Agent skill

Zotero Literature Visualizer

by xuezheng627 in xuezheng627/zotero-literature-visualizer

Build evidence-aware bilingual literature reviews and interactive dashboards from a local Zotero library or a new topic search.

MITAuto-check passedResearch & Science

Install Zotero Literature Visualizer

skills CLI
$ npx skills add xuezheng627/zotero-literature-visualizer --skill zotero-literature-visualizer -a claude-code

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

GitHub CLI
$ gh skill install xuezheng627/zotero-literature-visualizer zotero-literature-visualizer --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/xuezheng627/zotero-literature-visualizer.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/zotero-literature-visualizer .claude/skills/zotero-literature-visualizer && 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
zotero-literature-visualizer
GitHub stars
104
Token cost
~2k tokens
SKILL.md length
777 words
Files
25 (incl. scripts, references)
Skills in repo
1
Repo updated
First seen
Licence
MIT

At a glance

Build evidence-aware bilingual literature reviews and interactive dashboards from a local Zotero library or a new topic search.

  • Works in 7 steps: Research question or purpose / 研究问题或目的 → Method and study design / 方法与研究设计 → Data, sample, case, or setting /… → …
  • Zotero PDF analysis
  • SKILL.md covers Purpose, Choose the workflow, Non-negotiable rules and Common output contract, plus 5 more sections
  • Needs ZOTERO_API_KEY

What it does

Zotero Literature Visualizer is an agent skill from xuezheng627/zotero-literature-visualizer. Build evidence-aware bilingual literature reviews and interactive dashboards from a local Zotero library or a new topic search. Use for Zotero PDF analysis, paper classification, bilingual research cards, journal-quality verification, citation networks, reading-state dashboards, or Zotero write-back.

Its SKILL.md is about 2k tokens, which your agent loads only when the skill is triggered. The skill folder holds 29 other files, including scripts and reference files (for example `PRIVACY.md`, `README.md` and `agents/openai.yaml`).

It sits in Research & Science, covering Citation management and Translation. It works with Zotero. The repository describes itself as: 面向 Codex 的 Zotero 文献整理与可视化 skill:支持文献检索、全文下载流程、Zotero PDF 直读、自动分类总结,并生成中英文交互式文献 dashboard。 English Description A Codex skill for Zotero-based literature organization and… The licence is MIT.

When your agent uses it

  • Zotero PDF analysis
  • Paper classification
  • Bilingual research cards
  • Journal-quality verification

Example prompts

  • “/zotero-literature-visualizer”

Requirements

  • Python 3
  • A credential in ZOTERO_API_KEY

Workflow steps

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

  1. Research question or purpose / 研究问题或目的
  2. Method and study design / 方法与研究设计
  3. Data, sample, case, or setting / 数据、样本、案例或场景
  4. Main findings / 主要发现
  5. Limitations / 局限
  6. Relevance to the review / 与综述主题的关系
  7. Evidence level / 证据层级

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit cc698cd. 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/, which the agent can run.

    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:

    • ZOTERO_API_KEY

    From names ending in _API_KEY, _TOKEN, _SECRET, _KEY or _PASSWORD in SKILL.md.

Context cost

Zotero Literature Visualizer loads about 2k tokens when it runs, and up to ~7.7k if it reads all its reference files. Until then it costs about 83 tokens; SKILL.md has 777 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it
~83
When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches
~2k
With references · SKILL.md plus every file in references/, read only if the agent opens them
~7.7k

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 xuezheng627/zotero-literature-visualizer at commit cc698cd, republished under its MIT licence (© xuezheng627). 777 words, ~2,012 tokens.

Download SKILL.mdSave it as .claude/skills/zotero-literature-visualizer/SKILL.md (or your agent's skills folder). This skill also uses 24 other files; get the full folder from GitHub.
name
zotero-literature-visualizer
description
Build evidence-aware bilingual literature reviews and interactive dashboards from a local Zotero library or a new topic search. Use for Zotero PDF analysis, paper classification, bilingual research cards, journal-quality verification, citation networks, reading-state dashboards, or Zotero write-back.

Zotero Literature Visualizer

Purpose

Turn either a local Zotero library or a research topic into a reproducible literature workspace containing normalized metadata, evidence-aware paper notes, a bilingual synthesis, and an offline interactive dashboard.

Bundled scripts perform deterministic collection, Zotero snapshot reading, metadata normalization, dashboard rendering, citation-network enrichment, and optional Zotero API writes. The agent remains responsible for scholarly judgment: relevance screening, evidence verification, full-text interpretation, taxonomy design, and paper-specific bilingual summaries.

Choose the workflow

User intentWorkflowRead first
Analyze an existing Zotero libraryLocal Zotero modereferences/zotero-workflows.md
Add papers, tags, notes, or reading state to ZoteroZotero API/write-back modereferences/zotero-workflows.md
Search and review a new topicDiscovery modereferences/discovery-workflow.md
Verify Impact Factor or CAS partition claimsQuality evidencereferences/quality-and-evidence.md
Build or refine the interactive dashboardDashboard modereferences/dashboard-workflow.md and references/dashboard-spec.md

Do not combine modes automatically. In particular, do not apply the discovery workflow's journal or date defaults to a user's existing Zotero library unless requested.

Non-negotiable rules

Privacy and portability
  • Never place names, email addresses, institutional accounts, API keys, cookies, browser profiles, Zotero databases, PDFs, or local absolute paths inside this skill or a shareable archive.
  • Keep run data outside the skill directory. Treat examples/demo-review as synthetic demonstration data only.
  • Read Zotero through a temporary SQLite snapshot. Never edit zotero.sqlite directly.
  • Read API keys only from ZOTERO_API_KEY or a user-supplied file outside the skill directory. Never print or commit them.
  • Do not copy or upload a user's Zotero PDFs unless the user explicitly requests an authorized import or upload workflow.
Evidence integrity
  • Never invent bibliographic fields, Impact Factors, CAS partitions, findings, methods, datasets, limitations, or citations.
  • Distinguish full_text, abstract_only, and metadata_only evidence states.
  • For a paper with a readable local PDF, derive the detailed card from the full text.
  • Without a readable PDF, summarize only the abstract and label the evidence level clearly.
  • If neither PDF text nor abstract is available, provide metadata only and state that no substantive summary was possible.
  • Do not present search snippets, inferred labels, or generic templates as paper findings.
Access and selection
  • Relevance and quality determine selection; open-access status must not affect ranking.
  • Analyze PDFs already available locally to the user. This skill does not claim to download subscription PDFs or control authenticated browser sessions.
  • Verify journal metrics from an official journal, publisher, Clarivate, or CAS source before displaying them as official.

Common output contract

Use a run directory outside the skill, normally <workspace>/literature-reviews/<topic-slug>/.

Expected core files:

  • metadata/papers.json and metadata/papers.csv: normalized paper records.
  • texts/: extracted PDF text when locally available.
  • review-bilingual.md: Chinese-English synthesis grounded in the available evidence.
  • relationship-map.md: theme-method relationships and research gaps.
  • dashboard-spec.json: editable bilingual taxonomy and paper-card semantics.
  • <dashboard-name>.html: offline interactive dashboard.

Optional files include metadata/citation-network.json, metadata/journal-if-evidence.csv, metadata/papers-to-zotero.json, update-digest.md, and Zotero write-back logs.

Show full SKILL.md (324 more words)Show less

Paper-card contract

Each card should be paper-specific and bilingual. Include only claims supported by the available evidence:

  1. Research question or purpose / 研究问题或目的
  2. Method and study design / 方法与研究设计
  3. Data, sample, case, or setting / 数据、样本、案例或场景
  4. Main findings / 主要发现
  5. Limitations / 局限
  6. Relevance to the review / 与综述主题的关系
  7. Evidence level / 证据层级

Do not mechanically translate the English abstract into every field. With a PDF, inspect the abstract, methods, results, discussion, and conclusion; with abstract-only evidence, use cautious language such as “the abstract reports”.

Minimal command patterns

Resolve <python> to a real Python 3.10+ interpreter and <skill-dir> to this skill directory.

Local Zotero library
powershell
& '<python>' '<skill-dir>\scripts\systematic_literature_review.py' zotero-import `
  --output-dir '<workspace>\literature-reviews\zotero-library' `
  --topic 'My Zotero Library' `
  --dashboard-name 'zotero-literature-dashboard'

Omit --limit for a final full-library run. Use --zotero-dir only when auto-discovery or ZOTERO_DATA_DIR does not locate the library.

Topic discovery
powershell
& '<python>' '<skill-dir>\scripts\systematic_literature_review.py' init-config `
  --topic '<topic>' --years 1 --min-if 5 `
  --output '<run-dir>\review-config.json'

& '<python>' '<skill-dir>\scripts\systematic_literature_review.py' collect `
  --config '<run-dir>\review-config.json' `
  --output-dir '<run-dir>' --max-results 120

Verify journal evidence before finalizing. See references/discovery-workflow.md.

Dashboard
powershell
& '<python>' '<skill-dir>\scripts\build_literature_dashboard.py' init-spec `
  --papers '<run-dir>\metadata\papers.json' `
  --output '<run-dir>\dashboard-spec.json'

& '<python>' '<skill-dir>\scripts\build_literature_dashboard.py' build `
  --papers '<run-dir>\metadata\papers.json' `
  --spec '<run-dir>\dashboard-spec.json' `
  --output-dir '<run-dir>' --dashboard-name 'literature-dashboard'

Use --inline for a single-file dashboard. Large libraries automatically use the scalable layout.

Completion checks

Before reporting completion:

  • Confirm the intended library or search scope and final paper count.
  • Spot-check titles, DOI values, authors, years, and resolved PDF paths.
  • Confirm each detailed card's evidence level matches its source.
  • Confirm Chinese and English content is meaningful, not duplicated placeholder text.
  • Open the dashboard and test search, filters, paper details, PDF/Zotero links, reading status, stars, and notes.
  • Verify no mojibake, broken assets, personal paths, credentials, or user data entered the skill directory.
  • For Zotero writes, run a dry-run first and retain the write log.

Bundled resources

  • scripts/systematic_literature_review.py: topic discovery, Zotero snapshot import, metadata normalization, queues, and exports.
  • scripts/build_literature_dashboard.py: dashboard spec creation and rendering.
  • scripts/large_library_dashboard.py: scalable layout for large libraries.
  • scripts/dashboard_common.py: shared dashboard UI, bilingual controls, reading state, stars, notes, and exports.
  • scripts/citation_network.py: OpenAlex-based in-collection citation enrichment.
  • scripts/zotero_api_import.py: Zotero Web API import and dashboard write-back.
  • scripts/zotero_link_items.py: local DOI/title matching to Zotero item keys.
  • scripts/quick_validate.py: offline portability and smoke validation.
  • references/reporting-template.md: final reporting structure.
  • examples/demo-review/: synthetic sample data; never cite it as real research.

Validate this skill

powershell
& '<python>' '<skill-dir>\scripts\quick_validate.py' '<skill-dir>'

Run this before creating a release archive.

© xuezheng627, MIT. Rendered from Markdown: HTML in the file is shown as text, images as links, and headings moved down two levels. Raw file

Files

SKILL.md and 24 other files (scripts, references) in zotero-literature-visualizer of xuezheng627/zotero-literature-visualizer.

  • SKILL.md
  • LICENSE
  • PRIVACY.md
  • README.md
  • agents/openai.yaml
  • examples/README.md
  • examples/demo-review/dashboard-spec.json
  • examples/demo-review/metadata/citation-network.json
  • examples/demo-review/metadata/papers.json
  • references/dashboard-spec.md
  • references/dashboard-workflow.md
  • references/discovery-workflow.md
  • references/if-verification.md
  • references/quality-and-evidence.md
  • references/reporting-template.md
  • references/zotero-workflows.md
  • … and 9 more

Open the folder on GitHubat commit cc698cd

Compare with similar skills

Zotero Literature Visualizer 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.

Zotero Literature Visualizer compared with similar skills
SkillStarsUsed inTokensAuto-checkLicenceRepo updated
Zotero Literature Visualizer this skillxuezheng627/zotero-literature-visualizer104—~2kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Systematic Review ScreenerImbad0202/academic-research-skills51k—~8.4kAutomated safety check: PassCustom licence
Citation Verification GuideGalaxy-Dawn/claude-scholar5.7k2 repos~1.9kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Cnki Exportcookjohn/cnki-skills9832 repos~1.7kAutomated safety check: PassNone
Annotate Paper54yyyu/zotero-mcp5.3k—~1.5kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Zotero CLI54yyyu/zotero-mcp5.3k—~2.3kAutomated safety check: PassMIT

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Works with

Questions about Zotero Literature Visualizer

What does Zotero Literature Visualizer do?

Build evidence-aware bilingual literature reviews and interactive dashboards from a local Zotero library or a new topic search. Zotero Literature Visualizer is an agent skill from xuezheng627/zotero-literature-visualizer. Build evidence-aware bilingual literature reviews and interactive dashboards from a local Zotero library or a new topic search.

When should I use Zotero Literature Visualizer?

Zotero Literature Visualizer fits situations like: zotero PDF analysis; paper classification; bilingual research cards; journal-quality verification.

How do I install Zotero Literature Visualizer in Claude Code?

Run `npx skills add xuezheng627/zotero-literature-visualizer --skill zotero-literature-visualizer -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (zotero-literature-visualizer in xuezheng627/zotero-literature-visualizer) into .claude/skills/zotero-literature-visualizer in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.

How do I install Zotero Literature Visualizer in Codex?

Run `npx skills add xuezheng627/zotero-literature-visualizer --skill zotero-literature-visualizer -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (zotero-literature-visualizer in xuezheng627/zotero-literature-visualizer) into .agents/skills/zotero-literature-visualizer in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.

Can I use Zotero Literature Visualizer 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 xuezheng627/zotero-literature-visualizer --skill zotero-literature-visualizer -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/zotero-literature-visualizer, .gemini/skills/zotero-literature-visualizer, .github/skills/zotero-literature-visualizer and .opencode/skills/zotero-literature-visualizer in your project.

What does Zotero Literature Visualizer need to run?

Going by SKILL.md and its folder, Zotero Literature Visualizer needs credentials named ZOTERO_API_KEY. Our summary lists: Python 3; A credential in ZOTERO_API_KEY.

Does Zotero Literature Visualizer 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 Zotero Literature Visualizer 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 Zotero Literature Visualizer use?

Zotero Literature Visualizer is published under the MIT licence (from the LICENSE file in the skill folder). It allows redistribution, so the full SKILL.md is shown on this page.

How many tokens does Zotero Literature Visualizer use?

About 2k tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 8k 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 5.7k tokens, read only when the agent opens those files.

What are the alternatives to Zotero Literature Visualizer?

Skills that share tags, products or a category with Zotero Literature Visualizer: Systematic Review Screener (Imbad0202/academic-research-skills, 51k stars), Citation Verification Guide (Galaxy-Dawn/claude-scholar, 5.7k stars), Cnki Export (cookjohn/cnki-skills, 983 stars) and Annotate Paper (54yyyu/zotero-mcp, 5.3k stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.

Who maintains Zotero Literature Visualizer?

xuezheng627 (a GitHub user) maintains it in xuezheng627/zotero-literature-visualizer, which has 104 GitHub stars. The repository was last updated on August 26, 2026.

Source: xuezheng627/zotero-literature-visualizer on GitHub. Facts on this page come from the repository at the commit we read; the author's words are quoted as theirs.