Literature Review
- 692 installs
- 48 repo stars
- Updated March 22, 2026
- collaborative-deep-research/agent-papers-cli
literature-review is a Claude Code skill that conducts systematic academic literature reviews on technical topics using the paper and paper-search CLI tools.
About
literature-review is a Claude Code skill that runs systematic academic-style surveys on any technical topic via the paper and paper-search command-line tools. Before searching, the skill clarifies topic boundaries, year range defaulting to the last 5 years, target venues, and a paper count defaulting to 15-20 core papers. It executes multi-query searches with query variations to maximize coverage, then synthesizes findings into a structured review. Developers reach for literature-review when they need a survey, systematic overview, or evidence-backed summary of a research area before prototyping or writing technical documentation.
- 4-step systematic literature review workflow
- Multi-query search across Semantic Scholar and Google Scholar
- Automatic triage into highly-relevant, somewhat-relevant, and not-relevant categories
- Deep structured analysis extracting problem, method, key results, and conclusions
- Produces deduplicated, categorized notes ready for synthesis
Literature Review by the numbers
- 692 all-time installs (skills.sh)
- Ranked #1,437 of 16,546 AI & Agent Building skills by installs in the Skillselion catalog
- Security screen: MEDIUM risk (skills.sh audit)
- Data as of Jul 29, 2026 (Skillselion catalog sync)
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| Installs | 692 |
|---|---|
| repo stars | ★ 48 |
| Security audit | 2 / 3 scanners passed |
| Last updated | March 22, 2026 |
| Repository | collaborative-deep-research/agent-papers-cli ↗ |
How do you run a systematic literature review on a topic?
Run systematic academic-style literature reviews on any technical topic using paper-search and paper CLI tools.
Who is it for?
Developers and research agents who need an evidence-backed survey of a technical field using academic paper sources.
Skip if: Quick blog-post summaries, patent searches, or reviews that do not require academic paper CLI tooling.
When should I use this skill?
The user asks for a literature review, research survey, or systematic overview of a technical topic.
What you get
Scoped paper set, multi-query search results, and synthesized literature review document
- Literature review document
- Curated paper bibliography
- Multi-query search log
By the numbers
- Defaults to 15-20 core papers per review
- Default year range covers the last 5 years
Files
Conduct a systematic literature review on "$ARGUMENTS" using the paper and paper-search CLI tools.
1. Define Scope
Before searching, clarify with the user:
- Topic boundaries and key terms
- Year range (default: last 5 years)
- Target venues or communities (if any)
- Desired number of papers (default: 15-20 core papers)
2. Multi-Query Search
Search with multiple query variations to maximize coverage:
paper-search semanticscholar papers "<main query>" --limit 20 --year <range>
paper-search semanticscholar papers "<synonym query>" --limit 20 --year <range>
paper-search semanticscholar papers "<related query>" --limit 20 --year <range>
paper-search google scholar "<topic>"Deduplicate results by title/paper ID.
3. Triage
For each unique paper found:
paper-search semanticscholar details <paper_id>
paper skim <arxiv_id> --lines 2Categorize as: highly relevant / somewhat relevant / not relevant.
4. Deep Analysis
For highly relevant papers:
paper outline <arxiv_id>
paper read <arxiv_id> introduction
paper read <arxiv_id> method
paper read <arxiv_id> results
paper read <arxiv_id> conclusionTake structured notes on each paper: problem, method, key results, limitations.
5. Citation Graph Exploration
For seminal papers, find related work:
paper-search semanticscholar citations <paper_id> --limit 20
paper-search semanticscholar references <paper_id> --limit 20Add any important papers discovered this way back to the triage step.
6. Produce Report
Organize findings by theme, not by paper. Include:
- Overview of the field and its evolution
- Key methods and approaches (with comparisons)
- Main results and findings
- Open questions and future directions
- Complete reference list with paper IDs and URLs
- BibTeX entries for all cited papers (use
paper bibtex <arxiv_id>to generate)
Guidelines
- Aim for breadth first: cover all major approaches before going deep on any one.
- Note citation counts and venues to gauge paper impact.
- Flag contradictory findings explicitly.
- Distinguish between empirical results and theoretical claims.
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Pick this over generic web-research skills when you need academic paper CLI tooling and systematic multi-query coverage.
FAQ
How many papers does literature-review target by default?
literature-review defaults to 15-20 core papers for each review. The skill clarifies the desired count with the user before searching and adjusts scope based on topic breadth and venue filters.
What CLI tools does literature-review use?
literature-review uses the paper and paper-search CLI tools from the agent-papers-cli project. Searches run with multiple query variations to maximize coverage across the default 5-year window.
Is Literature Review safe to install?
skills.sh reports 2 of 3 security scanners passed. Review the Security Audits panel on this page before installing in production.