OpenCode

Install the "scholar-search" agent skill from https://github.com/lamm-mit/scienceclaw/tree/main/skills/scholar-search into .opencode/skills/scholar-search/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "scholar-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: scholar-search
GitHub stars: 244
Token cost: ~615 tokens
SKILL.md length: 130 words
Files: 2 (incl. scripts)
Skills in repo: 86
Repo updated: Aug 21, 2026
First seen: Oct 7, 2026
Licence: Apache-2.0

At a glance

Search Google Scholar via SerpAPI for academic papers on critical minerals with citation counts and metadata

Tasks that involve Academic paper search
SKILL.md covers Usage, Parameters, Examples and Notes
Runs Python scripts from its folder; calls python3; needs SERPAPI_KEY
Tasks that involve Citation management

What it does

Scholar Search is an agent skill from lamm-mit/scienceclaw. Search Google Scholar via SerpAPI for academic papers on critical minerals with citation counts and metadata

Its SKILL.md is about 620 tokens, which your agent loads only when the skill is triggered. The skill folder holds 2 other files, including scripts (for example `scripts/scholar_search.py`).

It sits in Research & Science, covering Academic paper search and Citation management. It works with SerpApi. The licence is Apache-2.0.

When your agent uses it

Tasks that involve Academic paper search
Tasks that involve Citation management

Example prompts

“/scholar-search”

Requirements

Python 3
A credential in SERPAPI_KEY

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit ab9aba1. 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
Ships 1 file in scripts/ (Python), which the agent can run.
Shell commands in SKILL.md call:
- python3
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:
- SERPAPI_KEY
From names ending in _API_KEY, _TOKEN, _SECRET, _KEY or _PASSWORD in SKILL.md.

Context cost

Scholar Search loads about 615 tokens when it runs. Until then it costs about 31 tokens; SKILL.md has 130 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it: ~31
When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches: ~615

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); the scripts in this folder are not scanned.

SKILL.md

The full file from lamm-mit/scienceclaw at commit ab9aba1, republished under its Apache-2.0 licence (© lamm-mit). 130 words, ~615 tokens.

Download SKILL.mdSave it as .claude/skills/scholar-search/SKILL.md (or your agent's skills folder). This skill also uses 1 other file; get the full folder from GitHub.

name: scholar-search
description: Search Google Scholar via SerpAPI for academic papers on critical minerals with citation counts and metadata

Google Scholar Search

Search Google Scholar via SerpAPI for academic papers, conference proceedings, and theses. Returns titles, authors, venues, citation counts, and links. Useful for finding recent research on critical minerals, supply chains, extraction methods, and materials science.

Usage

Basic search:

bash

python3 {baseDir}/scripts/scholar_search.py --query "lithium extraction brine"

Filter by year range:

bash

python3 {baseDir}/scripts/scholar_search.py --query "rare earth separation" --year-from 2020 --year-to 2025

Sort by citations:

bash

python3 {baseDir}/scripts/scholar_search.py --query "cobalt supply chain" --sort-by citations

JSON output:

bash

python3 {baseDir}/scripts/scholar_search.py --query "critical minerals policy" --format json --num-results 15

Parameters

Parameter	Description	Default
`--query`	Search query	Required
`--year-from`	Start year for publication filter	-
`--year-to`	End year for publication filter	-
`--num-results`	Number of results to return (max 20)	10
`--sort-by`	Sort order: relevance, citations	relevance
`--format`	Output format: summary, detailed, json	summary

Examples

bash

# Recent papers on lithium recycling
python3 {baseDir}/scripts/scholar_search.py --query "lithium-ion battery recycling" --year-from 2022

# Most cited papers on rare earth processing
python3 {baseDir}/scripts/scholar_search.py --query "rare earth element processing" --sort-by citations --num-results 15

# Critical minerals policy research
python3 {baseDir}/scripts/scholar_search.py --query "critical minerals supply chain policy" --format detailed

# Cobalt extraction techniques in JSON
python3 {baseDir}/scripts/scholar_search.py --query "cobalt extraction hydrometallurgy" --format json

Notes

Requires SERPAPI_KEY environment variable
Google Scholar results include citation counts for impact assessment
Maximum 20 results per query (SerpAPI limitation)
For DOE-specific research, use the osti-database skill instead
For local corpus search, use the corpus-search skill

Files

SKILL.md and 1 other file (scripts) in skills/scholar-search of lamm-mit/scienceclaw.

SKILL.md
scripts/scholar_search.py

Open the folder on GitHubat commit ab9aba1

Compare with similar skills

Scholar 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.

Scholar Search compared with similar skills
Skill	Stars	Used in	Tokens	Auto-check	Licence	Repo updated
Scholar Search this skilllamm-mit/scienceclaw	244	—	~615	Automated safety check: Pass	Apache-2.0	1 mo ago
Literature Reviewneflibata-feng/MyArxiv-Agent	126	20 repos	~5.9k	Automated safety check: Notes	MIT	today
Openalex Databaseneflibata-feng/MyArxiv-Agent	126	12 repos	~3k	Automated safety check: Pass	Custom licence	today
Citation ManagementK-Dense-AI/claude-scientific-writer	2.4k	2 repos	~3.9k	Automated safety check: Notes	MIT	today
Preprint Search on bioRxivLigphiDonk/Oh-my--paper	738	12 repos	~3.7k	Automated safety check: Pass	MIT	5 mo ago
Citation Managementneflibata-feng/MyArxiv-Agent	126	19 repos	~8.1k	Automated safety check: Notes	MIT	today

Similar skills

Literature Review
neflibata-feng/MyArxiv-Agent
Conduct comprehensive, systematic literature reviews using multiple academic databases (PubMed, arXiv, bioRxiv, Semantic Scholar, etc.).
126 GitHub starsUsed in 20 repos~5.9k tokens
Research & ScienceAuto-check: notes
Openalex Database
neflibata-feng/MyArxiv-Agent
Query and analyze scholarly literature using the OpenAlex database.
126 GitHub starsUsed in 12 repos~3k tokens
Research & ScienceAuto-check passed
Citation Management
K-Dense-AI/claude-scientific-writer
Finds papers in OpenAlex, PubMed and Google Scholar, turns DOIs, PMIDs and arXiv IDs into clean BibTeX, and validates citations for a manuscript or thesis.
2.4k GitHub starsUsed in 2 repos~3.9k tokens
Research & ScienceAuto-check: notes
Preprint Search on bioRxiv
LigphiDonk/Oh-my--paper
Searches bioRxiv life sciences preprints by keyword, author, date range or category with a Python script, returning JSON metadata and optional PDF downloads.
738 GitHub starsUsed in 12 repos~3.7k tokens
Research & ScienceAuto-check passed
Citation Management
neflibata-feng/MyArxiv-Agent
Comprehensive citation management for academic research. An agent skill from neflibata-feng/MyArxiv-Agent.
126 GitHub starsUsed in 19 repos~8.1k tokens
Research & ScienceAuto-check: notes
Peer Review
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Prepare evidence-bounded, constructive peer-review drafts and structured manuscript assessments.
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Questions about Scholar Search

What does Scholar Search do?

Search Google Scholar via SerpAPI for academic papers on critical minerals with citation counts and metadata. Scholar Search is an agent skill from lamm-mit/scienceclaw.

When should I use Scholar Search?

Scholar Search fits situations like: tasks that involve Academic paper search; tasks that involve Citation management.

How do I install Scholar Search in Claude Code?

Run `npx skills add lamm-mit/scienceclaw --skill scholar-search -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/scholar-search in lamm-mit/scienceclaw) into .claude/skills/scholar-search in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.

How do I install Scholar Search in Codex?

Run `npx skills add lamm-mit/scienceclaw --skill scholar-search -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/scholar-search in lamm-mit/scienceclaw) into .agents/skills/scholar-search in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.

Can I use Scholar 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 lamm-mit/scienceclaw --skill scholar-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/scholar-search, .gemini/skills/scholar-search, .github/skills/scholar-search and .opencode/skills/scholar-search in your project.

What does Scholar Search need to run?

Going by SKILL.md and its folder, Scholar Search needs Python for the scripts in its folder, the command-line tools its instructions call (python3) and credentials named SERPAPI_KEY. Our summary lists: Python 3; A credential in SERPAPI_KEY.

Does Scholar Search 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 Search 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. The check reads SKILL.md only: the scripts in the folder are not scanned, so read them before running anything.

What licence does Scholar Search use?

Scholar Search is published under the Apache-2.0 licence (the repository's licence). It allows redistribution, so the full SKILL.md is shown on this page.

How many tokens does Scholar Search use?

About 615 tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 2.5k 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 Search?

Skills that share tags, products or a category with Scholar Search: Literature Review (neflibata-feng/MyArxiv-Agent, 126 stars), Openalex Database (neflibata-feng/MyArxiv-Agent, 126 stars), Citation Management (K-Dense-AI/claude-scientific-writer, 2.4k stars) and Preprint Search on bioRxiv (LigphiDonk/Oh-my--paper, 738 stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.

Who maintains Scholar Search?

lamm-mit (a GitHub user) maintains it in lamm-mit/scienceclaw, which has 244 GitHub stars. The repository holds 86 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on August 21, 2026.

Source: lamm-mit/scienceclaw on GitHub. Facts on this page come from the repository at the commit we read; the author's words are quoted as theirs.

Install Scholar Search

Facts

At a glance

What it does

When your agent uses it

Example prompts

Requirements

What it can do on your machine

Tool permissions

Runs code

Network

Credentials

Context cost

Safety

SKILL.md

Google Scholar Search

Usage

Basic search:

Filter by year range:

Sort by citations:

JSON output:

Parameters

Examples

Notes

Files

Compare with similar skills

Similar skills

More from lamm-mit/scienceclaw

Related

Questions about Scholar Search