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Load when extracting GEO accessions, dataset metadata, and downloadable references from a scientific paper (PDF / URL / DOI / PubMed ID / raw text) for downstream omics analysis. Skip when the dataset is already in hand or when only routing a query (use `orchestrator`).

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How to use this skill

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I want to install this Agent Skill for this project in Codex.

Source SKILL.md: https://github.com/TianGzlab/OmicsClaw/blob/HEAD/skills/literature/SKILL.md

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literature

When to use

The user provides a scientific paper reference (PDF path, URL, DOI, PubMed ID, or raw text excerpt) and wants OmicsClaw to extract GEO accessions, dataset metadata, and (optionally) download referenced GEO datasets — so a downstream analysis skill can be invoked on real data.

--input-type defaults to auto (sniffs from input shape). --no-download skips the GEO download step (metadata only).

For dispatching a NL query to an analysis skill use orchestrator. For scaffolding a new skill from a paper use omics-skill-builder.

Inputs & Outputs

InputFormatRequired
Reference--input <URL|DOI|PubMed|PDF path|text>yes (unless --demo)
Input type--input-type {auto,url,doi,pubmed,file,text} (default auto)no
Skip download--no-download (extract metadata only)no
Data dir--data-dir <path> (default data/)no
OutputPathNotes
Extracted metadataoutput_dir/extracted_metadata.jsonwritten at literature_parse.py:80
Reportoutput_dir/report.mdwritten at literature_parse.py:193
Result envelopeoutput_dir/result.jsonwritten at literature_parse.py:147
Downloaded GEO data<data-dir>/<GSE...>/...only when GEO accessions found AND --no-download not set

Flow

  1. Parse --input (or --demo); raise parser.error('the following arguments are required: --input (unless --demo is used)') at literature_parse.py:38 when missing.
  2. Detect input type (URL / DOI / PubMed / PDF / text) via --input-type auto or honour the explicit value.
  3. Call parse_input (skills/literature/core/parser.py); fetch / parse content.
  4. Call extract_metadata (skills/literature/core/extractor.py) → identify GEO accessions, dataset metadata, study type.
  5. If GEO accessions found AND not --no-download: call download_geo_dataset (skills/literature/core/downloader.py) → save to --data-dir.
  6. Write extracted_metadata.json (literature_parse.py:80) + report.md (:193) + result.json (:147).

Gotchas

  • --input REQUIRED unless --demo — uses parser.error (exit 2). literature_parse.py:38 calls parser.error('the following arguments are required: --input (unless --demo is used)'). Different from most file-pipeline skills which raise ValueError.
  • --input-type auto heuristics are positional, not URL-aware. core/parser.py:35-55 checks the bare-DOI regex ^10\.\d{4,}/\S+ first; URLs always hit the startswith("http") branch and resolve to url, even when they wrap a DOI (https://doi.org/10.1038/...). For PDF / file paths use --input-type file explicitly — Path.exists() has to succeed for auto-detection to pick file.
  • GEO download requires internet access. download_geo_dataset issues HTTP requests to GEO FTP. Air-gapped runs must pass --no-download or the run will hang / time out.
  • PDF parsing requires pypdf / similar. If the PDF parser dependency is missing, the run errors out — verify skills/literature/requirements.txt is satisfied.
  • extracted_metadata.json is at output_dir/ ROOT, not tables/. This skill does NOT follow the tables/<file>.csv convention used by analysis skills.
  • Empty / unparseable input ⇒ exit 1 (not 2). literature_parse.py:64 calls sys.exit(1) on internal parse failure (distinct from the parser.error exit-2 path for missing args).

Key CLI

# Demo (built-in local text)
python omicsclaw.py run literature --demo --output /tmp/lit_demo

# DOI
python omicsclaw.py run literature \
  --input "10.1038/s41586-021-03689-7" --output results/

# PDF (use --input-type file)
python omicsclaw.py run literature \
  --input my_paper.pdf --input-type file --output results/

# URL, metadata-only (no GEO download)
python omicsclaw.py run literature \
  --input "https://www.nature.com/articles/..." \
  --output results/ --no-download

See also

  • references/parameters.md — every CLI flag, input-type heuristics
  • references/methodology.md — GEO accession rules, parser fallbacks
  • references/output_contract.md — extracted_metadata.json schema
  • Adjacent skills: orchestrator (downstream — routes the resulting dataset to an analysis skill), omics-skill-builder (parallel — scaffold a new skill from a paper)