How do I install the Papers skill?

Run npx skillmds add thedixitjain/papers 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 Papers safe to use?

This skill has not completed SkillMD's automated safety review yet. Capability flags: makes network calls. SkillMD never runs a skill's scripts for you; review the SKILL.md before installing.

Which AI agents work with Papers?

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 Papers free to use?

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

Who published Papers?

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

Papers by thedixitjain — Agent Skill

Name: Papers
Rating: 4.2 (5 reviews)
Author: thedixitjain

File contents

Academic Papers Search

When To Use

Finding academic papers, citations, or formal research
Building literature reviews or citation chains

When NOT To Use

Community opinions (use /tome:discourse)
Code implementations (use /tome:code-search)

Search arXiv, Semantic Scholar, and open-access sources.

Sources (Priority Order)

arXiv API (free, unlimited metadata)
Semantic Scholar API (100 req/5min, citation graphs)
Unpaywall (legal free version discovery)
CORE.ac.uk (open-access aggregator)
PubMed Central (biomedical)
Author preprint pages (WebSearch fallback)

PDF Processing

After acquiring a paper URL or local file path, convert the PDF to markdown for better extraction quality.

Conversion (prefer markitdown)

Apply the leyline:document-conversion protocol:

Try markitdown first: call the MCP convert_to_markdown tool with the PDF URL or file:// path. This produces structured markdown preserving tables, equations, figures, and section hierarchy.
Fall back to Read tool if markitdown is unavailable:
- Read with pages: "1-20" for the first chunk
- Continue with pages: "21-40" for longer papers
- Continue in 20-page increments as needed
- Note: tables and figures will not extract as cleanly

Extraction Targets

From the converted markdown, extract:

Abstract and key findings
Methodology and experimental setup
Results tables and figures
Citation information (authors, year, venue)
Key equations or formal definitions

Fallback Guidance

When a paper is paywalled and no open version exists:

Public library JSTOR/ProQuest access via library card
DeepDyve article rental
Inter-library loan request
Direct author email template

Exit Criteria

At least one academic source queried in priority order (arXiv first, then Semantic Scholar, then Unpaywall/CORE/PubMed)
PDF content converted via leyline:document-conversion protocol: markitdown MCP attempted first, Read-tool fallback used if markitdown is unavailable
Each paper result includes citation info (authors, year, venue) and an abstract or key findings summary
Paywalled papers with no open version trigger the fallback guidance (library, DeepDyve, ILL, author contact) rather than returning an empty result
If all sources return zero results, this is stated explicitly rather than generating fabricated paper entries

Source: athola/claude-night-market → plugins/tome/skills/papers/SKILL.md

---name: papersdescription: Searches academic literature via arXiv, Semantic Scholar, and open-access PDFs. Use when building literature reviews or finding formal research on a topic.--- # Academic Papers Search ## When To Use - Finding academic papers, citations, or formal research - Building literature reviews or citation chains ## When NOT To Use - Community opinions (use `/tome:discourse`) - Code implementations (use `/tome:code-search`) Search arXiv, Semantic Scholar, and open-access sources. ## Sources (Priority Order) 1. arXiv API (free, unlimited metadata) 2. Semantic Scholar API (100 req/5min, citation graphs) 3. Unpaywall (legal free version discovery) 4. CORE.ac.uk (open-access aggregator) 5. PubMed Central (biomedical) 6. Author preprint pages (WebSearch fallback) ## PDF Processing After acquiring a paper URL or local file path, convert the PDF to markdown for better extraction quality. ### Conversion (prefer markitdown) Apply the `leyline:document-conversion` protocol: 1. **Try markitdown first**: call the MCP `convert_to_markdown` tool with the PDF URL or `file://` path. This produces structured markdown preserving tables, equations, figures, and section hierarchy. 2. **Fall back to Read tool** if markitdown is unavailable: - Read with `pages: "1-20"` for the first chunk - Continue with `pages: "21-40"` for longer papers - Continue in 20-page increments as needed - Note: tables and figures will not extract as cleanly ### Extraction Targets From the converted markdown, extract: - Abstract and key findings - Methodology and experimental setup - Results tables and figures - Citation information (authors, year, venue) - Key equations or formal definitions ## Fallback Guidance When a paper is paywalled and no open version exists: - Public library JSTOR/ProQuest access via library card - DeepDyve article rental - Inter-library loan request - Direct author email template ## Exit Criteria - [ ] At least one academic source queried in priority order (arXiv first, then Semantic Scholar, then Unpaywall/CORE/PubMed) - [ ] PDF content converted via `leyline:document-conversion` protocol: markitdown MCP attempted first, Read-tool fallback used if markitdown is unavailable - [ ] Each paper result includes citation info (authors, year, venue) and an abstract or key findings summary - [ ] Paywalled papers with no open version trigger the fallback guidance (library, DeepDyve, ILL, author contact) rather than returning an empty result - [ ] If all sources return zero results, this is stated explicitly rather than generating fabricated paper entries --- **Source:** [`athola/claude-night-market`](https://github.com/athola/claude-night-market) → `plugins/tome/skills/papers/SKILL.md`

Frequently asked questions