literature-survey
Use when the user wants a comprehensive literature survey on a specific research topic. Outputs a complete PDF survey (6–20 pages, 60+ real citations, 100+ recommended) with LaTeX source, topic-specific publication figures, and a classified literature table. Single-stage, no Python runtime.
Profile →npx skills add ai4s-research/ai4s-skills --skill literature-survey --agent claude-code
Same command for any agent — swap --agent for codex, cursor, copilot.
Weekly change comes from our own snapshots, not the repository page — it measures attention, not adoption.
# Literature Survey ## Overview End-to-end literature survey builder. **Single stage, full quality from the start.** The agent (Claude Code / Cursor / Aider / Codex / …) does the entire build using its own tools (WebFetch, WebSearch, Write, Bash). This SKILL is procedure + reference playbooks + LaTeX template — no Python runtime, no LLM SDK. The substantive work is decomposed into reference playbooks under `references/`: | Reference | Topic | |---|---| | `references/00-incremental-execution.md` | how to actually do this without losing work: batch sizes, persistence, resume — **read first** | | `references/01-bibliography-expansion.md` | grow `bibliography.bib` to 60+ real entries (100+ recommended) via WebFetch (no memory) | | `references/02-survey-figures.md` | taxonomy / timeline / coverage-matrix / area-map figures | | `references/03-survey-section-playbook.md` | per-section structure for survey-shaped papers | | `references/04-layout-discipline.md` | tables, figures, floats, cross-refs, author + disclosure footnote | | `references/05-quality-gate.md` | self-check before delivery | **Read the relevant reference _before_ writing, not after.** The full pass does not fit in a singl
- Overview
- When to Use
- When NOT to Use
- Workflow
- Step 1 — Understand the topic and scope
- Step 2 — Set up the run directory
- Step 3 — Build the survey (REQUIRED — this is the whole job)
- Step 4 — Deliver
- Cross-skill data flow (path convention)
- Important rules
mkdir -p "$RUN/sections" "$RUN/figures" cp -r literature-survey/templates/survey/. "$RUN/" ln -sfn "$TS" "output/literature-survey/$SLUG/latest" cd "$RUN" pdflatex -interaction=nonstopmode main.tex bibtex main
What does the literature-survey skill do?
Use when the user wants a comprehensive literature survey on a specific research topic. Outputs a complete PDF survey (6–20 pages, 60+ real citations, 100+ recommended) with LaTeX source, topic-specific publication figures, and a classified literature table. Single-stage, no Python runtime.
How do I install it?
Run `npx skills add ai4s-research/ai4s-skills --skill literature-survey --agent claude-code` — it drops the skill into your project so the agent can pick it up. Swap the --agent value for codex, cursor or copilot if you use one of those.
Where does this skill come from?
From ai4s-research/ai4s-skills, a repository with 163 stars. We read it straight from the repository tree rather than a submitted listing, so what you see here is what is actually published.
Is a popular skill a good skill?
Not necessarily. Stars measure attention, not adoption — a repository can trend for a week and be abandoned. That is why we show the weekly change from our own snapshots next to the total, instead of a single flattering number.