sci-search

Searches seven academic databases and enriches results with journal impact factor metrics.

2|Updated Aug 15, 2026
One-click install
npx skills add https://github.com/Jensen-Yao/agents-skills --skill sci-search-jensen-yao
Or copy as Structured Prompt for Agent▼
Please help me install this Agent Skill.
Skill: sci-search
Source: https://github.com/Jensen-Yao/agents-skills/tree/main/skills/sci-search
Command: npx skills add https://github.com/Jensen-Yao/agents-skills --skill sci-search-jensen-yao

SYSTEM DOCUMENTATION & REQUIREMENTS

What problem does it solve? Researchers waste time querying arXiv, PubMed, Web of Science, Springer Nature, Scopus, Semantic Scholar, and OpenAlex separately, then manually looking up journal impact factors and JCR partitions to judge paper quality. ## Core Features & Use Cases - Seven-Source Search: Queries arXiv, PubMed, Web of Science, Springer Nature (Metadata and Open Access), Scopus, Semantic Scholar, and OpenAlex in one command, with per-source selection via --source flags. - Journal Metrics Enrichment: Automatically attaches JCR quartiles, impact factors, and CAS partitions from a bundled journal database, and highlights top-tier journals like Nature, Science, and Advanced Materials. - Markdown Export: Writes formatted search reports to a markdown file and maintains a deduplicated local paper library. - Use Case: Ask for recent high-impact papers on perovskite solar cells and receive a ranked markdown report with citation counts, DOIs, and impact factors drawn from all configured sources. ## Quick Start Search all academic sources for papers on perovskite solar cells and export the top five results with journal impact factors to a markdown report.

Frequently Asked Questions about sci-search

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

FAQPage Schema
How do I search academic papers across multiple databases at once?▼

Run the sci_search.py script with a query and --limit flag to search arXiv, PubMed, Web of Science, Springer Nature, Scopus, Semantic Scholar, and OpenAlex simultaneously. Use --source to restrict results to a single database.

Which academic search APIs work without an API key?▼

arXiv, Semantic Scholar, and OpenAlex work out of the box with no credentials. Web of Science, Springer Nature, and Scopus require free API keys configured in the ~/.aut_sci_write/.env file before those sources activate.

How do I get journal impact factor and JCR partition for papers?▼

Results are automatically enriched with JCR quartile, impact factor, and CAS partition from the bundled journal_db.json database. Journals are matched by normalized name or known abbreviations, and top-tier journals are highlighted.

Does the Web of Science search require a paid subscription?▼

The WoS Starter API tier is free to apply for at the Clarivate developer portal and provides access to the Web of Science Core Collection. Add the key as WOS_API_KEY in the .env file to enable SCI-indexed search with times-cited counts.

Why does Semantic Scholar search sometimes return no results?▼

The anonymous Semantic Scholar tier is heavily rate-limited and may return HTTP 429 errors. The script retries once after a delay; for higher rate limits, request a free API key and set SEMANTIC_SCHOLAR_API_KEY.