Agent skill

Patents Search

by wu-yc in wu-yc/LabClaw

Search global patents with natural language queries. An agent skill from wu-yc/LabClaw.

MITAuto-check passedLegal & Compliance

Install Patents Search

skills CLI
$ npx skills add wu-yc/LabClaw --skill patents-search -a claude-code

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

GitHub CLI
$ gh skill install wu-yc/LabClaw patents-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/wu-yc/LabClaw.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/literature/patents-search .claude/skills/patents-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/

Facts

Skill name
patents-search
GitHub stars
1.1k
Used in
2 other repos
Token cost
~1.2k tokens
SKILL.md length
311 words
Files
1
Skills in repo
68
Repo updated
First seen
Licence
MIT

At a glance

Search global patents with natural language queries. An agent skill from wu-yc/LabClaw.

  • Works in 2 steps: Node.js 18+ (uses built-in fetch) → Valyu API key from…
  • Tasks that involve Intellectual property
  • SKILL.md covers Why This Skill is Powerful, Requirements, CRITICAL: Script Path Resolution and API Key Setup Flow, plus 8 more sections
  • Calls jq; reaches api.valyu.ai and patents.google.com

What it does

Patents Search is an agent skill from wu-yc/LabClaw. Search global patents with natural language queries. Prior art, patent landscapes, and innovation tracking via Valyu.

Its SKILL.md is about 1.2k 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 Legal & Compliance, covering Intellectual property. The repository describes itself as: LabClaw – Operating Layer for LabOS (Stanford-Princeton AI Co-Scientists). The licence is MIT.

When your agent uses it

  • Tasks that involve Intellectual property

Example prompts

  • “/patents-search”

Requirements

  • Python 3
  • Node.js

Workflow steps

2 steps, taken from the first numbered list in SKILL.md.

  1. Node.js 18+ (uses built-in fetch)
  2. Valyu API key from https://platform.valyu.ai ($10 free credits)

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit df37802. 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:

    • jq

    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.valyu.ai
    • patents.google.com

    Also links to:

    • platform.valyu.ai
    • docs.valyu.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

Patents Search loads about 1.2k tokens when it runs. Until then it costs about 33 tokens; SKILL.md has 311 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it
~33
When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches
~1.2k

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 wu-yc/LabClaw at commit df37802, republished under its MIT licence (© wu-yc). 311 words, ~1,236 tokens.

Download SKILL.mdSave it as .claude/skills/patents-search/SKILL.md (or your agent's skills folder).
name
patents-search
description
Search global patents with natural language queries. Prior art, patent landscapes, and innovation tracking via Valyu.
keywords
patents, patent-search, prior-art, intellectual-property, innovation-tracking, semantic-search
license
MIT

Search the complete global patent database using natural language queries powered by Valyu's semantic search API.

Why This Skill is Powerful

  • No API Parameter Parsing: Just pass natural language queries directly - no need to construct complex search parameters
  • Semantic Search: Understands the meaning of your query, not just keyword matching
  • Full-Text Access: Returns complete patent information including claims, descriptions, and technical details
  • Image Links: Includes patent diagrams and figures when available
  • Comprehensive Coverage: Access to global patent data across jurisdictions

Requirements

  1. Node.js 18+ (uses built-in fetch)
  2. Valyu API key from https://platform.valyu.ai ($10 free credits)

CRITICAL: Script Path Resolution

The scripts/search commands in this documentation are relative to this skill's installation directory.

Before running any command, locate the script using:

bash
PATENTS_SCRIPT=$(find ~/.claude/plugins/cache -name "search" -path "*/patents-search/*/scripts/*" -type f 2>/dev/null | head -1)

Then use the full path for all commands:

bash
$PATENTS_SCRIPT "CRISPR gene editing methods" 15

API Key Setup Flow

When you run a search and receive "setup_required": true, follow this flow:

  1. Ask the user for their API key: "To search patents, I need your Valyu API key. Get one free ($10 credits) at https://platform.valyu.ai"

  2. Once the user provides the key, run:

    bash
    scripts/search setup <api-key>
  3. Retry the original search.

When to Use This Skill

  • Prior art searching and patent landscaping
  • Technology trend analysis
  • Competitor innovation tracking
  • Patent freedom-to-operate analysis
  • Patent claim analysis and interpretation
  • Patent filing strategy research

Output Format

json
{
  "success": true,
  "type": "patents_search",
  "query": "CRISPR gene editing methods",
  "result_count": 10,
  "results": [
    {
      "title": "Patent Title",
      "url": "https://patents.google.com/...",
      "content": "Patent claims, description, technical details...",
      "source": "patents",
      "relevance_score": 0.95,
      "images": ["https://example.com/diagram.png"]
    }
  ],
  "cost": 0.025
}

Processing Results

With jq
bash
# Get patent titles
scripts/search "query" 10 | jq -r '.results[].title'

# Get URLs
scripts/search "query" 10 | jq -r '.results[].url'

# Extract full content
scripts/search "query" 10 | jq -r '.results[].content'

Common Use Cases

bash
# Find prior art
scripts/search "lithium ion battery electrode materials" 50
Competitive Intelligence
bash
# Search competitor patents
scripts/search "CAR-T cell therapy manufacturing methods" 20
Technology Landscape
bash
# Find technology trends
scripts/search "quantum computing error correction patents" 15
Freedom to Operate
bash
# Search for blocking patents
scripts/search "mRNA vaccine delivery systems" 25

Error Handling

All commands return JSON with success field:

json
{
  "success": false,
  "error": "Error message"
}

Exit codes:

  • 0 - Success
  • 1 - Error (check JSON for details)

API Endpoint

  • Base URL: https://api.valyu.ai/v1
  • Endpoint: /search
  • Authentication: X-API-Key header

Architecture

scripts/
├── search          # Bash wrapper
└── search.mjs      # Node.js CLI

Direct API calls using Node.js built-in fetch(), zero external dependencies.

Adding to Your Project

If you're building an AI project and want to integrate Patents Search directly into your application, use the Valyu SDK:

Python Integration
python
from valyu import Valyu

client = Valyu(api_key="your-api-key")

response = client.search(
    query="your search query here",
    included_sources=["valyu/valyu-patents"],
    max_results=20
)

for result in response["results"]:
    print(f"Title: {result['title']}")
    print(f"URL: {result['url']}")
    print(f"Content: {result['content'][:500]}...")
TypeScript Integration
typescript
import { Valyu } from "valyu-js";

const client = new Valyu("your-api-key");

const response = await client.search({
  query: "your search query here",
  includedSources: ["valyu/valyu-patents"],
  maxResults: 20
});

response.results.forEach((result) => {
  console.log(`Title: ${result.title}`);
  console.log(`URL: ${result.url}`);
  console.log(`Content: ${result.content.substring(0, 500)}...`);
});

See the Valyu docs for full integration examples and SDK reference.

© wu-yc, 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/patents-search of wu-yc/LabClaw.

Open the folder on GitHubat commit df37802

Used in 2 other repositories

We found 2 copies of this SKILL.md (exact, near-identical or edited) in other folders, from 2 other GitHub owners. This page covers the copy in wu-yc/LabClaw, which our catalogue first saw on October 9, 2026.

Compare with similar skills

Patents 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.

Patents Search compared with similar skills
SkillStarsUsed inTokensAuto-checkLicenceRepo updated
Patents Search this skillwu-yc/LabClaw1.1k2 repos~1.2kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Paper to Chinese Patent DrafterYuan1z0825/nature-skills47k1 repos~1.1kAutomated safety check: PassApache-2.0
Paper To Cn Patentsnipp-zha/Paper-to-patent-Skill1071 repos~959Automated safety check: PassNone
Patent Examinegfodor/legal-skills393—~4.8kAutomated safety check: PassGPL-3.0
Patent Auditgfodor/legal-skills393—~2.9kAutomated safety check: PassGPL-3.0
Replica BrandJakeschincariol/replica-skill1.4k—~1.1kAutomated safety check: PassMIT

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Questions about Patents Search

What does Patents Search do?

Search global patents with natural language queries. An agent skill from wu-yc/LabClaw. Patents Search is an agent skill from wu-yc/LabClaw. Search global patents with natural language queries.

When should I use Patents Search?

Patents Search fits situations like: tasks that involve Intellectual property.

How do I install Patents Search in Claude Code?

Run `npx skills add wu-yc/LabClaw --skill patents-search -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/literature/patents-search in wu-yc/LabClaw) into .claude/skills/patents-search in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.

How do I install Patents Search in Codex?

Run `npx skills add wu-yc/LabClaw --skill patents-search -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/literature/patents-search in wu-yc/LabClaw) into .agents/skills/patents-search in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.

Can I use Patents 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 wu-yc/LabClaw --skill patents-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/patents-search, .gemini/skills/patents-search, .github/skills/patents-search and .opencode/skills/patents-search in your project.

What does Patents Search need to run?

Going by SKILL.md and its folder, Patents Search needs the command-line tools its instructions call (jq). Our summary lists: Python 3; Node.js.

Does Patents Search access the network?

SKILL.md names 4 domains. In commands or code: api.valyu.ai and patents.google.com; the agent is likely to contact these when it follows the instructions. As links in the text: platform.valyu.ai and docs.valyu.ai. This is read from the text; nothing was executed.

Is Patents 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. Review the folder before installing.

What licence does Patents Search use?

Patents Search is published under the MIT licence (declared in SKILL.md). It allows redistribution, so the full SKILL.md is shown on this page.

How many tokens does Patents Search use?

About 1.2k tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 4.9k 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 Patents Search?

Skills that share tags, products or a category with Patents Search: Paper to Chinese Patent Drafter (Yuan1z0825/nature-skills, 47k stars), Paper To Cn Patent (snipp-zha/Paper-to-patent-Skill, 107 stars), Patent Examine (gfodor/legal-skills, 393 stars) and Patent Audit (gfodor/legal-skills, 393 stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.

Who maintains Patents Search?

wu-yc (a GitHub user) maintains it in wu-yc/LabClaw, which has 1,055 GitHub stars. The repository holds 68 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on March 19, 2026.

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