# Expand References

> Expand one to three seed papers into nearby, bridge, foundational, methodological, recent, and survey follow-ups

- Skill: `ecnu-icalk/expand-references` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 22 files)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add ecnu-icalk/expand-references`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/ecnu-icalk/expand-references/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Coding & Dev Tools
- Author: ECNU-ICALK (https://skillmd.com/u/ecnu-icalk)
- Updated: 2026-09-17
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/ecnu-icalk/expand-references

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# Expand References

Turn one to three seed papers into a structured follow-up reading list.
Use this when the human already has anchor papers and wants the next papers to read.

## Arguments

- Positional arguments are the seed papers. Quote multi-word titles.
- `--negative <paper>` may be repeated to push the workflow away from an unwanted cluster.
- `--pool all-cs|recent` selects the Semantic Scholar recommendation pool.
- `--limit <n>` controls how many raw recommendations are requested before reranking.
- `--per-bucket-limit <n>` caps each curated bucket after scoring.

## Workflow

1. Run `python scripts/run.py ...`.
2. Read `result.closest_neighbors` for the immediate next reads.
3. Read `result.bridge_papers` for papers that connect multiple seeds.
4. Read `result.foundational`, `result.methodological`, `result.recent`, and `result.surveys_or_benchmarks` for curated slices of the neighborhood.
5. If the result is sparse or off-topic, adjust the seed set or add `--negative` papers and rerun.

## Output

- The script prints the unified JSON envelope described in `output_contract.md`.
- The underlying workflow result is `ExpandReferencesResult.to_dict()`.
- `result.notes` captures dropped records and other execution notes.

## When To Escalate

- Fewer than one clear seed paper is available.
- The resolved seeds are obviously duplicates or wrong papers.
- The output is empty even after trying better seeds or a different recommendation pool.