literature-survey
Use when the user wants a structured, saturating literature survey on a question — not a one-shot summary, but an evidence/contradiction matrix (sources × claims) built by iterative search until coverage stops growing. Each round expands the search (new sub-topic queries plus citation-graph walks), admits new sources, extracts their claims with verbatim snippets, and records where every source stands on each claim (supports / contradicts / qualifies); the feedback signal is how many new matrix-changing sources a round adds, and it stops at saturation, patience, or budget. The output is the mat
npx skills add gaasher/Agent-Loop-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 Loop A **search → extract → map → expand** loop that builds an **evidence/contradiction matrix** and stops at **saturation**. The artifact is the matrix (claims × sources, with each source's stance); the feedback signal is how many **new, matrix-changing sources** a round adds — you keep expanding until that falls below `<min_new>` for `<patience>` rounds. Unlike a one-shot summary, the loop deliberately hunts **contradictions** and **gaps** and keeps pulling threads until the picture stops changing. The discipline: every cell — a source's stance on a claim — is backed by a **verbatim snippet from a real retrieval**. The value is not a tidy narrative; it is an honest map of where the literature **agrees, disagrees, and is silent**. ## When to use Use this for a multi-source survey of a question where the deliverable is a structured map of the evidence, not a paragraph. Default: run the full expand→admit→map loop below until saturation. Escape hatch: if the user wants only a quick scan, run round 0 (seed) alone and hand back the seed matrix. Not for grading a written proposal against the literature, and not for proposing new hypotheses. ## Setup **Resolve binding
- When to use
- Setup
- The loop
- Ledger
- Constraints
- Stops
What does the literature-survey skill do?
Use when the user wants a structured, saturating literature survey on a question — not a one-shot summary, but an evidence/contradiction matrix (sources × claims) built by iterative search until coverage stops growing. Each round expands the search (new sub-topic queries plus citation-graph walks), admits new sources, extracts their claims with verbatim snippets, and records where every source stands on each claim (supports / contradicts / qualifies); the feedback signal is how many new matrix-changing sources a round adds, and it stops at saturation, patience, or budget. The output is the mat
How do I install it?
Run `npx skills add gaasher/Agent-Loop-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 gaasher/Agent-Loop-Skills, a repository with 146 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.