lit-search

Search multiple databases and generate a structured papers.json for literature workflows.

Updated May 14, 2026
One-click install
npx skills add https://github.com/jaqg/daimon --skill lit-search-jaqg
Or copy as Structured Prompt for Agent
Please help me install this Agent Skill.
Skill: lit-search
Source: https://github.com/jaqg/daimon/tree/main/literature/skills/lit-search
Command: npx skills add https://github.com/jaqg/daimon --skill lit-search-jaqg

SYSTEM DOCUMENTATION & REQUIREMENTS

💡 This Skill requires pymupdf, and includes scripts (resource) components.

What problem does it solve?

Multi-database paper discovery and citation chasing to assemble a comprehensive literature set across sources like arXiv, Semantic Scholar, OpenAlex, PubMed, and ChemRxiv.

Core Features & Use Cases

  • Multi-database search to generate a unified papers.json for downstream pipelines (lit-review, lit-bib, lit-watch, and vault workflows).
  • Citation chasing: retrieve papers that cite a given work or that are cited by it, enabling forward/backward exploration.
  • Output and validation: ensures each entry has a DOI or arXiv ID, prints coverage statements, and supports result deduplication and scoring.

Quick Start

Run lit-search with a topic to generate a consolidated papers.json for downstream literature workflows.

Frequently Asked Questions about lit-search

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

FAQPage Schema
How do I search for papers across multiple databases like arXiv and OpenAlex at once?

Multi-database paper discovery queries arXiv, Semantic Scholar, OpenAlex, PubMed, and ChemRxiv simultaneously. It generates a unified, deduplicated papers.json file containing entries with DOIs or arXiv IDs for comprehensive literature workflows.

What is citation chasing and how does it help with literature discovery?

Citation chasing explores the citation graph by retrieving papers that cite a given work or are cited by it. This forward and backward exploration expands an initial literature set across multiple databases into a broader discovery process.

Do I need API keys to perform multidatabase literature discovery?

Yes, API keys are required for services where available to access arXiv, Semantic Scholar, OpenAlex, PubMed, and ChemRxiv. These keys authenticate requests and enable the retrieval of structured paper metadata.

How does the tool handle duplicate papers found across different academic databases?

Results are deduplicated by DOI or arXiv ID to ensure a clean dataset. The system also computes an impact score for each entry and emits coverage statements with warnings about diversity and recency.

Can I use the papers.json output for systematic literature review pipelines?

Yes, the structured papers.json output is designed for downstream literature workflows. It integrates directly with lit-review, lit-bib, lit-watch, and vault pipelines to support systematic review and bibliography generation.

What is the best way to track forward and backward citations for a specific paper?

Use citation chasing to retrieve both forward citations and backward references of a target work. This process aggregates results across databases into a single validated papers.json file for further analysis.