| name | verify-citations |
| description | Audit citations in LaTeX files -- check all \cite keys exist in .bib and verify via literature search |
| user_invocable | true |
Verify Citations Skill
Audit citations for correctness. Checks that every \cite{KEY} has a matching BibTeX entry and verifies each entry against online search.
Examples
/verify-citations -- auto-detect the .tex and .bib files in the project
/verify-citations paper/my_paper.tex -- audit a specific file
/verify-citations --key blume1983 -- verify single entry
Workflow
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Find the main .tex file: check paper/, latex_template/, then the project root for files containing \documentclass. If multiple candidates exist, ask the user which to audit. Extract all \cite{KEY} and \citep{KEY} commands.
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Find the .bib file: check the same directory as the .tex file, then the project root. Read the full BibTeX database.
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For each citation key:
a. Check KEY exists in .bib -- if missing, flag as MISSING
b. Extract: author, title, year, journal from the BibTeX entry
c. Use search_papers to verify: "{title}" {first author surname} {year}
d. Use get_paper_details to confirm details when a match is found
e. Build comparison table:
| Field | BibTeX value | Search result | Match? |
|---|
| Authors | {from .bib} | {from search} | Y/N/-- |
| Title | ... | ... | Y/N/-- |
| Year | ... | ... | Y/N/-- |
| Journal | ... | ... | Y/N/-- |
Use Y = confirmed, N = mismatch, -- = not found in search.
CRITICAL: If search returns blank for a field, write "NOT FOUND IN SEARCH" -- NEVER fill from memory.
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Classify each citation:
- OK: ALL fields confirmed
- PARTIAL: Authors + title confirmed, journal/volume not found
- MISMATCH: Fields contradict search results
- UNVERIFIED: Cannot find paper online
- MISSING: Key in \cite{} but not in .bib
-
For forthcoming papers: use search_papers with additional queries as fallback to check journal placement
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Output verification report:
Citation Audit: [detected .tex file]
Total: N citations checked
OK: X | Partial: Y | Mismatch: Z | Missing: W
--- FLAGGED ENTRIES ---
[KEY] STATUS: details...
Process citations in batches of 5 to respect rate limits.