
Setup Medsci
- 40 installs
- 236 repo stars
- Updated August 3, 2026
- aperivue/medsci-skills
setup-medsci is a read-only Claude Code skill that diagnoses the MedSci Skills runtime by verifying Python, R, Node, Git, Claude Code, and MCP servers and printing a pass/fail table with setup-doc links.
About
This skill is a read-only diagnostic checklist for the MedSci Skills runtime. It detects the OS, checks for Python, R, Node, Git, Claude Code CLI, and configured MCP servers with minimum versions, and prints a pass/fail table pointing to the setup doc for any missing piece. A researcher runs it to confirm their environment is ready before using the other MedSci skills.
- Read-only diagnostic that verifies Python, R, Node, Git, Claude Code, and configured MCP servers
- Prints a pass/fail table with a link to the right setup doc for any missing component
- Installs nothing and never modifies MCP configuration, so a non-developer can run it safely
Setup Medsci by the numbers
- 40 all-time installs (skills.sh)
- Ranked #811 of 1,435 DevOps & CI/CD skills by installs in the Skillselion catalog
- Data as of Aug 5, 2026 (Skillselion catalog sync)
setup-medsci capabilities & compatibility
- Capabilities
- devops · environment check · dependency diagnostics
- Use cases
- devops
- Platforms
- macOS · Linux · Windows
What setup-medsci says it does
Read-only — does not install anything.
npx skills add https://github.com/aperivue/medsci-skills --skill setup-medsciAdd your badge
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| Installs | 40 |
|---|---|
| repo stars | ★ 236 |
| Last updated | August 3, 2026 |
| Repository | aperivue/medsci-skills ↗ |
What it does
Diagnose whether the MedSci Skills runtime dependencies are installed and print a pass/fail setup table.
Who is it for?
Researchers verifying their environment is correctly configured before running the MedSci skills.
Skip if: Installing or fixing missing tools; it is read-only and never installs anything.
When should I use this skill?
A MedSci skill will not run and you need to check which runtime component is missing.
What you get
A single Markdown pass/fail diagnostic table with detected versions and a setup-doc link for each missing component.
- Markdown setup diagnostic table
- Optional log at ~/.medsci-skills/diagnostic-YYYY-MM-DD.md
By the numbers
- checks 6 components: Python, R, Node, Git, Claude Code, MCP
- Python 3.11+, R 4.0+, Node v20+, Git 2.30+ minimums
Files
Setup-MedSci Skill
You are helping a medical researcher verify that their environment is correctly configured to run MedSci Skills. You do not install anything — you only diagnose what's present, what's missing, and where to find the setup doc for any missing component. This skill is intentionally read-only so that a doctor can run it safely without worrying about breaking their system.
Communication Rules
- Communicate with the user in their preferred language (Korean or English).
- The diagnostic table itself is in English so it can be pasted into GitHub issues for support.
- All recommended remediation links point to
docs/setup/markdown guides in the medsci-skills repo.
Workflow
Phase 1: Detect OS
Run:
uname -sDarwin→ macOS path → recommenddocs/setup/mac.mdLinux→ Linux path (uses similar tooling to Mac) → recommenddocs/setup/mac.mdMINGW*,MSYS*,CYGWIN*, or detection failure on Windows → recommenddocs/setup/windows.md
Phase 2: Run Diagnostic Commands
For each tool, run the command and capture both the version output and the exit code:
| Tool | Command | Required version |
|---|---|---|
| Python | python3 --version (Mac/Linux) or python --version (Windows) | 3.11 or higher |
| R | Rscript --version (writes to stderr) | 4.0 or higher |
| Node.js | node --version | v20 or higher |
| Git | git --version | 2.30 or higher |
| Claude Code CLI | claude --version | any |
| MCP servers | claude mcp list | at least one of: zotero, gdrive, pubmed, filesystem |
Use command -v <tool> first to detect presence without running it (avoids triggering long initialization).
Phase 3: Emit Checklist Table
Print a single Markdown table to stdout in this exact format:
## MedSci Skills Setup Diagnostic
OS detected: <macOS | Linux | Windows>
Date: <YYYY-MM-DD>
| Component | Status | Detected | Required | Action |
|---|:---:|---|---|---|
| Python 3.11+ | ✅ / ❌ | 3.11.9 | 3.11+ | OK / See docs/setup/mac.md Step 2 |
| R 4.x | ✅ / ❌ | 4.3.1 | 4.0+ | OK / See docs/setup/mac.md Step 3 |
| Node.js 20+ | ✅ / ❌ | v20.11.1 | v20+ | OK / See docs/setup/mac.md Step 4 |
| Git | ✅ / ❌ | 2.42.0 | 2.30+ | OK / See docs/setup/<os>.md Step 5 |
| Claude Code CLI | ✅ / ❌ | 1.5.x | any | OK / See docs/setup/<os>.md Step 6 |
| MCP: zotero | ✅ / ❌ / ⚠️ | Connected | optional | OK / See docs/setup/mcp-setup.md |
| MCP: gdrive | ✅ / ❌ / ⚠️ | Connected | optional | OK / See docs/setup/mcp-setup.md |
| MCP: filesystem | ✅ / ❌ | Connected | recommended | OK / See docs/setup/mcp-setup.md |
Summary: <X required components passed, Y missing>
Next step: <one-sentence action>Status legend:
- ✅ Present and meets minimum version
- ❌ Missing or below minimum version
- ⚠️ Present but optional and not connected
Phase 4: Suggest Remediation
If everything ✅: "Your environment is ready. Try Demo 1 with cd ~/medsci-skills/demo/01_wisconsin_bc && claude '/orchestrate --e2e'."
If anything ❌ in required rows: print the corresponding doc link. Do not offer to install — direct the user to follow the doc step. The doc tells them exactly what to copy-paste.
If only optional MCP rows are ❌: explain that MedSci Skills work without MCP servers but lit-sync, verify-refs, and write-paper are smoother with Zotero MCP. Offer the docs/setup/mcp-setup.md link.
Reference Files
references/setup-checklist.md— verbatim list of every check this skill runs and the corresponding documentation link
Output Contract
| Artifact | Filename | Format |
|---|---|---|
| Diagnostic report | stdout (Markdown table) | Markdown |
| Optional log | ~/.medsci-skills/diagnostic-YYYY-MM-DD.md | Markdown |
If the user asks for a copyable report (e.g., for a GitHub issue), write the diagnostic to the optional log path and tell them where it is.
What This Skill Does NOT Do
- Does not install anything. No
brew install,winget install,pip install,Rscript -e 'install.packages(...)', or any other state-changing command. Read-only diagnostics only. - Does not modify `~/.claude.json` or any MCP configuration. It only reads
claude mcp listoutput. - Does not check skill versions or skill content. That is the job of
validate_skills.shandmanage-project status. - Does not auto-fix anything. If a tool is missing, the user must go to the setup doc and follow the steps themselves. This is intentional — auto-installers for system Python and R are a support nightmare for non-developer users.
Anti-Hallucination
- Never fabricate version numbers. Always run the actual command and report the exact stdout. If the command fails, report the failure verbatim — do not guess what version is "probably" installed.
- Never invent doc paths. The five setup docs are:
docs/setup/README.md,docs/setup/mac.md,docs/setup/windows.md,docs/setup/mcp-setup.md,docs/setup/common-issues.md. Do not link to a doc that does not exist in the repo. - Never claim an MCP server works without verifying via `claude mcp list`. A configured-but-disconnected server is ⚠️, not ✅.
- If `command -v` reports a tool present but the version flag fails, mark the row ❌ and report the failure command — the install is broken, not just outdated.
Setup Diagnostic Checklist
Verbatim list of every check setup-medsci runs, with the exact command, the parse rule, and the documentation link to print on failure.
Required Components
| ID | Component | Detect command | Version command | Min version | Doc link on failure |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R1 | Python 3 | command -v python3 | python3 --version | 3.11.0 | docs/setup/mac.md#step-2 (Mac) / docs/setup/windows.md#step-3 (Windows) |
| R2 | R | command -v Rscript | Rscript --version (stderr) | 4.0.0 | docs/setup/mac.md#step-3 / docs/setup/windows.md#step-4 |
| R3 | Node.js | command -v node | node --version | 20.0.0 | docs/setup/mac.md#step-4 / docs/setup/windows.md#step-5 |
| R4 | Git | command -v git | git --version | 2.30.0 | docs/setup/mac.md#step-5 / docs/setup/windows.md#step-6 |
| R5 | Claude Code CLI | command -v claude | claude --version | any (latest recommended) | docs/setup/mac.md#step-6 / docs/setup/windows.md#step-7 |
Optional Components
| ID | Component | Detect command | Status rule | Doc link on missing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| O1 | MCP: zotero | claude mcp list | ✅ if "zotero ✓ Connected", ⚠️ if listed but not connected, ❌ if absent | docs/setup/mcp-setup.md#zotero-mcp |
| O2 | MCP: gdrive | claude mcp list | ✅ if "gdrive ✓ Connected", ⚠️ if listed but not connected, ❌ if absent | docs/setup/mcp-setup.md#google-drive--workspace-mcp |
| O3 | MCP: pubmed | claude mcp list | ✅ if "pubmed ✓ Connected", ⚠️ if listed but not connected, ❌ if absent | docs/setup/mcp-setup.md#pubmed-mcp-alternative-to-built-in-search-lit |
| O4 | MCP: filesystem | claude mcp list | ✅ if "filesystem ✓ Connected", ⚠️ if listed but not connected, ❌ if absent | docs/setup/mcp-setup.md#filesystem-mcp-built-in-usually-pre-configured |
| O5 | Zotero desktop | pgrep -x Zotero (Mac) / tasklist /FI "IMAGENAME eq zotero.exe" (Win) | ✅ if running, ⚠️ if installed but not running, ❌ if not installed | docs/setup/mac.md#step-7 / docs/setup/windows.md#step-8 |
Version Comparison Rule
For required-version checks (R1-R4), parse the major.minor version from stdout, compare against minimum. If parse fails, mark ❌ and report the parse failure verbatim.
Examples of parsing:
Python 3.11.9→3.11, compare to3.11→ passPython 3.10.13→3.10, compare to3.11→ failR scripting front-end version 4.3.1 (2023-06-16)→4.3, compare to4.0→ passv20.11.1→20.11, compare to20.0→ passgit version 2.42.0→2.42, compare to2.30→ pass
Summary Rules
After running all checks:
- All required ✅: print "Your environment is ready. Try Demo 1 with
cd ~/medsci-skills/demo/01_wisconsin_bc && claude '/orchestrate --e2e'." - One or more required ❌: print "Setup incomplete. Address the ❌ rows above using the linked docs, then re-run
/setup-medsci." - All required ✅, optional MCP all ❌: print "Core environment ready. Optional MCP servers (Zotero / Google Drive / PubMed) are not configured — see
docs/setup/mcp-setup.mdfor richer integration."
What This Skill Does NOT Check
To keep the diagnostic fast and read-only, these are explicitly out of scope:
- Python package installs (matplotlib, pandas, scikit-learn, etc.) — checked by individual analysis skills when invoked
- R package installs (metafor, survey, etc.) — checked by
analyze-statsandmeta-analysiswhen invoked - Disk space — irrelevant for skill execution
- Anthropic API quota / rate limits — visible only at runtime
- Claude Code skill installation —
validate_skills.shcovers this - Zotero library content / collection structure —
lit-syncandverify-refscover this
schema_version: 2
name: setup-medsci
layer: A
owner_domain: environment_setup
maturity: official
when_to_use: "Set up the local environment for MedSci Skills (dependencies, tooling checks)."
when_NOT_to_use: "Installing the skills themselves (use installers/install.py)."
inputs:
- "local machine state"
outputs:
- "verified environment / dependency report"
side_effects:
- runs_setup_commands
downstream_consumers:
- none
forbidden_actions:
- install_without_user_consent_for_destructive_actions
# v2.1 quality card
purpose: "Check and prepare the local toolchain (Python/R/CLI deps) needed to run the skills."
safety_boundaries:
- "Confirms before destructive or system-wide changes; surfaces what is missing."
- "Operates locally; does not transmit machine state."
known_limitations:
- "Environment coverage is best-effort across OSes; some hosts need manual steps."
- "No standalone demo; an operational utility."
validation_commands:
- "re-run the setup check and confirm all dependencies report present"
evidence_surface: manual_workflow
Related skills
FAQ
Does it install anything?
No. It is intentionally read-only, runs no state-changing commands, and only directs you to the setup doc for a missing component.
What does it check?
Python 3.11+, R 4.0+, Node v20+, Git 2.30+, the Claude Code CLI, and at least one configured MCP server such as zotero, gdrive, pubmed, or filesystem.