mechanic-db-search

Retrieves academic papers from interpretability and cross-disciplinary databases via a cloud search service.

75|7|Updated May 2, 2026
One-click install
npx skills add https://github.com/zjunlp/Mechanist --skill mechanic-db-search-zjunlp
Or copy as Structured Prompt for Agent
Please help me install this Agent Skill.
Skill: mechanic-db-search
Source: https://github.com/zjunlp/Mechanist/tree/main/skills/mechanic-db-search
Command: npx skills add https://github.com/zjunlp/Mechanist --skill mechanic-db-search-zjunlp

SYSTEM DOCUMENTATION & REQUIREMENTS

What problem does it solve? Finding relevant research papers across a 14k-paper AI interpretability corpus and a 157M-node cross-disciplinary citation graph requires careful query construction; this Skill turns a research question into a structured, multi-ranker cloud search that returns a usable paper list. ## Core Features & Use Cases - Decomposed Query Mode: Builds a structured JSON query with at most one sub-query per database, including closed-enum interpretability tags, keywords, temporal filters, and an Agent-written HyDE abstract. - Flat Query Fallback: Submits a free-form English query when task context is too thin, letting the cloud splitter handle decomposition and HyDE generation. - Iterative Refinement: Supports up to 3 refinement rounds and parallel calls when initial results are unsatisfactory. - Use Case: While investigating how ROME edits factual associations in GPT models, submit a decomposed query targeting the interp_db with causal_attribution technique tags and receive a ranked paper list written to a local JSON file. ## Quick Start Ask the agent to search the mechanic database for papers on sparse autoencoder feature splitting in large language models.

Frequently Asked Questions about mechanic-db-search

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

FAQPage Schema
How do I search for mechanistic interpretability papers with this skill?

Build a decomposed JSON query with one interp_db sub-query containing a semantic_query, keywords, closed-enum tags like techniques and components, and a HyDE abstract, then call the search_papers MCP tool with an absolute output path.

What databases does the mechanic-db search service cover?

It covers interp_db, a corpus of roughly 14k AI interpretability papers tagged along closed-enum axes, and sciatlas_db, a 157M-node cross-disciplinary citation graph spanning neuroscience, psychology, physics, and other fields.

Do I need an API key to use the search service?

No. Without a key the service answers on an anonymous per-IP tier of 2 searches per minute and 20 per day. Setting MECHANIC_DB_API_KEY raises limits to 20 per minute and 1000 per day.

When should I use flat query mode instead of decomposed mode?

Use flat mode only when task context is too thin to fill out the decomposed JSON honestly, such as a one-shot call with no task.md or prior turns. Decomposed mode is preferred because it yields sharper sub-queries and HyDE abstracts.

Why must each database appear at most once in sub_queries?

Each database is searched exactly once per call, so all topics within a database's scope must be packed into a single sub-query's semantic_query and keywords. Splitting shreds the top-k budget and multiplies expensive sciatlas round-trips.

What happens if search results are unsatisfactory?

You can refine the query and call again, up to 3 refinement rounds. Multiple independent calls can also run in parallel when the research question warrants it.