You need a broad, reproducible review across scholarly databases.
It explicitly covers discovery, screening, thematic synthesis, citation checks, and a search log.
Editorial confidence: highReview academic literature and manage citations
Compare specialist workflows for scholarly discovery, paper triage, thematic synthesis, and citation export.
Last meaningful review July 20, 2026
The job
You have a research question and need to find, organize, compare, and cite relevant academic papers without claiming to validate their conclusions.
Includedscholarly paper discovery · literature triage and thematic synthesis · citation or bibliography export
Not this pagegeneral web research · writing a paper on the user’s behalf · peer review or scientific validation
30-second route
Consider Literature Review ↗
You need verified citations and publication-style Markdown/PDF output and can meet companion-tool requirements.
It has the broadest documented workflow and output generation, but adds dependencies and mandatory visuals.
Editorial confidence: highYour corpus can be arXiv-focused and you want a bounded multi-paper survey with APA, IEEE, or BibTeX references.
It directly supports cross-paper synthesis and formatted citations, with an explicit arXiv-only limitation.
Editorial confidence: highYou only need citation support restricted to Nature, Science, and Cell journal families.
That specialist does not document the full discovery-triage-synthesis workflow.
Editorial confidence: highBefore you install
Install the first two for general literature reviews; install and adapt the arXiv-focused option when its source boundary fits the project.
All selected Skills have different content hashes and explicit SKILL.md evidence for discovery, cross-paper handling, and citations. Higher-recognition Nature Academic Search was not selected because its supplied source does not explicitly document thematic synthesis.
Read the intervention guide →Source-led comparison
What changes the choice
Facts are extracted from each selected Skill’s declared workflow. Signals describe public adoption; they are not a universal score.
SkillBest forActionEdits?Setup
Literature ReviewA reproducible general academic, biomedical, or technical literature review.installNo adaptation indicated.Select review rigor; it defaults exploratory work to scoping and publication or clinical claims to systematic review. ↗Literature ReviewA comprehensive review needing multi-database discovery, thematic synthesis, verified citations, and Markdown/PDF output.installAdapt or remove the mandatory visual requirement if it does not fit the review.Optional LLM-powered features use OPENROUTER_API_KEY; the workflow also references parallel-web, scientific-schematics, and specialized database skills. ↗Systematic Literature ReviewAn arXiv-focused survey, annotated bibliography, or cross-paper comparison with APA, IEEE, or BibTeX references.installAdapt or replace the retrieval phase for non-arXiv coverage.Confirm topic, paper count, time window/category, citation format, and output location; source prescribes use of its bundled arXiv script and subagent extraction. ↗Source notes
Inspect evidence and candidate limits 3 candidates
Why these candidatesEach candidate comes from tracked public sources and has a source-attributed adoption signal. This is a shortlist, not a catalogue or global ranking.
What this cannot establishWe read declared instructions and public signals. We do not run skills, benchmark outputs, audit security, or claim a universal best choice.
Use it forA reproducible general academic, biomedical, or technical literature review.
Avoid ifYou require tool-specific automated bibliography export.
Actioninstall
EditsNo adaptation indicated.
SetupSelect review rigor; it defaults exploratory work to scoping and publication or clinical claims to systematic review.
Inspect workflow and compatibility details
ContextFind, screen, synthesize, and cite a body of scholarly literature.
OutputReview with search strategy, criteria, evidence summary, thematic synthesis, references, and search log.
ControlProtocol-led search, logging, deduplication, screening, extraction, synthesis, and citation checks.
InvocationNot yet mapped from the source.
Install scopeNot yet mapped from the source.
Agent fitBest overall fit.
Watch outDo not claim systematic-review rigor without a reproducible protocol.
Source-visible capabilitiesDiscoveryPlans multi-database scholarly searches.explicit sourceTriage and synthesisDeduplicates, screens, extracts structured data, and synthesizes by theme.explicit sourceCitation checksVerifies identifiers and bibliographic details before finalization.explicit source
CompatibilityAcademic, biomedical, and technical researchdeclarednot runtime-tested
Evidence
The skill is for finding, screening, synthesizing, and citing academic or technical literature.SKILL.md:10-11 · inspected 2026-07-20 · high confidence
It specifies search protocols and a multi-source database set.SKILL.md:54-85 · inspected 2026-07-20 · high confidence
It provides deduplication, screening, extraction, thematic synthesis, and citation verification.SKILL.md:87-157 · inspected 2026-07-20 · high confidence
Its output includes thematic synthesis, references, and a search log.SKILL.md:159-184 · inspected 2026-07-20 · high confidence
Public signal25 /SkillsMP source-specificbest-overallreproducible-workflowexplicit source
Use it forA comprehensive review needing multi-database discovery, thematic synthesis, verified citations, and Markdown/PDF output.
Avoid ifMandatory AI-generated figures or companion-skill dependencies are unsuitable.
Actioninstall
EditsAdapt or remove the mandatory visual requirement if it does not fit the review.
SetupOptional LLM-powered features use OPENROUTER_API_KEY; the workflow also references parallel-web, scientific-schematics, and specialized database skills.
Inspect workflow and compatibility details
ContextFull planning-to-output literature-review workflow.
OutputFormatted Markdown and PDF documents with selected citation style.
ControlPhased planning, search, screening, extraction, synthesis, verification, and generation.
InvocationNot yet mapped from the source.
Install scopeNot yet mapped from the source.
Agent fitMost feature-complete alternative, with heavier operational requirements.
Watch outThe source makes AI-generated figures mandatory for every literature review.
Source-visible capabilitiesDiscoverySearches multiple academic databases and documents search parameters.explicit sourceTriage and synthesisCovers deduplication, title/abstract/full-text screening, extraction, and thematic synthesis.explicit sourceCitations and exportVerifies DOIs and generates styled Markdown/PDF output.explicit source
CompatibilityAcademic, biomedical, scientific, and technical reviewsdeclarednot runtime-testedOpenRouter-enhanced featureslimitednot runtime-tested
Evidence
The skill declares systematic multi-database reviews, thematic synthesis, verified citations, and Markdown/PDF output.SKILL.md:1-16 · inspected 2026-07-20 · high confidence
It mandates generated schematics for each literature review.SKILL.md:29-62 · inspected 2026-07-20 · high confidence
It documents multi-database search and search-parameter records.SKILL.md:94-163 · inspected 2026-07-20 · high confidence
It documents screening, thematic synthesis, DOI verification, citation styles, and PDF generation.SKILL.md:165-319 · inspected 2026-07-20 · high confidence
Public signal233 /SkillsMP source-specificcomprehensiveformatted-outputdependency-heavyexplicit source
Use it forAn arXiv-focused survey, annotated bibliography, or cross-paper comparison with APA, IEEE, or BibTeX references.
Avoid ifThe review requires databases beyond arXiv or the environment cannot support its prescribed subagent extraction workflow.
Actioninstall
EditsAdapt or replace the retrieval phase for non-arXiv coverage.
SetupConfirm topic, paper count, time window/category, citation format, and output location; source prescribes use of its bundled arXiv script and subagent extraction.
Inspect workflow and compatibility details
ContextBreadth-first systematic synthesis across multiple academic papers.
OutputA saved systematic literature-review report with executive summary, themes, paper annotations, methodology, and formatted references.
ControlFive phases: plan, arXiv search, batched metadata extraction, synthesis, then save and present.
InvocationNot yet mapped from the source.
Install scopeNot yet mapped from the source.
Agent fitFocused option for preprint-heavy technical fields.
Watch outIts discovery source is arXiv only and its extraction instructions depend on a specific task-tool subagent workflow.
Source-visible capabilitiesDiscoverySearches arXiv with topic, count, category, date, and relevance controls.explicit sourceTriage and thematic synthesisExtracts research question, methods, findings, and limitations per paper, then identifies themes, convergence, disagreements, and gaps.explicit sourceCitation exportProduces APA, IEEE, or BibTeX-formatted references.explicit source
CompatibilityarXiv-covered academic fieldslimitednot runtime-testedEnvironment with task-tool subagentslimitednot runtime-tested
Evidence
The skill covers systematic literature reviews, synthesis across papers, annotated bibliographies, cross-paper comparisons, arXiv search, and APA/IEEE/BibTeX output.SKILL.md:1-12 · inspected 2026-07-20 · high confidence
Planning captures topic, paper scope, time/category filters, citation format, and output location.SKILL.md:30-43 · inspected 2026-07-20 · high confidence
It requires bundled arXiv retrieval and states the resulting paper metadata.SKILL.md:45-89 · inspected 2026-07-20 · high confidence
Its synthesis requires themes, convergences, disagreements, and gaps, with APA/IEEE/BibTeX templates.SKILL.md:163-194 · inspected 2026-07-20 · high confidence
Public signal297 /SkillsMP source-specificarxiv-focusedcross-paper-synthesiscitation-exportexplicit source
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