| name | research-paper-kb |
| slug | research-paper-kb |
| triggers | /research-paper-kb |
| author | IlkhamFY |
| license | MIT |
| hub_pack | clawhub-research |
| trust_level | community |
| upstream_url | https://clawhub.ai/skills/research-paper-kb |
| audit_status | reviewed |
| description | Persistent cross-session knowledge base for research papers. Ingest arXiv/DOI → extract method, gap, threat level → append to PAPERS.md. Never lose paper context again across sessions. |
| homepage | https://github.com/IlkhamFY/stch-botorch |
| metadata | {"author":"IlkhamFY","category":"Academic & Research","tags":["research","papers","arxiv","bibtex","knowledge-base","literature","academic","persistent-memory"]} |
research-paper-kb
Persistent research paper knowledge base for AI agents.
Ingest any paper (arXiv URL, DOI, or title) and extract structured intelligence into a permanent PAPERS.md knowledge base that survives across sessions. Never lose context on a paper again.
Trigger Conditions
Use this skill when the user:
- Pastes an arXiv URL (e.g.
https://arxiv.org/abs/2310.12345)
- Pastes a DOI (e.g.
10.1038/s41586-024-07156-8)
- Says "add this paper to my KB" / "track this paper" / "save this paper"
- Says "what do we know about [paper title]"
- Says "update my paper KB" / "scan my PAPERS.md"
- Says "show me the papers I'm tracking" / "what papers have I saved"
What This Skill Does
- Fetches the paper abstract, metadata, and key sections
- Extracts structured intelligence (method, gap, threat level, overlap)
- Generates a clean BibTeX entry
- Appends a structured entry to
PAPERS.md in the workspace
- Updates
MEMORY.md with a pointer so future sessions know the KB exists
- Works across sessions — the knowledge base is a file, not context
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Identify the Paper
Accept any of:
- arXiv URL:
https://arxiv.org/abs/XXXX.XXXXX
- arXiv ID:
2310.12345 or 2310.12345v2
- DOI:
10.XXXX/...
- Title string: look up via Semantic Scholar API
Normalize to arXiv ID or DOI before proceeding.
Step 2: Fetch Paper Metadata
For arXiv papers — fetch the abstract page:
https://arxiv.org/abs/<arxiv_id>
Extract: title, authors, date, abstract, subject categories.
Also fetch the Semantic Scholar API for structured metadata:
https://api.semanticscholar.org/graph/v1/paper/arXiv:<arxiv_id>?fields=title,authors,year,abstract,tldr,citationCount,influentialCitationCount,fieldsOfStudy
For DOI papers — use Semantic Scholar:
https://api.semanticscholar.org/graph/v1/paper/<DOI>?fields=title,authors,year,abstract,tldr,citationCount,influentialCitationCount,externalIds
For title lookup:
https://api.semanticscholar.org/graph/v1/paper/search?query=<url_encoded_title>&fields=title,authors,year,abstract,externalIds&limit=1
Step 3: Extract Structured Intelligence
From the abstract and any available full text, extract:
| Field | What to Extract |
|---|
| Method | Core technical approach or contribution (1-2 sentences) |
| Gap they claim | What problem/limitation they say they're solving |
| Key results | Main quantitative or qualitative outcome |
| Overlap with user's work | Ask the user if context is unclear; or infer from prior PAPERS.md entries and MEMORY.md |
| Threat level | 1-5 scale: how much does this threaten the user's research? (1=unrelated, 5=directly competing) |
| Citation count | From Semantic Scholar |
| Related papers | Up to 3 highly-cited related papers from the same fetch |
Threat level guide:
- 1 — Unrelated field, no overlap
- 2 — Adjacent method, different application
- 3 — Similar approach, different dataset/domain
- 4 — Direct competition, overlapping claims
- 5 — Near-identical work, same target problem
Step 4: Generate BibTeX
Generate a clean BibTeX entry. Format:
For arXiv:
@article{<AuthorYEARkeyword>,
title = {<Full Title>},
author = {<Author1> and <Author2> and ...},
journal = {arXiv preprint arXiv:<id>},
year = {<year>},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/<id>},
note = {arXiv:<id>}
}
For published paper:
@article{<AuthorYEARkeyword>,
title = {<Full Title>},
author = {<Author1> and <Author2> and ...},
journal = {<venue>},
year = {<year>},
doi = {<doi>},
url = {https://doi.org/<doi>}
}
BibTeX key convention: FirstAuthorLastNameYearFirstContentWord (e.g., Smith2024diffusion)
Step 5: Write to PAPERS.md
Check if PAPERS.md exists in the workspace root. If not, create it with the header:
# PAPERS.md — Research Paper Knowledge Base
> Auto-maintained by the `research-paper-kb` skill. Add papers with: "add this paper to my KB"
> Last updated: <date>
---
Append (never overwrite) the following entry template:
## [<Short Title>](<arxiv_or_doi_url>)
**Added:** <YYYY-MM-DD>
**Authors:** <Author1>, <Author2>, ...
**Venue:** <arXiv / Conference / Journal>
**Citations:** <N> (Semantic Scholar)
**Threat Level:** <1-5> — <one-line reason>
### Method
<1-2 sentence description of the core technical contribution>
### Gap They Claim
<What problem/limitation they say they're solving>
### Key Results
<Main outcomes, benchmarks, or claims>
### Overlap With My Work
<How this relates to the user's research — ask if unclear>
### Notes
<Any additional context the user provides, or leave blank>
### BibTeX
```bibtex
<bibtex entry>
### Step 6: Update MEMORY.md
After writing to PAPERS.md, append or update the PAPERS.md pointer in `MEMORY.md`:
Find or create a section `## Research Paper KB`:
```markdown
## Research Paper KB
- PAPERS.md exists in workspace root — <N> papers tracked as of <date>
- Latest addition: <Short title> (<threat level>/5)
- Run `research-paper-kb` to add more papers
If the section already exists, update the count and latest addition line.
Step 7: Confirm to User
Reply with a summary:
✅ Added to PAPERS.md
**[Paper Title]** (<year>)
- Authors: ...
- Threat level: X/5 — <reason>
- BibTeX key: `AuthorYearWord`
PAPERS.md now has N papers. Run `show me my papers` to review.
Query Mode: "Show Me My Papers"
When the user asks to review their paper KB:
- Read
PAPERS.md
- Summarize: total count, highest threat-level papers, recently added
- Optionally filter by threat level, topic, or year
- Offer to export BibTeX for all papers: collect all
@article{...} blocks and present as a code block
Query Mode: "What Do We Know About X?"
When the user asks about a specific paper or topic:
- Search
PAPERS.md for matching title/author/keywords
- Return the structured entry
- If not found, offer to add it: "This paper isn't in your KB yet. Want me to add it?"
Edge Cases
| Situation | Handling |
|---|
| arXiv paper not found | Try Semantic Scholar title search; if still not found, ask user to confirm title |
| DOI behind paywall | Fetch abstract from DOI.org metadata (https://doi.org/<doi> with Accept: application/json); note "full text unavailable" |
| Paper already in PAPERS.md | Detect by title/arXiv ID match; offer to update notes or threat level instead |
| User doesn't know their research area | Ask: "What's your research focus? I'll use this to assess overlap." Store in MEMORY.md |
| Semantic Scholar rate limit | Fall back to arXiv API: http://export.arxiv.org/api/query?id_list=<id> |
Integration With Other Skills
This skill works best alongside the Ecology Harness stack:
citation-management — for BibTeX cleanup and citation validation
paper-lookup — for resolving titles, identifiers, and open-access links
literature-review — for broader evidence synthesis after papers are tracked
recent-research-scan — for finding newly published work to append into PAPERS.md
Files Modified
| File | Action |
|---|
PAPERS.md | Append new entry (create if missing) |
MEMORY.md | Update ## Research Paper KB section |
Never modifies: SOUL.md, USER.md, AGENTS.md, TOOLS.md, or any project files.
Example Interaction
User: "Add this to my KB: https://arxiv.org/abs/2310.06825"
Agent:
- Fetches arXiv 2310.06825 → "Mistral 7B" by Jiang et al.
- Fetches Semantic Scholar metadata (12k citations)
- Extracts: method = grouped-query attention + sliding window; gap = efficient 7B model
- Assesses threat level vs user's work (reads MEMORY.md for context)
- Generates BibTeX key
Jiang2023mistral
- Appends structured entry to PAPERS.md
- Updates MEMORY.md
- Replies: "✅ Added Mistral 7B (threat: 2/5 — efficient inference, different from your focus on X)"
Metadata
name: research-paper-kb
version: 1.0.0
author: <your-github-handle>
category: Academic & Research
tags: [research, papers, arxiv, bibtex, knowledge-base, literature, academic, persistent-memory]
summary: Persistent cross-session knowledge base for research papers. Ingest arXiv/DOI → extract method/gap/threat level → append to PAPERS.md. Never lose paper context again.
requires: []