submission-precheck

name	submission-precheck
description	Performs comprehensive pre-submission checks on paper.md covering format, citations, figures, word count, completeness, data authenticity, and overall quality. Generates a structured precheck report. Use this skill when the user wants to verify their paper is ready for submission.

Submission Precheck Skill

This skill performs a comprehensive pre-submission check on paper.md before submitting to a conference or journal. It runs 7 targeted checks covering format compliance, citation integrity, figure/table references, word count, content completeness, data authenticity, and overall quality. It generates a structured report at .agents/precheck_report.md and never modifies any source files.

When to Use This Skill

• User says "submission precheck", "投稿前检查", or "预检"
• User wants to verify their paper is ready for submission
• User says "check before submit" or "pre-submission check"
• User wants a final quality gate before sending to a venue
• User asks "is my paper ready for submission?"

Input Files

File	Required	When to Read	Purpose
paper.md	Required	Step 1 (start)	Primary paper content; all 7 checks read this
writingrules.md	Required	Step 1 (start)	Format constraints and structural rules; needed for Check 1 (Format) and Check 5 (Completeness)
relatedwork/paper_list.bib	Conditional	Step 2 (Citation Check)	BibTeX references; needed for Check 2 (Citations)
fig/	Conditional	Step 2 (Figure/Table Check)	Figure assets directory; needed for Check 3 (Figures/Tables)
Checker status	Conditional	Step 4 and Step 6	Use copaper_checker_status for read-only checker summary, stale signals, and precheck evidence
.agents/state.json	Conditional	Step 1 (start)	Project state for fields not exposed by plugin tools, such as latex_template config for Check 4
.agents/cross_index.json	Conditional	Step 1 (start)	Cross-reference index; used for completeness verification

If some files do not exist (e.g., paper_list.bib, .agents/cross_index.json), note their absence and continue with available context. Do not block the workflow for missing optional files.

The 7 Pre-Submission Checks

Check 1: Format Check (格式检查)

Verify that paper.md conforms to CoPaper structural rules defined in writingrules.md.

Sub-checks:

a. Topic sentence length — Every Level 6 header (######) must be ≤ 50 characters. Scan all ###### lines and flag any that exceed the limit.

b. Supporting sentence length — Every paragraph body under a Level 6 header must be ≤ 500 characters. For each Level 6 section, measure the text between that header and the next header (or end of section). Flag any that exceed the limit.

c. Metadata completeness — Every Level 2-5 header should have an <!-- description: ... --> metadata comment. Scan for headers at Level 2-5 that lack a description field. Flag any missing metadata.

d. Heading hierarchy — Verify that heading levels are used correctly: Level 1 for title, Level 2-5 for structure, Level 6 for content paragraphs. Flag any misuse (e.g., body text directly under Level 2-5 headers without a Level 6 sub-header).

Status criteria:

• ✅ PASS: All format rules satisfied, zero violations
• ⚠️ WARN: 1-3 minor violations (e.g., slightly over character limits)
• ❌ FAIL: 4+ violations or any critical structural issue

Check 2: Citation Check (引用检查)

Verify that all citations in paper.md are properly linked to entries in paper_list.bib.

Sub-checks:

a. Orphan citations — Find all \cite{...} references in paper.md. For each citation key, verify a matching entry exists in paper_list.bib. Flag any citation key with no corresponding BibTeX entry.

b. Orphan references — Find all entries in paper_list.bib. For each entry, verify it is cited at least once in paper.md. Flag any BibTeX entry that is never referenced (unused bibliography entries).

c. Citation format consistency — Verify that all citations use \cite{key} format consistently. Flag any non-standard citation formats (e.g., raw URLs, [1]-style numeric references without \cite{}).

Status criteria:

• ✅ PASS: All citations matched, no orphans
• ⚠️ WARN: 1-2 orphan references (unused bib entries)
• ❌ FAIL: Any orphan citations (missing bib entries) or format inconsistencies

Check 3: Figure/Table Check (图表检查)

Verify that all figures and tables referenced in paper.md exist as actual assets, and vice versa.

Sub-checks:

a. Referenced figures exist — Find all image references in paper.md (e.g., ![...](fig/...) or ![](fig/...)). For each referenced path, verify the file exists in the fig/ directory. Flag any missing figure files.

b. No orphan figures — List all files in fig/ directory. For each file, verify it is referenced in paper.md. Flag any figure files that are not used (orphan assets).

c. Figure captions present — For each figure reference in paper.md, verify it has a caption or descriptive text. Flag figures without captions.

d. Table references — Find all markdown tables in paper.md. Verify each table has a label or caption. Flag tables without identification.

Status criteria:

• ✅ PASS: All figures/tables properly referenced and captioned
• ⚠️ WARN: 1-2 orphan figures or missing captions
• ❌ FAIL: Any referenced figure missing from fig/ directory

Check 4: Word Count (字数统计)

Count words per section and compare against the target venue's page limits.

Sub-checks:

a. Per-section word count — For each Level 2 section in paper.md, count the total words in all content under that section (including Level 6 paragraphs). Report word counts per section.

b. Total word count — Calculate the total word count of the entire paper (excluding metadata comments).

c. Venue comparison — Read .agents/state.json for latex_template configuration to determine the target venue's page limit. Estimate whether the current word count fits within the expected page range (roughly 500-600 words per page for double-column format, 300-400 for single-column). Flag sections that appear disproportionately long or short.

d. Balance check — Flag sections where the word count is less than 50 words (likely incomplete) or more than 3x the average section length (likely too long).

Status criteria:

• ✅ PASS: Word count within expected range, sections balanced
• ⚠️ WARN: 1-2 sections slightly over/under target
• ❌ FAIL: Total word count significantly exceeds or falls short of venue limits

Check 5: Completeness Check (完整性检查)

Scan paper.md for empty or placeholder content.

Sub-checks:

a. Empty Level 6 sections — Find all Level 6 headers (######) that have no content below them (i.e., the next line is another header or the section is blank). Flag all empty sections.

b. Placeholder text detection — Scan for common placeholder patterns:

• "TODO", "FIXME", "TBD", "XXX"
• "INSERT HERE", "WRITE HERE", "FILL IN"
• "Lorem ipsum" or similar boilerplate
• Bracketed placeholders like [...], [insert ...]
• Chinese placeholders: "待补充", "待写", "待完成"

c. Required sections check — Verify that all required sections exist per writingrules.md and the paper template. For a typical research paper, verify presence of: Introduction/Problem, Method/Design, Evaluation/Experiment, Related Work, Conclusion. Flag any missing required sections.

Status criteria:

• ✅ PASS: No empty sections, no placeholders, all required sections present
• ⚠️ WARN: 1-2 minor placeholders or a single empty section
• ❌ FAIL: Multiple empty sections, significant placeholder text, or missing required sections

Check 6: Data Authenticity Check (数据真实性检查)

Invoke the data-checker skill to verify that no fabricated or placeholder data remains in the paper.

Sub-checks:

a. Bogus marker scan — Search paper.md for all ⚠️ [BOGUS markers, ⚠️ TABLE CONTAINS BOGUS DATA warnings, ⚠️ FIGURE PLACEHOLDER warnings, and REPLACE WITH instructions. Any such marker is a critical blocker.

b. Placeholder number detection — Look for placeholder number patterns like X%, Y times, Z ms where X/Y/Z are literal variable letters rather than actual values.

c. Reproduction script verification — For each table and figure in paper.md, check whether a reproduction script link exists and whether the referenced script file is present in the repository.

d. Data consistency — Cross-reference the same metric across different sections to ensure values are consistent (e.g., if accuracy is reported as 92.1% in one section and 91.8% in another without explanation).

Integration with data-checker: This check invokes the data-checker skill and collects its findings. The data-checker provides detailed analysis of bogus data markers, missing reproduction scripts, and data inconsistencies. Use its output to populate the Data Authenticity section of the precheck report.

Status criteria:

• ✅ PASS: No bogus markers, all data appears authentic
• ⚠️ WARN: Minor data inconsistencies found
• ❌ FAIL: Any ⚠️ BOGUS markers present, or missing reproduction scripts for key results

Check 7: Overall Quality Check (全面质量检查)

Invoke the markdown-review skill (which orchestrates all 7 checkers) to assess overall paper quality.

Sub-checks:

a. Critical issues — Count the number of Critical-severity issues from the markdown-review output. Any Critical issue is a submission blocker.

b. Major issues — Count the number of Major-severity issues. Multiple Major issues may warrant revision before submission.

c. Minor issues — Count the number of Minor-severity issues. These are polish items.

d. Overall assessment — Based on the aggregate of all checker results, determine an overall quality rating:

• Ready: No Critical issues, ≤ 2 Major issues
• Almost Ready: No Critical issues, 3-5 Major issues
• Needs Work: Any Critical issues, or 6+ Major issues

Integration with markdown-review: This check invokes the markdown-review skill, which runs all seven checkers (problem, novelty, technical-depth, logic, clarity, evaluation-protocol, data) in sequence. Collect the summary statistics from its comprehensive report to populate the Overall Quality section of the precheck report.

Status criteria:

• ✅ PASS: No Critical issues, ≤ 2 Major issues
• ⚠️ WARN: No Critical issues, 3-5 Major issues
• ❌ FAIL: Any Critical issues or 6+ Major issues

Workflow

Step 1: Read Context Sources

Read all context sources listed above. If some files do not exist (e.g., paper_list.bib, .agents/cross_index.json), note their absence and continue with available context. Do not block the workflow for missing optional files.

Step 2: Run Checks 1-5 Sequentially

Perform Format Check, Citation Check, Figure/Table Check, Word Count, and Completeness Check one by one. For each check:

1. Execute the sub-checks described above
2. Record all issues found with specific locations and details
3. Assign a status (PASS / WARN / FAIL)

Step 3: Run Check 6 (Data Authenticity)

Invoke the data-checker skill. Collect its findings and map them to the Data Authenticity check status. Focus on:

• Presence of any ⚠️ BOGUS markers (automatic FAIL)
• Missing reproduction scripts (WARN or FAIL depending on severity)
• Data inconsistencies (WARN)

Step 4: Run Check 7 (Overall Quality)

Invoke the markdown-review skill. Collect the comprehensive review report and extract:

• Number of Critical issues
• Number of Major issues
• Number of Minor issues
• Overall assessment Then call copaper_checker_status to read any persisted checker summary, stale signal, and precheck evidence. Use this tool for status/freshness; do not read .agents/state.json directly just to infer checker status. If the user asks to persist the precheck checker summaries, restate checker, status, Critical/Major/Minor counts, summary, evidence, and reason for each actual checker result; wait for explicit confirmation; then route to @copaper-recorder so it can call copaper_checker_record.

Step 5: Generate Precheck Report

Compile all findings into .agents/precheck_report.md following the output format below.

Step 6: Present Summary to User

Display a concise summary of the precheck results. Highlight any FAIL items that block submission. Provide actionable recommendations. Call copaper_checker_status before presenting the final summary if you need to mention checker freshness or compare the precheck report against paper.md.

Output Format

Generate .agents/precheck_report.md with the following structure:

# Pre-Submission Check Report

Generated: [ISO 8601 timestamp]
Paper: [paper title from Level 1 header]

## Summary

| # | Check | Status | Issues |
|---|-------|--------|--------|
| 1 | Format (格式) | ✅ PASS / ⚠️ WARN / ❌ FAIL | [count] |
| 2 | Citations (引用) | ✅ PASS / ⚠️ WARN / ❌ FAIL | [count] |
| 3 | Figures/Tables (图表) | ✅ PASS / ⚠️ WARN / ❌ FAIL | [count] |
| 4 | Word Count (字数) | ✅ PASS / ⚠️ WARN / ❌ FAIL | [count] |
| 5 | Completeness (完整性) | ✅ PASS / ⚠️ WARN / ❌ FAIL | [count] |
| 6 | Data Authenticity (数据真实性) | ✅ PASS / ⚠️ WARN / ❌ FAIL | [count] |
| 7 | Overall Quality (全面质量) | ✅ PASS / ⚠️ WARN / ❌ FAIL | [count] |

**Submission Readiness**: ✅ READY / ⚠️ ALMOST READY / ❌ NOT READY

## Details

### 1. Format Check (格式检查)

**Status**: ✅ PASS / ⚠️ WARN / ❌ FAIL

**Findings**:
- [Specific finding with location]
- [Specific finding with location]

**Recommendations**:
- [Suggested fix]
- [Suggested fix]

### 2. Citation Check (引用检查)

**Status**: ✅ PASS / ⚠️ WARN / ❌ FAIL

**Orphan Citations** (missing bib entries):
- `\cite{key}` — no matching entry in paper_list.bib

**Orphan References** (unused bib entries):
- `author2024title` — not cited in paper.md

**Format Issues**:
- [Description of format inconsistency]

**Recommendations**:
- [Suggested fix]

### 3. Figure/Table Check (图表检查)

**Status**: ✅ PASS / ⚠️ WARN / ❌ FAIL

**Missing Figures** (referenced but not found):
- `fig/architecture.png` — referenced in paper.md but not found in fig/

**Orphan Figures** (in fig/ but not referenced):
- `fig/old_diagram.png` — exists in fig/ but not referenced in paper.md

**Missing Captions**:
- Figure at [location] — no caption provided

**Recommendations**:
- [Suggested fix]

### 4. Word Count (字数统计)

**Status**: ✅ PASS / ⚠️ WARN / ❌ FAIL

| Section | Word Count | Assessment |
|---------|-----------|-------------|
| Introduction | [count] | OK / Too Short / Too Long |
| Method | [count] | OK / Too Short / Too Long |
| ... | ... | ... |
| **Total** | **[count]** | **OK / Over Limit / Under Limit** |

**Target**: [venue] — approximately [X] pages, [Y] words expected

**Recommendations**:
- [Suggested adjustment]

### 5. Completeness Check (完整性检查)

**Status**: ✅ PASS / ⚠️ WARN / ❌ FAIL

**Empty Sections**:
- `###### [section title]` — no content

**Placeholder Text Found**:
- [Location]: "[placeholder text]"

**Missing Required Sections**:
- [Section name] — not found in paper.md

**Recommendations**:
- [Suggested fix]

### 6. Data Authenticity Check (数据真实性检查)

**Status**: ✅ PASS / ⚠️ WARN / ❌ FAIL

**Bogus Data Markers**: [count found]
- [Location]: [marker text]

**Reproduction Scripts**: [X/Y tables and figures have script links]
- [Missing script details]

**Data Consistency**: [X inconsistencies found]
- [Details]

**Recommendations**:
- [Suggested fix]

### 7. Overall Quality Check (全面质量检查)

**Status**: ✅ PASS / ⚠️ WARN / ❌ FAIL

**Critical Issues**: [count]
**Major Issues**: [count]
**Minor Issues**: [count]

**Top Issues**:
1. [Critical/Major issue summary]
2. [Critical/Major issue summary]

**Recommendations**:
- [Suggested fix]

## Submission Decision

Based on the 7 checks above:

- ✅ **READY**: All checks PASS, or only WARN with minor issues. Paper can be submitted.
- ⚠️ **ALMOST READY**: Some checks WARN, no FAIL. Paper can be submitted after minor revisions.
- ❌ **NOT READY**: Any check FAIL. Paper must be revised before submission.

**Blocking Issues** (must fix before submission):
1. [Issue description]
2. [Issue description]

**Recommended Actions** (should fix before submission):
1. [Action description]
2. [Action description]

**Optional Improvements** (nice to fix):
1. [Improvement description]
2. [Improvement description]

Must NOT Do

• NEVER auto-fix problems — this skill only reports issues, it does not modify paper.md or any source files
• NEVER check LaTeX compilation — that is the responsibility of the markdown2latex skill
• NEVER modify paper.md, writingrules.md, paper_list.bib, or any other source file
• NEVER skip any of the 7 checks — all checks must be performed regardless of earlier results
• NEVER fabricate checker results — always invoke the actual data-checker and markdown-review skills for Checks 6 and 7
• NEVER read .agents/state.json directly just to summarize checker run status when copaper_checker_status is available
• NEVER delete or overwrite an existing .agents/precheck_report.md without preserving its content — append a timestamp or version if needed

Important Notes

1. Report-only skill: This skill generates a report and presents findings. It does not make any changes to the paper.
2. Sequential execution: Checks 1-5 are performed directly by this skill. Checks 6-7 invoke other skills.
3. Data-checker integration: Check 6 relies on the data-checker skill for bogus data detection. Its findings are incorporated into the precheck report.
4. Markdown-review integration: Check 7 relies on the markdown-review skill for overall quality assessment. Its findings are incorporated into the precheck report.
5. Submission readiness: The final submission decision is based on the aggregate of all 7 checks. A single FAIL on any check means the paper is NOT READY for submission.
6. Character limits: The 50-character topic sentence limit and 500-character supporting sentence limit are defined in writingrules.md and must be checked against the actual content in paper.md.
7. BibTeX handling: If paper_list.bib does not exist, the Citation Check should report this as a WARN (citations cannot be verified) rather than a FAIL.