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aris-research-lit

Search and synthesize research papers from Zotero, Obsidian, local PDFs, arXiv, and Semantic Scholar.

1.1k|116|Updated Feb 26, 2026
Search Tags:#obsidian#research papers#literature review#related work#Zotero#Semantic Scholar#Arxiv
One-click install
npx skills add https://github.com/OpenLAIR/dr-claw --skill aris-research-lit
Or copy as Structured Prompt for Agent▼
Please help me install this Agent Skill.
Skill: aris-research-lit
Source: https://github.com/OpenLAIR/dr-claw/tree/main/skills/aris-research-lit
Command: npx skills add https://github.com/OpenLAIR/dr-claw --skill aris-research-lit

SYSTEM DOCUMENTATION & REQUIREMENTS

What problem does it solve?

Conducting a literature review requires manually searching across scattered sources—your Zotero library, Obsidian notes, local PDF folders, and online databases—then deduplicating and synthesizing everything into a coherent summary. This Skill automates that entire multi-source search and synthesis workflow.

Core Features & Use Cases

  • Multi-Source Search: Queries Zotero (via MCP), Obsidian vaults, local PDF libraries, web search, arXiv API, and Semantic Scholar API in priority order, with graceful fallback when a source is unavailable.
  • Structured Synthesis: Groups papers by theme, identifies consensus and research gaps, and outputs a literature table with citations, venues, methods, and relevance assessments.
  • Optional PDF Download & Wiki Integration: Can download top arXiv PDFs to your library and ingest findings into a research wiki with structured paper pages and relationship edges.
  • Use Case: Ask for a literature review on "diffusion models for wireless channel estimation" and receive a deduplicated table of papers from your Zotero annotations, local PDFs, and the latest arXiv preprints, plus a narrative summary of the research landscape.

Quick Start

Ask the assistant to find papers and write a literature review on your research topic, optionally restricting sources with a directive like sources: zotero, web.

Frequently Asked Questions about aris-research-lit

High-intent search queries and answers about installing and using this skill.

FAQPage Schema
How do I do a literature review across Zotero and arXiv?▼

Invoke the skill with your research topic and it searches Zotero via MCP, local PDFs, web search, and the arXiv API in priority order. Results are deduplicated and synthesized into a structured literature table with citations and a narrative summary.

How to search only specific sources like Zotero or local PDFs?▼

Append a sources directive to your query, such as "— sources: zotero" or "— sources: local, web". Valid values are zotero, obsidian, local, web, semantic-scholar, and all; Semantic Scholar only runs when explicitly listed.

Does it work without Zotero or Obsidian MCP servers configured?▼

Yes, the skill degrades gracefully. If an MCP server is unavailable it silently skips that source and falls back to local PDF scanning and web search, so the workflow never fails due to missing integrations.

Can it download arXiv PDFs automatically?▼

Yes, but only when explicitly enabled with "arxiv download: true" in your query. By default it fetches only metadata via the arXiv API; when enabled, it downloads up to 5 top-ranked PDFs (configurable) into your papers directory with rate limiting.

What is the difference between arXiv and Semantic Scholar search results?▼

arXiv covers preprints with full abstracts, while Semantic Scholar adds published venue papers (IEEE, ACM) with citation counts and DOIs not on arXiv. When a paper appears in both, the published venue metadata takes precedence over the preprint record.

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