A specialized research skill for automated PubMed literature retrieval via web scraping and official NCBI E-Utilities API integration.
Install & Download
1. ClawHub CLI
The fastest way to install a skill directly from the registry.
npx clawhub@latest install my-pubmed-skill
2. Manual Installation
Copy the skill folder to one of these locations
~/.openclaw/skills/ <project>/skills/ Priority: Workspace > Local > Bundled
3. Prompt Installation
Copy this prompt to OpenClaw to install it automatically.
Help me install my-pubmed-skill using Clawhub. If Clawhub is not installed, install it first (npm i -g clawhub).
Prefer to download?
Get the raw skill files in a ZIP archive.
What is PubMed Search Skill?
The PubMed Search Skill is a robust extension for Openclaw Skills designed to streamline medical and scientific research. It enables AI agents to conduct structured searches across the PubMed database, retrieving critical metadata such as PMIDs, abstracts, and DOIs. By combining web fetching for quick previews with official NCBI API calls, it provides a reliable bridge between natural language queries and technical medical literature.
This skill is particularly valuable for researchers and developers who need to automate the gathering of peer-reviewed content. It handles complex filtering—including time ranges, article types like Meta-Analysis or Clinical Trials, and specific language requirements—while ensuring all results are formatted into clean, ready-to-use markdown reports.
PubMed Search Skill Use Cases
- Automating the collection of recent medical research for literature reviews.
- Generating formatted bibliographies in styles like APA, MLA, BibTeX, or GB/T 7714.
- Extracting specific metadata from PubMed IDs (PMID) for database synchronization.
- Filtering medical papers by availability of free full text or specific publication years.
How PubMed Search Skill Works
- The AI agent identifies a research request and triggers the Openclaw Skills workflow.
- The agent queries the user for specific parameters such as keywords, result count, and citation style.
- The skill executes either a web fetch for rapid browsing or a structured API call using the NCBI E-Utilities via a PowerShell script.
- Data is parsed from the raw XML/JSON response, extracting titles, authors, journals, and abstracts.
- The results are passed through markdown templates to generate structured tables and citation lists.
PubMed Search Skill Setup
To integrate this into your agent, ensure you have PowerShell installed and access to the following script structure:
# Navigate to your skill directory
cd skills/my-pubmed-skill
# Run a test search to verify API connectivity
powershell -File scripts/pubmed_search.ps1 "machine learning" 5 apa
Optional: Obtain an NCBI API Key to increase rate limits from 3 to 10 requests per second.
PubMed Search Skill Data Schema & Taxonomy
The skill utilizes a structured directory of scripts and templates to manage research data:
| File Path | Description |
|---|---|
scripts/pubmed_search.ps1 |
The core engine for API interaction and data retrieval. |
templates/results-table.md |
Standardizes how literature lists are displayed to users. |
templates/citation-format.md |
Logic for rendering APA, MLA, IEEE, and BibTeX citations. |
references/pubmed-api.md |
Documentation for local API configuration and parameters. |
PubMed Search Skill Advanced Features
- Multi-format Citation Engine: Supports professional academic standards including IEEE and GB/T 7714.
- Batch Retrieval: Ability to fetch multiple paper details simultaneously using structured scripts.
- Custom Search Logic: Advanced filtering for Clinical Trials, Reviews, and specific publication windows.
- Rate Limit Handling: Built-in awareness of NCBI API thresholds to prevent request blocking.
SKILL.md
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