Quickstart

PaperSkills is not meant to make you browse a long skill list first.

Start with the research situation you are in, pick the recommended skill combination, install it in your agent, then run a concrete prompt.

1. Choose Your Research Scenario

I do not have a topic yet

Use this when you have a broad interest, an advisor's direction, or a vague idea.

Recommended skills:

• /topic-framing
• /lit-search

Try:

/topic-framing I am interested in LLM-assisted literature review writing. Help me turn this into researchable questions, candidate paper titles, initial search keywords, and next-step literature search suggestions.

Expected output:

• research direction breakdown
• candidate research questions
• possible paper titles
• search keywords
• next-step literature search plan

I need to enter a new field quickly

Use this when you need a first map of a field before reading everything.

Recommended skills:

• /lit-search
• /citation-network
• /paper-tracker

Try:

/lit-search Search papers on LLM-assisted systematic literature review. Rank the results by importance, group them by theory, method, and application, and include DOI, abstract, and open-access status when available.

Then:

/citation-network Use these core papers as seeds. Identify foundational papers, bridge papers, recent frontier papers, major authors, and topic clusters.

Expected output:

• deduplicated paper list
• core and frontier papers
• citation map
• topic clusters
• follow-up reading plan

I need to write a literature review

Use this when you are preparing a thesis proposal, related work section, or review paper.

Recommended skills:

• /lit-search
• /research-gap
• /citation-network

Try:

/research-gap Analyze research gaps in LLM-assisted literature review writing. Focus on method gaps, application gaps, evaluation gaps, and trends from the last three years.

Expected output:

• topic map
• gap categories
• potential research questions
• review structure
• next-step topic suggestions

I already have a manuscript draft

Use this before sending a draft to an advisor, coauthor, or journal.

Recommended skills:

• /peer-review
• /cite-verify

Try:

/peer-review draft.md Evaluate this manuscript using academic review criteria. Identify problems in structure, argument, literature coverage, method, evidence, and writing, then give revision priorities.

Then:

/cite-verify draft.md Verify whether the citations support the claims they are attached to. Check DOI, author, year, title, and reference accuracy.

Expected output:

• simulated review report
• major and minor concerns
• revision priorities
• section-level suggestions
• citation verification report

I am preparing for submission

Use this when the paper exists but the target venue is unclear.

Recommended skills:

• /journal-match
• /cite-verify

Try:

/journal-match draft.md Recommend target journals based on the manuscript topic, method, references, likely audience, fit, risks, and backup options.

Expected output:

• ranked journal candidates
• fit rationale
• submission risks
• positioning differences
• citation and format checks

I need to keep tracking new papers

Use this when you want a repeatable watchlist for a topic, venue, author, institution, or time window.

Recommended skill:

• /paper-tracker

Try:

/paper-tracker Track new papers about AI-assisted literature review in the last 30 days, focusing on top journals and highly cited authors.

Expected output:

• new paper list
• source and time-window notes
• short summaries
• importance ranking
• follow-up reading suggestions

2. Install PaperSkills

Install the full PaperSkills router when you want all core workflows available.

Codex

curl -sSL https://paperskills.com/scripts/paperskills-install.sh | bash -s -- \
  --tool codex \
  --skills paperskills-core \
  --registry https://paperskills.com/api/registry

Claude Code

curl -sSL https://paperskills.com/scripts/paperskills-install.sh | bash -s -- \
  --tool claude \
  --skills paperskills-core \
  --registry https://paperskills.com/api/registry

Cursor

Cursor discovers Agent Skills from .cursor/skills at project level and ~/.cursor/skills at user level.

curl -sSL https://paperskills.com/scripts/paperskills-install.sh | bash -s -- \
  --tool cursor \
  --skills paperskills-core \
  --registry https://paperskills.com/api/registry

OpenCode

curl -sSL https://paperskills.com/scripts/paperskills-install.sh | bash -s -- \
  --tool opencode \
  --skills paperskills-core \
  --registry https://paperskills.com/api/registry

3. Verify Installation

Start a new agent session and ask:

/paperskills I have a manuscript draft and need to know what to do before submission.

The agent should load the PaperSkills router, identify the scenario, and recommend the relevant skill or skill combination.

4. Use a Skill Pack Mindset

PaperSkills works best as scenario-based combinations:

You do not need to understand every skill first. Start from the scenario, copy the prompt, and let the workflow reveal the next step.

5. Update

cd /path/to/paperskills
git pull
./setup

Run ./setup after updates so linked sub-skills stay current.