Nature Citation

Nature Citation — Router

This skill is split into two layers:

• A static layer under static/ that holds versioned, reusable content fragments (core principles and scope, the Chinese-user operating mode, and the citation workflow).
• A dynamic layer (this file plus manifest.yaml) that loads the core every time and reaches for heavier material only when a step needs it.

Do not try to apply the citation logic from memory or from this router. Always load fragments from disk as described below.

Routing protocol

Follow these four steps every time the skill is invoked.

1. Load the manifest and the core layer

Read [manifest.yaml](manifest.yaml). Then read every file listed under always_load:

• static/core/principles.md — what the skill produces, the strict journal scope, the source hierarchy, and the search-quality rules.
• static/core/chinese-mode.md — how to operate when the user writes in Chinese or asks for Nature系列/CNS及子刊 style support.
• static/core/workflow.md — the seven-step workflow and the final report format.

2. No content axis — confirm scope and language inline

Unlike the other nature-* skills, nature-citation has no fragment axis. Its variation is runtime parameters, not different content bodies:

• journal scope — Nature系列 / CNS / CNS及子刊 / flagship-only. Read it from the user's wording (see core/principles.md) and pass it to the script as --scope.
• user language — if the user writes Chinese, follow core/chinese-mode.md (Chinese notes, English search queries).
• input length — if there are more than ~10 segments, switch to the batched long-article strategy in references/script-usage.md.

State the detected scope and date limits in one short line before searching.

3. Run the workflow

Follow the seven steps in core/workflow.md: segment, parse, search, evaluate support conservatively, export one reference-manager file, generate review artifacts when useful, and report with the HTML browser path first. Prefer scripts/nature_citation.py for the search/export when internet access is available; open references/script-usage.md for its full flag list and the long-article batch strategy.

Never present a paper as support merely because its title is related, and never cite a metadata-only candidate without checking the abstract or publisher page. Do not invent missing bibliographic fields.

4. Reach for references only when needed

The files under references/ are deep references, not defaults. Open them on demand per the references.on_demand table in the manifest:

• running the script, full flags, long-article batching → references/script-usage.md.
• turning a claim into search queries and support grades → references/search-strategy.md.
• the exact Nature/CNS journal-family boundary → references/journal-scope.md.
• RIS / EndNote / Zotero RDF export details → references/ris-endnote.md.

Why this split

• The static layer is versioned and reviewable; the core stays small for a normal short run.
• The dynamic layer keeps each invocation cheap: the script flag dump and long-article strategy load only when actually running a search.
• The router itself is short on purpose. Update fragments and references, not this file, when adding scope.
• This structure mirrors nature-writing, nature-polishing, nature-reader, nature-paper2ppt, and nature-figure.

Source & license

This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

• Author: hamzabellouch
• Source: hamzabellouch/agent-skills
• License: MIT

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.