research-lit

name	research-lit
description	Search and analyze research papers, find related work, summarize key ideas. Use when user says "find papers", "related work", "literature review", "what does this paper say", or needs to understand academic papers.
argument-hint	["paper-topic-or-url"]
allowed-tools	Bash(*), Read, Glob, Grep, WebSearch, WebFetch, Write, Agent, mcp__auto-researcher__*, mcp__zotero__*, mcp__obsidian-vault__*

Research Literature Review

Research topic: $ARGUMENTS

Constants

• PAPER_LIBRARY — Local directory containing user's paper collection (PDFs). Check these paths in order:
  1. papers/ in the current project directory
  2. literature/ in the current project directory
  3. Custom path specified by user in CLAUDE.md under ## Paper Library
• MAX_LOCAL_PAPERS = 20 — Maximum number of local PDFs to scan before prioritizing by filename relevance.

Source overrides:

• /research-lit "topic" — sources: auto-researcher, local
• /research-lit "topic" — sources: auto-researcher, web
• /research-lit "topic" — sources: web

Data Sources

This skill checks multiple sources in priority order and degrades gracefully:

1. Auto Researcher library via MCP
2. Obsidian via MCP
3. Local PDFs
4. Web search

Compatibility note:

• If the MCP server is still registered under zotero, treat it as the same paper-library backend.
• The priority is the same either way: use the saved library before local PDFs or web search.

Workflow

Step 0a: Search Auto Researcher Library

Try mcp__auto-researcher__* tools first. If unavailable, try mcp__zotero__* as a compatibility alias.

If the library backend is available:

1. Search saved papers by topic.
2. For the most relevant items, read processed paper notes and manual notes.
3. Read reading-history entries when they add useful context.
4. Export BibTeX for directly relevant items when citation output is needed.
5. Compile results with:
   • title
   • authors
   • year
   • venue
   • tags
   • processed notes / summaries
   • user notes / reading annotations when available

The saved library is highest priority because it reflects what the user has already curated.

Step 0b: Search Obsidian Vault

If an Obsidian MCP server is configured:

1. Search vault notes related to the topic.
2. Pull relevant note summaries and wikilinks.
3. Use them as processed context in the final synthesis.

Step 0c: Scan Local Paper Library

Before external search:

1. Check papers/**/*.pdf and literature/**/*.pdf.
2. Skip papers already covered by the Auto Researcher library results.
3. Read the first few pages of relevant PDFs.
4. Summarize the most relevant local papers.

Step 1: Search the Web

• Search recent papers on the topic.
• Focus on last 2 years unless foundational work is relevant.
• Skip papers already found in the saved library, Obsidian, or local PDFs.

Step 2: Analyze Each Paper

For each relevant paper, extract:

• problem
• method
• results
• relevance to the current direction
• source: auto-researcher, obsidian, local, or web

Step 3: Synthesize

• group by approach/theme
• identify consensus and disagreements
• highlight open gaps
• incorporate the user's own notes when available

Step 4: Output

Present:

| Paper | Venue | Method | Key Result | Relevance to Us | Source |

Then provide a short landscape summary.

If citation export is available from the library backend, include a references.bib snippet for directly relevant papers.

Key Rules

• Always prefer the saved Auto Researcher library before local PDFs or web search.
• Never fail because an MCP server is missing; continue with remaining sources.
• Distinguish between curated saved-library context and newly discovered web papers.
• Include citations when possible.