cookjohn/gs-skills1 file

Gs Search

Search Google Scholar for academic papers by keywords. Returns results with title, authors, journal, year, citation count, and full-text links. Use when the user wants to search Google Scholar.

Specification
Skill ID
cookjohn/gs-skills/gs-search
Publisher
cookjohn
Repository
gs-skills
Installs
0
Files
1
Synced
Sep 23, 2026
How to use it

Open any RiverX project, open the Skills panel in the chat, and search for this identifier. The files are fetched from the source repository at install time.

cookjohn/gs-skills/gs-searchInstalls these files
  • SKILL.md

What this skill tells the agent

Google Scholar Basic Search

Search Google Scholar for papers using keyword(s). Returns structured result list via DOM scraping.

Arguments

$ARGUMENTS contains the search keyword(s).

Steps

1. Navigate

Use mcp__chrome-devtools__navigate_page:

  • url: https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q={URL_ENCODED_KEYWORDS}&hl=en&num=10

2. Extract results (evaluate_script)

Wait for results to load, check for CAPTCHA, then scrape the DOM:

async () => {
  // Wait for results or CAPTCHA
  for (let i = 0; i < 20; i++) {
    if (document.querySelector('#gs_res_ccl') || document.querySelector('#gs_captcha_ccl')) break;
    await new Promise(r => setTimeout(r, 500));
  }

  // CAPTCHA check
  if (document.querySelector('#gs_captcha_ccl') || document.body.innerText.includes('unusual traffic')) {
    return { error: 'captcha', message: 'Google Scholar requires CAPTCHA verification. Please complete it in your browser, then tell me to continue.' };
  }

  const items = document.querySelectorAll('#gs_res_ccl .gs_r.gs_or.gs_scl');
  const results = Array.from(items).map((item, i) => {
    const titleEl = item.querySelector('.gs_rt a');
    const meta = item.querySelector('.gs_a')?.textContent || '';
    // Parse "Author1, Author2 - Journal, Year - publisher"
    const parts = meta.split(' - ');
    const authors = parts[0]?.trim() || '';
    const journalYear = parts[1]?.trim() || '';
    const citedByEl = item.querySelector('.gs_fl a[href*="cites"]');
    const relatedEl = item.querySelector('.gs_fl a[href*="related"]');
    const versionsEl = item.querySelector('.gs_fl a[href*="cluster"]');

    return {
      n: i + 1,
      title: titleEl?.textContent?.trim() || item.querySelector('.gs_rt')?.textContent?.trim() || '',
      href: titleEl?.href || '',
      authors,
      journalYear,
      citedBy: citedByEl?.textContent?.match(/\d+/)?.[0] || '0',
      citedByUrl: citedByEl?.href || '',
      dataCid: item.getAttribute('data-cid') || '',
      fullTextUrl: (item.querySelector('.gs_ggs a') || item.querySelector('.gs_or_ggsm a'))?.href || '',
      snippet: item.querySelector('.gs_rs')?.textContent?.trim()?.substring(0, 200) || '',
      relatedUrl: relatedEl?.href || '',
      versionsUrl: versionsEl?.href || '',
      versions: versionsEl?.textContent?.match(/\d+/)?.[0] || ''
    };
  });

  const totalText = document.querySelector('#gs_ab_md')?.textContent?.trim() || '';
  const currentUrl = window.location.href;
  return { total: totalText, resultCount: results.length, currentUrl, results };
}

3. Report

Present results as a numbered list:

Searched Google Scholar for "$ARGUMENTS": {total}

1. {title}
   Authors: {authors} | {journalYear}
   Cited by: {citedBy} | [Full text]({fullTextUrl})
   Data-CID: {dataCid}

2. ...

Always show the dataCid — it's the unique identifier used for citation export and "cited by" tracking.

If fullTextUrl is available, highlight it (means open-access PDF/HTML).

4. Follow-up

When the user wants to:

  • See more results: use gs-navigate-pages to go to next page
  • See who cited a paper: use gs-cited-by with the data-cid
  • Export to Zotero: use gs-export with the data-cid(s)

CAPTCHA Handling

If the result contains {error: 'captcha'}:

  1. Tell the user: "Google Scholar is requesting CAPTCHA verification. Please complete it in your browser."
  2. Wait for user confirmation
  3. Retry the evaluate_script extraction

Notes

  • This skill uses 2 tool calls: navigate_page + evaluate_script
  • Google Scholar has NO public API — all data extraction is via DOM scraping
  • data-cid is the primary identifier (cluster ID) — used across all GS skills
  • Keep request frequency low to avoid triggering CAPTCHA
  • Default num=10 results per page (max 20)

Use this skill in a project

Open any RiverX project, search the Skills panel for cookjohn/gs-skills/gs-search, and install it in one click.

Use this skill