Systematic Review Screener
Imbad0202/academic-research-skills
Screens records for systematic, scoping and rapid reviews against fixed eligibility rules, using two blinded AI reviewers and a third adjudicator, with traceable PRISMA counts.
Forward and backward citation chaining techniques for literature search
Install Citation Chaining Guide
$ npx skills add wentorai/research-plugins --skill citation-chaining-guide -a claude-codeProject install by default; add -g for ~/.claude/skills/.
$ gh skill install wentorai/research-plugins citation-chaining-guide --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/wentorai/research-plugins.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/literature/search/citation-chaining-guide .claude/skills/citation-chaining-guide && 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 "citation-chaining-guide" agent skill from https://github.com/wentorai/research-plugins/tree/main/skills/literature/search/citation-chaining-guide into .claude/skills/citation-chaining-guide/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "citation-chaining-guide", 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/wentorai/research-plugins/tree/main/skills/literature/search/citation-chaining-guideType 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 wentorai/research-plugins --skill citation-chaining-guide -a codexProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.codex/skills/.
$ gh skill install wentorai/research-plugins citation-chaining-guide --agent codexProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/wentorai/research-plugins.git skills-src && mkdir -p .agents/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/literature/search/citation-chaining-guide .agents/skills/citation-chaining-guide && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.agents/skills/ instead of .agents/skills for a personal install.
Codex skills documentation · loads skills from .agents/skills/
Install the "citation-chaining-guide" agent skill from https://github.com/wentorai/research-plugins/tree/main/skills/literature/search/citation-chaining-guide into .agents/skills/citation-chaining-guide/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "citation-chaining-guide", 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 wentorai/research-plugins --skill citation-chaining-guide -a cursorProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.cursor/skills/.
$ gh skill install wentorai/research-plugins citation-chaining-guide --agent cursorProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/wentorai/research-plugins.git skills-src && mkdir -p .cursor/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/literature/search/citation-chaining-guide .cursor/skills/citation-chaining-guide && 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 "citation-chaining-guide" agent skill from https://github.com/wentorai/research-plugins/tree/main/skills/literature/search/citation-chaining-guide into .cursor/skills/citation-chaining-guide/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "citation-chaining-guide", 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/wentorai/research-plugins.git --path skills/literature/search/citation-chaining-guide--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 wentorai/research-plugins --skill citation-chaining-guide -a gemini-cliProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.gemini/skills/.
$ gh skill install wentorai/research-plugins citation-chaining-guide --agent gemini-cliProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/wentorai/research-plugins.git skills-src && mkdir -p .gemini/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/literature/search/citation-chaining-guide .gemini/skills/citation-chaining-guide && 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 "citation-chaining-guide" agent skill from https://github.com/wentorai/research-plugins/tree/main/skills/literature/search/citation-chaining-guide into .gemini/skills/citation-chaining-guide/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "citation-chaining-guide", 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 wentorai/research-plugins citation-chaining-guideInstalls 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 wentorai/research-plugins --skill citation-chaining-guide -a github-copilotProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.copilot/skills/.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/wentorai/research-plugins.git skills-src && mkdir -p .github/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/literature/search/citation-chaining-guide .github/skills/citation-chaining-guide && 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 "citation-chaining-guide" agent skill from https://github.com/wentorai/research-plugins/tree/main/skills/literature/search/citation-chaining-guide into .github/skills/citation-chaining-guide/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "citation-chaining-guide", 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 wentorai/research-plugins --skill citation-chaining-guide -a opencodeOpenCode documents no install command of its own. Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.config/opencode/skills/.
$ gh skill install wentorai/research-plugins citation-chaining-guide --agent opencodeProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/wentorai/research-plugins.git skills-src && mkdir -p .opencode/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/literature/search/citation-chaining-guide .opencode/skills/citation-chaining-guide && 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 "citation-chaining-guide" agent skill from https://github.com/wentorai/research-plugins/tree/main/skills/literature/search/citation-chaining-guide into .opencode/skills/citation-chaining-guide/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "citation-chaining-guide", 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
citation-chaining-guide- GitHub stars
- 298
- Used in
- 1 other repo
- Token cost
- ~1.6k tokens
- SKILL.md length
- 466 words
- Files
- 1
- Skills in repo
- 405
- Repo updated
- First seen
- Licence
- MIT
At a glance
Forward and backward citation chaining techniques for literature search
- Works in 5 steps: Identify Seed Papers → Backward Chaining (Reference Mining) → Forward Chaining (Citation Tracking) → …
- Tasks that involve Citation management
- SKILL.md covers What Is Citation Chaining?, Step-by-Step Workflow, Tools for Citation Chaining and Common Pitfalls
- Reaches api.openalex.org and wentor.ai
What it does
Citation Chaining Guide is an agent skill from wentorai/research-plugins. Forward and backward citation chaining techniques for literature search
Its SKILL.md is about 1.6k tokens, which your agent loads only when the skill is triggered. It is a single SKILL.md file with no bundled scripts.
It sits in Research & Science, covering Citation management and Literature review. The repository describes itself as: 350+ academic research skills, MCP configs, and plugins for Research-Claw and AI agents. The licence is MIT.
When your agent uses it
- Tasks that involve Citation management
- Tasks that involve Literature review
Example prompts
- “/citation-chaining-guide”
Requirements
- Python 3
Workflow steps
5 steps, taken from the step headings in SKILL.md.
What it can do on your machine
Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit bf44b3c. 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
No scripts in the folder and no shell commands in SKILL.md (its code samples are python).
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.orgwentor.ai
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
Citation Chaining Guide loads about 1.6k tokens when it runs. Until then it costs about 24 tokens; SKILL.md has 466 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
The full file from wentorai/research-plugins at commit bf44b3c, republished under its MIT licence (© wentorai). 466 words, ~1,643 tokens.
Download SKILL.mdSave it as
.claude/skills/citation-chaining-guide/SKILL.md (or your agent's skills folder).- name
- citation-chaining-guide
- description
- Forward and backward citation chaining techniques for literature search
Citation Chaining Guide
Master forward and backward citation chaining to systematically discover relevant literature by following the threads of scholarly communication.
What Is Citation Chaining?
Citation chaining (also called citation tracking, pearl growing, or snowball searching) exploits the connections between papers through their references and citations. Starting from one or more "seed" papers, you trace connections in two directions:
- Backward chaining: Examine the reference list of a paper to find older, foundational works it builds upon.
- Forward chaining: Find newer papers that have cited the seed paper, discovering subsequent developments.
This approach is especially powerful when keyword searches fail (e.g., when terminology varies across subfields or when concepts predate standardized vocabulary).
Step-by-Step Workflow
Step 1: Identify Seed Papers
Select 3-5 highly relevant papers that are central to your research question. Good seed papers are:
- Frequently cited review articles or seminal original research
- Papers whose methodology or framework aligns closely with your work
- Recent papers in top venues for your field
Step 2: Backward Chaining (Reference Mining)
Examine the reference list of each seed paper and identify which cited works are relevant.
import requests
HEADERS = {"User-Agent": "ResearchPlugins/1.0 (https://wentor.ai)"}
def get_references(work_id):
"""Get all references of a paper via OpenAlex."""
url = f"https://api.openalex.org/works/{work_id}"
response = requests.get(url, headers=HEADERS)
paper = response.json()
ref_ids = paper.get("referenced_works", [])
references = []
for ref_id in ref_ids:
ref = requests.get(f"https://api.openalex.org/works/{ref_id.split('/')[-1]}", headers=HEADERS).json()
if ref.get("title"):
references.append(ref)
return references
# Get references of a seed paper
seed_id = "W2741809807"
references = get_references(seed_id)
# Sort by citation count to find the most influential foundations
references.sort(key=lambda p: p.get("cited_by_count", 0), reverse=True)
for ref in references[:15]:
print(f"[{ref.get('publication_year', '?')}] {ref['title']} ({ref.get('cited_by_count', 0)} citations)")Step 3: Forward Chaining (Citation Tracking)
Find all papers that have cited your seed paper.
def get_citations(work_id, limit=200):
"""Get papers citing a given paper via OpenAlex."""
all_citations = []
page = 1
while len(all_citations) < limit:
response = requests.get(
"https://api.openalex.org/works",
params={
"filter": f"cites:{work_id}",
"sort": "cited_by_count:desc",
"per_page": min(200, limit - len(all_citations)),
"page": page
},
headers=HEADERS
)
results = response.json().get("results", [])
if not results:
break
all_citations.extend(results)
page += 1
return all_citations
citations = get_citations(seed_id)
# Filter for recent, well-cited papers
recent_impactful = [c for c in citations if c.get("publication_year", 0) >= 2022 and c.get("cited_by_count", 0) >= 5]
recent_impactful.sort(key=lambda p: p.get("cited_by_count", 0), reverse=True)Step 4: Co-Citation and Bibliographic Coupling
Two advanced techniques extend basic citation chaining:
| Technique | Definition | What It Reveals |
|---|---|---|
| Co-citation | Two papers are frequently cited together by the same set of subsequent papers | Conceptual proximity: these works form a shared intellectual foundation |
| Bibliographic coupling | Two papers share many of the same references | Methodological or topical similarity at the time of writing |
def find_co_cited_papers(paper_ids, min_co_citation_count=3):
"""Find papers frequently co-cited with the given papers."""
from collections import Counter
reference_counts = Counter()
for pid in paper_ids:
refs = get_references(pid)
for ref in refs:
ref_id = ref.get("paperId")
if ref_id and ref_id not in paper_ids:
reference_counts[ref_id] += 1
# Papers cited by multiple seeds are co-cited candidates
co_cited = [(pid, count) for pid, count in reference_counts.items()
if count >= min_co_citation_count]
co_cited.sort(key=lambda x: x[1], reverse=True)
return co_citedShow full SKILL.md (210 more words)Show less
Step 5: Iterative Expansion
Repeat the process with the most relevant papers discovered in each round:
- Round 1: Start with 3-5 seed papers
- Round 2: Run backward + forward chaining on seeds, identify 10-15 new relevant papers
- Round 3: Run chaining on the new papers from Round 2
- Saturation: Stop when new rounds yield diminishing returns (i.e., the same papers keep appearing)
Tools for Citation Chaining
| Tool | Method | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Google Scholar "Cited by" | Forward chaining | Free |
| Web of Science "Cited References" / "Times Cited" | Both directions | Subscription |
| Scopus "References" / "Cited by" | Both directions | Subscription |
| OpenAlex API | Programmatic, both directions | Free |
| Connected Papers (connectedpapers.com) | Visual co-citation graph | Free (limited) |
| Litmaps (litmaps.com) | Visual citation network | Free tier |
| CoCites (cocites.com) | Co-citation analysis | Free |
| Citation Gecko | Seed-based discovery | Free |
Common Pitfalls
- Citation bias: Highly cited papers are not always the best or most relevant. Pay attention to less-cited but methodologically sound papers.
- Recency bias: Forward chaining favors recent papers with fewer citations. Allow time for citation accumulation or use Mendeley readership as a proxy.
- Field boundaries: Citation chains tend to stay within disciplinary silos. Combine with keyword searches in adjacent-field databases to break out.
- Incomplete coverage: No single database indexes all citations. Cross-check with at least two sources (e.g., OpenAlex + Google Scholar).
© wentorai, MIT. Rendered from Markdown: HTML in the file is shown as text, images as links, and headings moved down two levels. Raw file
Files
Just SKILL.md in skills/literature/search/citation-chaining-guide of wentorai/research-plugins.
Open the folder on GitHubat commit bf44b3c
Used in 1 other repository
We found 1 copy of this SKILL.md (exact, near-identical or edited) in other folders, from 1 other GitHub owner. This page covers the copy in wentorai/research-plugins, which our catalogue first saw on October 7, 2026.
Compare with similar skills
Citation Chaining Guide 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Citation Chaining Guide this skillwentorai/research-plugins | 298 | 1 repos | ~1.6k | Automated safety check: Pass | MIT | |
| Systematic Review ScreenerImbad0202/academic-research-skills | 51k | — | ~8.4k | Automated safety check: Pass | Custom licence | |
| Literature Reviewneflibata-feng/MyArxiv-Agent | 126 | 20 repos | ~5.9k | Automated safety check: Notes | MIT | |
| Preprint Search on bioRxivLigphiDonk/Oh-my--paper | 739 | 12 repos | ~3.7k | Automated safety check: Pass | MIT | |
| Academic Paper Writing PipelineImbad0202/academic-research-skills | 51k | — | ~16k | Automated safety check: Pass | Custom licence | |
| Deep Research WorkflowTokenRhythm/opensquilla | 7.1k | — | ~1.3k | Automated safety check: Pass | Apache-2.0 |
Similar skills
Literature Review
neflibata-feng/MyArxiv-Agent
Conduct comprehensive, systematic literature reviews using multiple academic databases (PubMed, arXiv, bioRxiv, Semantic Scholar, etc.).
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.
Academic Paper Writing Pipeline
Imbad0202/academic-research-skills
Runs a 12-agent pipeline that plans, drafts, cites, reviews and formats academic papers, with modes for revision, rebuttals, abstracts and citation checks.
Deep Research Workflow
TokenRhythm/opensquilla
Runs multi-round research in three stages with a persisted state file, evidence tracking and a long-form report with per-claim citations.
Academic Research Suite for Codex
Imbad0202/academic-research-skills-codex
A router skill that sends academic work such as literature reviews, drafting, citation checks, peer review and revision to the right workflow in the ARS suite.
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Related
Categories
Questions about Citation Chaining Guide
What does Citation Chaining Guide do?
Forward and backward citation chaining techniques for literature search. Citation Chaining Guide is an agent skill from wentorai/research-plugins.
When should I use Citation Chaining Guide?
Citation Chaining Guide fits situations like: tasks that involve Citation management; tasks that involve Literature review.
How do I install Citation Chaining Guide in Claude Code?
Run `npx skills add wentorai/research-plugins --skill citation-chaining-guide -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/literature/search/citation-chaining-guide in wentorai/research-plugins) into .claude/skills/citation-chaining-guide in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.
How do I install Citation Chaining Guide in Codex?
Run `npx skills add wentorai/research-plugins --skill citation-chaining-guide -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/literature/search/citation-chaining-guide in wentorai/research-plugins) into .agents/skills/citation-chaining-guide in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.
Can I use Citation Chaining Guide 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 wentorai/research-plugins --skill citation-chaining-guide -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/citation-chaining-guide, .gemini/skills/citation-chaining-guide, .github/skills/citation-chaining-guide and .opencode/skills/citation-chaining-guide in your project.
What does Citation Chaining Guide need to run?
SKILL.md names no scripts, command-line tools or credentials: Citation Chaining Guide is instructions for the agent only. Our summary lists: Python 3.
Does Citation Chaining Guide access the network?
SKILL.md names 2 domains. In commands or code: api.openalex.org and wentor.ai; the agent is likely to contact these when it follows the instructions. This is read from the text; nothing was executed.
Is Citation Chaining Guide 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 Citation Chaining Guide use?
Citation Chaining Guide is published under the MIT licence (the repository's licence). It allows redistribution, so the full SKILL.md is shown on this page.
How many tokens does Citation Chaining Guide use?
About 1.6k tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 6.6k 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 Citation Chaining Guide?
Skills that share tags, products or a category with Citation Chaining Guide: Systematic Review Screener (Imbad0202/academic-research-skills, 51k stars), Literature Review (neflibata-feng/MyArxiv-Agent, 126 stars), Preprint Search on bioRxiv (LigphiDonk/Oh-my--paper, 739 stars) and Academic Paper Writing Pipeline (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 Citation Chaining Guide?
wentorai (a GitHub user) maintains it in wentorai/research-plugins, which has 298 GitHub stars. The repository holds 405 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on June 19, 2026.
Source: wentorai/research-plugins on GitHub. Facts on this page come from the repository at the commit we read; the author's words are quoted as theirs.