Academic Research Kit

Public npm installer for the private Academic Research Skills payload.

This installer is optimized for Google Antigravity first. By default, it installs skills into the current workspace's .agent/skills folder. Use --scope global to install into the Antigravity global skill folder instead.

If your terminal is not currently inside the Antigravity workspace, pass --skill-root <workspace>/.agent/skills or set ANTIGRAVITY_SKILLS_HOME.

The npm package contains only installer code. It does not include the private skill folders. During install, the CLI downloads or imports the private repo payload and copies these skills into the target AI Agent skill root:

• literature-review
• research-gap-resolver

Usage

npx academic-research-kit install --provider antigravity --scope workspace
npx academic-research-kit@latest update --provider antigravity --scope workspace
npx academic-research-kit doctor --provider antigravity --scope workspace

Global install:

npx academic-research-kit install --provider antigravity --scope global
npx academic-research-kit@latest update --provider antigravity --scope global

If the machine does not have Node.js/npx yet, install Node.js LTS first from https://nodejs.org/ or through the operating system package manager.

End users do not need to log in to npm. npm login is only required for the repo owner/maintainer who publishes this public installer package.

If npx academic-research-kit@latest ... returns npm E404 Not Found, this package has not been published to npm yet. The repo owner must publish it first; see PUBLISHING.md.

Antigravity provider support requires academic-research-kit >= 0.1.1; Antigravity global scope requires academic-research-kit >= 0.1.2. Check the current npm version with:

npx academic-research-kit@latest --version

Current kit release:

• 1.0.7: asks for and saves CORE + Semantic Scholar API keys (both free) once, and for any missing key it offers to open the provider's sign-up page in the browser, then waits for the pasted key (OpenAlex, Firecrawl, CORE, Semantic Scholar); the literature-review payload adds discovery sources (Semantic Scholar, CORE, Europe PMC, arXiv, ERIC) and a discovery_loop.py that escalates sources until enough usable full-text is acquired.
• 1.0.6: asks for and saves Firecrawl API key once so literature-review can use quota-controlled web backup search when scholarly sources are insufficient.
• 1.0.5: asks for and saves OpenAlex API key once so research scripts can reuse it automatically.
• 0.1.3: refreshes the private skill payload for literature-review Open Access full-text resolution. The installer package still contains only CLI code; update downloads the latest private skills from GitHub.
• 0.1.2: adds Antigravity global scope support.
• 0.1.1: adds Antigravity provider support.

Update

npx academic-research-kit@latest update --provider antigravity --scope workspace
npx academic-research-kit@latest doctor --provider antigravity --scope workspace

@latest fetches the latest public installer from npm. update downloads the latest private skill payload from GitHub, using main by default.

Existing installed skill folders are renamed to .backup-YYYYMMDDHHMMSS before the new folders are copied into the skill root.

Before npm publishing, owner/local testing can run the CLI directly from the repo:

node installer/npm/bin/academic-research-kit.js update --provider antigravity --scope workspace
node installer/npm/bin/academic-research-kit.js doctor --provider antigravity --scope workspace

Private Repo Auth

For private GitHub payload downloads, the CLI uses one of these options:

• gh auth token
• GITHUB_TOKEN
• GH_TOKEN

If no auth token is available, the CLI opens GitHub in the browser and asks for the downloaded ZIP path.

OpenAlex API Key

During the first interactive install/update, the CLI asks for an OpenAlex API key. This is not required for installing the skills, but it helps literature-review query OpenAlex and resolve Open Access full-text more reliably.

The key is saved locally at ~/.academic-research-kit/config.json with file mode 600. Future research runs read it automatically if OPENALEX_API_KEY is not already set.

Useful options:

npx academic-research-kit@latest update --provider antigravity --openalex-api-key "<key>"
npx academic-research-kit@latest update --provider antigravity --reset-openalex-api-key
npx academic-research-kit@latest update --provider antigravity --skip-openalex-api-key

Firecrawl API Key

During the first interactive install/update, the CLI can also ask for a Firecrawl API key. This is optional, but it lets literature-review use Firecrawl as a controlled backup when OpenAlex/Crossref do not return enough sources or when public web pages need cleaner extraction.

The key is saved locally at ~/.academic-research-kit/config.json with file mode 600. Future research runs read it automatically if FIRECRAWL_API_KEY is not already set. The local Firecrawl budget guard defaults to 1000 pages/month and can be changed.

Useful options:

npx academic-research-kit@latest update --provider antigravity --firecrawl-api-key "<key>"
npx academic-research-kit@latest update --provider antigravity --firecrawl-monthly-page-budget 1000
npx academic-research-kit@latest update --provider antigravity --reset-firecrawl-api-key
npx academic-research-kit@latest update --provider antigravity --skip-firecrawl-api-key

CORE & Semantic Scholar API Keys

During the first interactive install/update, the CLI also asks for a CORE key and a Semantic Scholar key. Both are free and optional but strongly recommended:

• CORE (free at https://core.ac.uk/services/api) unlocks the CORE source — the largest Open Access full-text aggregator — improving PDF download success and reducing reliance on OpenAlex for raw files.
• Semantic Scholar (free at https://www.semanticscholar.org/product/api) raises the rate limit and avoids 429 errors during discovery and resolution.

Keys are saved locally at ~/.academic-research-kit/config.json (mode 600). Research scripts read them automatically when CORE_API_KEY / SEMANTIC_SCHOLAR_API_KEY are not already set.

Useful options:

npx academic-research-kit@latest update --provider antigravity --core-api-key "<key>"
npx academic-research-kit@latest update --provider antigravity --reset-core-api-key
npx academic-research-kit@latest update --provider antigravity --skip-core-api-key
npx academic-research-kit@latest update --provider antigravity --semantic-scholar-api-key "<key>"
npx academic-research-kit@latest update --provider antigravity --reset-semantic-scholar-api-key
npx academic-research-kit@latest update --provider antigravity --skip-semantic-scholar-api-key

Local ZIP Install

npx academic-research-kit install --provider antigravity --scope workspace --zip ~/Downloads/academic-research-skills-main.zip

The ZIP may use either layout:

skills/literature-review/SKILL.md
skills/research-gap-resolver/SKILL.md

or the legacy layout:

literature-review/SKILL.md
research-gap-resolver/SKILL.md