A professional academic literature search assistant that automates multi-source discovery and disciplined Zotero library management.
Install & Download
1. ClawHub CLI
The fastest way to install a skill directly from the registry.
npx clawhub@latest install paper-searcher
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 paper-searcher 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 Paper Searcher?
Paper Searcher is a high-performance research module designed for the Openclaw Skills ecosystem. It streamlines the complex lifecycle of academic inquiry, from initial keyword planning and broad-spectrum searching across global databases to rigorous metadata verification. Unlike standard search tools, it focuses on academic discipline, ensuring researchers filter out low-quality entries such as editorials or weak abstracts while prioritizing recent, high-impact literature.
The skill acts as an intelligent bridge between public metadata sources and personal citation managers. By integrating with Zotero, it allows for a controlled import process where items are only added to a library after explicit user review and deduplication. This ensures that your research database remains clean, accurate, and free of redundant or poorly formatted entries.
Paper Searcher Use Cases
- Running systematic literature reviews with multi-source coverage including PubMed, arXiv, and Crossref.
- Automated deduplication of research papers across different academic databases.
- Cleaning and verifying metadata (DOI, PMID, affiliations) before importing to Zotero.
- Monitoring specific research fields for new publications within a 5-year rolling window.
- Managing group or personal Zotero libraries via secure API integrations.
How Paper Searcher Works
- Requirement Assessment: The skill evaluates the user's request for specificity in topics, keywords, and year ranges.
- Search Execution: It builds a multi-keyword plan and queries public databases (like OpenAlex, PMC, and Semantic Scholar) using a default depth of Top 10 per source.
- Filtering & Deduplication: Raw results are narrowed down to exclude irrelevant document types and duplicates.
- Metadata Verification: Each candidate is verified field-by-field against reliable sources to ensure accuracy of titles, dates, and affiliations.
- Pre-import Review: A structured shortlist is presented to the user for final judgment.
- Controlled Zotero Import: Upon confirmation, selected items are pushed to the user's Zotero collection with verified tags and keys.
Paper Searcher Setup
To use the full automation capabilities of Paper Searcher within Openclaw Skills, ensure the paper-search CLI is installed. For Zotero integration, configure your environment variables securely:
# Install the search tool (external dependency)
npm install -g paper-search-mcp
# Set Zotero Credentials
export ZOTERO_API_KEY="your_api_key_here"
export ZOTERO_LIBRARY_ID="your_library_id"
export ZOTERO_LIBRARY_TYPE="user" # or "group"
Paper Searcher Data Schema & Taxonomy
Paper Searcher organizes research data into a structured report to maintain a clear audit trail. Metadata is categorized as follows:
| Category | Fields Tracked |
|---|---|
| Search Context | Goal, Keywords, Sources, Depth, Coverage Gaps |
| Bibliometrics | Title, Date, Journal/Conference, Authors, DOI, PMID, PMCID |
| Institutional | Country/Region, Affiliations |
| Evaluation | Summary, Literature Type, Relevance Judgment, Suggested Action |
| Zotero Metadata | Item Key, Collection Path, Tags, Evidence File Paths |
Paper Searcher Advanced Features
- Multi-source platform bundling for simultaneous queries across PubMed, Europe PMC, and ArXiv.
- Intelligent relevance filtering based on specific scenarios (e.g., patient-focused vs. staff-focused).
- Automated 'Classical Paper' detection to preserve foundational works outside the standard 5-year window.
- Cross-check deduplication using DOI and normalized title strings.
- Secure credential handling via environment variables to protect private library access.
SKILL.md
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