How do I install the Validate Bib skill?

Run npx skillmds@latest add brycewang-stanford/validate-bib in your terminal (requires Node.js), paste this page's agent-chat prompt into Claude, Cursor, or any MCP-connected agent, or download the SKILL.md file and copy it into your agent's skills directory.

Is Validate Bib safe to use?

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Which AI agents work with Validate Bib?

This skill is tagged as working with Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex. SKILL.md is an open format, so most agents that read a skills directory can load it too.

Is Validate Bib free to use?

Yes. Installing skills from SkillMD is free, and the skill stays under its author's original license.

Who published Validate Bib?

brycewang-stanford (@brycewang-stanford) published this skill. Their other Agent Skills are listed on their SkillMD profile.

Validate Bib by brycewang-stanford — Agent Skill

Name: Validate Bib
Rating: 4.666666666666667 (3 reviews)
Author: brycewang-stanford

Validate Bib

Validate bibliography entries against citations in manuscript and Quarto book files. Find missing entries, unused references, potential typos, and quality issues. This skill should be used when asked to "check the bibliography", "validate citations", or "validate-bib".

brycewang-stanford Updated Sep 8, 2026 1k repo stars

File contents

Validate Bibliography

Cross-reference all citations in manuscript and book files against bibliography entries.

Workflow

Step 1: Read the bibliography

Read docs/overleaf/refs.bib and extract all citation keys.

Step 2: Scan all files for citation keys

.tex files in docs/overleaf/: look for \textcite{, \parencite{, \cite{, \citet{, \citep{, \citeauthor{, \citeyear{}
.qmd files in book/: look for @key, [@key], [@key1; @key2]
Extract all unique citation keys used

Step 3: Cross-reference

Missing entries (CRITICAL): Citations used in files but NOT in refs.bib
Unused entries (informational): Entries in refs.bib not cited anywhere
Potential typos: Similar-but-not-matching keys (Levenshtein distance)

Step 4: Check entry quality

For each bib entry:

Required fields present (author, title, year, journal/booktitle)
Author field properly formatted (Last, First and Last, First)
Year is reasonable (1900-2026)
No malformed characters or encoding issues
Entry type appropriate (@article, @incollection, @techreport, etc.)

Step 5: Report findings

## Bibliography Validation Report
**Date:** YYYY-MM-DD
**Bibliography:** docs/overleaf/refs.bib
**Total entries:** N
**Files scanned:** N .tex + N .qmd

### Missing Entries (CRITICAL)
| Citation Key | Used In | Line |
|-------------|---------|------|
| ... | ... | ... |

### Unused Entries
| Citation Key | Entry Type |
|-------------|------------|
| ... | ... |

### Potential Typos
| Used Key | Similar Bib Key | File |
|----------|----------------|------|
| ... | ... | ... |

### Quality Issues
| Citation Key | Issue |
|-------------|-------|
| ... | Missing journal field |

Files to scan

docs/overleaf/*.tex
book/*.qmd

Bibliography location

docs/overleaf/refs.bib

---name: validate-bibdescription: Validate bibliography entries against citations in manuscript and Quarto book files. Find missing entries, unused references, potential typos, and quality issues. This skill should be used when asked to "check the bibliography", "validate citations", or "validate-bib".---# Validate BibliographyCross-reference all citations in manuscript and book files against bibliography entries.---## Workflow### Step 1: Read the bibliographyRead `docs/overleaf/refs.bib` and extract all citation keys.### Step 2: Scan all files for citation keys- **`.tex` files** in `docs/overleaf/`: look for `\textcite{`, `\parencite{`, `\cite{`, `\citet{`, `\citep{`, `\citeauthor{`, `\citeyear{}`- **`.qmd` files** in `book/`: look for `@key`, `[@key]`, `[@key1; @key2]`- Extract all unique citation keys used### Step 3: Cross-reference- **Missing entries (CRITICAL):** Citations used in files but NOT in `refs.bib`- **Unused entries (informational):** Entries in `refs.bib` not cited anywhere- **Potential typos:** Similar-but-not-matching keys (Levenshtein distance)### Step 4: Check entry qualityFor each bib entry:- Required fields present (author, title, year, journal/booktitle)- Author field properly formatted (Last, First and Last, First)- Year is reasonable (1900-2026)- No malformed characters or encoding issues- Entry type appropriate (@article, @incollection, @techreport, etc.)### Step 5: Report findings```markdown## Bibliography Validation Report**Date:** YYYY-MM-DD**Bibliography:** docs/overleaf/refs.bib**Total entries:** N**Files scanned:** N .tex + N .qmd### Missing Entries (CRITICAL)| Citation Key | Used In | Line ||-------------|---------|------|| ... | ... | ... |### Unused Entries| Citation Key | Entry Type ||-------------|------------|| ... | ... |### Potential Typos| Used Key | Similar Bib Key | File ||----------|----------------|------|| ... | ... | ... |### Quality Issues| Citation Key | Issue ||-------------|-------|| ... | Missing journal field |```---## Files to scan```docs/overleaf/*.texbook/*.qmd```## Bibliography location```docs/overleaf/refs.bib```

Frequently asked questions