semantic-scholar
Search published venue papers (IEEE, ACM, Springer, etc.) via Semantic Scholar API. Complements /arxiv (preprints) with citation counts, venue metadata, and TLDR. Use when user says "search semantic scholar", "find IEEE papers", "find journal papers", "venue papers", "citation search", or wants published literature beyond arXiv preprints.
89
88%
Does it follow best practices?
Impact
Pending
No eval scenarios have been run
Passed
No known issues
Quality
Discovery
100%Based on the skill's description, can an agent find and select it at the right time? Clear, specific descriptions lead to better discovery.
This is an excellent skill description that hits all the marks. It provides specific capabilities (citation counts, venue metadata, TLDR), clearly differentiates from a related skill (/arxiv for preprints), and includes a comprehensive 'Use when...' clause with natural trigger terms. The description is concise yet thorough, making it easy for Claude to select this skill appropriately.
| Dimension | Reasoning | Score |
|---|---|---|
Specificity | Lists multiple concrete actions: searching published venue papers, providing citation counts, venue metadata, and TLDR summaries. Also specifies the API used (Semantic Scholar) and the publishers covered (IEEE, ACM, Springer). | 3 / 3 |
Completeness | Clearly answers both 'what' (search published venue papers via Semantic Scholar API with citation counts, venue metadata, TLDR) and 'when' (explicit 'Use when...' clause with multiple trigger phrases). Also differentiates from a related skill (/arxiv). | 3 / 3 |
Trigger Term Quality | Excellent coverage of natural trigger terms: 'search semantic scholar', 'find IEEE papers', 'find journal papers', 'venue papers', 'citation search', 'published literature', and 'arXiv preprints' as a contrast term. These are phrases users would naturally say. | 3 / 3 |
Distinctiveness Conflict Risk | Explicitly distinguishes itself from the /arxiv skill by noting it handles published venue papers rather than preprints. The specific mention of Semantic Scholar API, IEEE, ACM, Springer, and citation-focused features creates a clear niche with minimal conflict risk. | 3 / 3 |
Total | 12 / 12 Passed |
Implementation
77%Reviews the quality of instructions and guidance provided to agents. Good implementation is clear, handles edge cases, and produces reliable results.
This is a well-crafted, highly actionable skill with a clear multi-step workflow and concrete executable commands. Its main weakness is moderate verbosity — some sections are slightly repetitive (filter defaults mentioned in Constants, Workflow, and Key Rules), and the monolithic structure could benefit from splitting detailed reference content into separate files. Overall it's a strong skill that would effectively guide Claude through Semantic Scholar searches.
Suggestions
Consolidate the filter defaults — they're mentioned in Constants, Step 2's recommended combos table, and Key Rules. Define once and reference.
Consider extracting the detailed output templates (Steps 5-6) and filter combos table into a separate REFERENCE.md to improve scannability of the main skill file.
| Dimension | Reasoning | Score |
|---|---|---|
Conciseness | The skill is fairly detailed and well-structured, but includes some unnecessary verbosity — the Role & Positioning table explaining the difference between /arxiv and /semantic-scholar, and some of the explanatory notes, could be trimmed. The recommended filter combos table and key rules section add value but are somewhat repetitive with earlier content. | 2 / 3 |
Actionability | Provides fully executable bash commands and specific script invocations with concrete flags. Paper ID formats are explicitly enumerated, search commands are copy-paste ready, and the output format is clearly specified with markdown templates. | 3 / 3 |
Workflow Clarity | The 7-step workflow is clearly sequenced with logical progression from parsing to searching to de-duplication to presentation. Includes validation-like steps (de-duplication against arXiv in Step 4, fallback behavior if script not found, rate limit handling with retry guidance). The conditional branching (single paper ID vs. search, bulk vs. standard) is explicit. | 3 / 3 |
Progressive Disclosure | The content is entirely self-contained in one file with no references to external documentation. While the skill is comprehensive, the detailed output templates (Steps 5-6) and the extensive filter combos table could potentially be split into reference files. For a skill of this length (~150+ lines), some progressive disclosure to separate files would improve scannability. | 2 / 3 |
Total | 10 / 12 Passed |
Validation
81%Checks the skill against the spec for correct structure and formatting. All validation checks must pass before discovery and implementation can be scored.
Validation — 9 / 11 Passed
Validation for skill structure
| Criteria | Description | Result |
|---|---|---|
allowed_tools_field | 'allowed-tools' contains unusual tool name(s) | Warning |
frontmatter_unknown_keys | Unknown frontmatter key(s) found; consider removing or moving to metadata | Warning |
Total | 9 / 11 Passed | |
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