obsidian-literature-workflow — Claude Code skill: literature review
Runs a project literature review inside an Obsidian vault: paper notes, synthesis, a related-work draft and a canvas of the links.
npx skills add Galaxy-Dawn/claude-scholar --skill obsidian-literature-workflow -a claude-codeWhat obsidian-literature-workflow does
The skill fixes a folder order for literature work: sources live in Sources/Papers/, synthesis lands in Knowledge/, prose grows out of it in Writing/, and the whole picture sits on Maps/literature.canvas. A paper note is saved as Sources/Papers/{paper-slug}.md. Synthesis goes into separate files — Knowledge/Literature Overview.md, Knowledge/Method Taxonomy.md, Knowledge/Research Gaps.md, Knowledge/Claim Map.md.
The core rule: synthesis never lives inside source notes. Every synthesis note links the source notes behind it, and every research gap carries evidence. A claim headed for writing or a rebuttal gets an Evidence Record ID, source type, claim strength and allowed wording, plus the stronger wording you may not use.
Writing/related-work-draft.md and Writing/comparison-matrix.md appear only after promoted claims pass the evidence gate. Thin paper notes, abstract-only pages and webpage placeholders can update coverage or To-Read, but they cannot support conclusions in Knowledge or Writing. Extra canvases are not generated unless you ask for them.
What it helps with
- file paper notes under the project folders
- turn scattered sources into a literature overview
- keep synthesis out of the source notes
- flag research gaps with evidence attached
- draft related work once claims pass the evidence gate
Example prompts for the agent
- Build the literature review for this project: notes in Sources/Papers, synthesis in Knowledge
- Check which claims in Knowledge/Claim Map.md can move into Writing/related-work-draft.md
- Refresh Maps/literature.canvas from the current notes
How to install obsidian-literature-workflow
1Skills CLI (Vercel)
npx skills add Galaxy-Dawn/claude-scholar --skill obsidian-literature-workflow -a claude-code2Manually: put the files in place
~/.claude/skills/obsidian-literature-workflow/SKILL.mdCopy the whole skill folder; for one project use .claude/skills/obsidian-literature-workflow/
1Skills CLI (Vercel)
npx skills add Galaxy-Dawn/claude-scholar --skill obsidian-literature-workflow -a codex2Manually: put the files in place
.agents/skills/obsidian-literature-workflow/SKILL.mdFor all projects use ~/.agents/skills/
1Skills CLI (Vercel)
npx skills add Galaxy-Dawn/claude-scholar --skill obsidian-literature-workflow -a cursor2Manually: put the files in place
.cursor/skills/obsidian-literature-workflow/SKILL.mdCursor also reads .agents/skills/ and .claude/skills/
1GitHub CLI
gh skill install Galaxy-Dawn/claude-scholar obsidian-literature-workflow2Manually: put the files in place
.github/skills/obsidian-literature-workflow/SKILL.md1Skills CLI (Vercel)
npx skills add Galaxy-Dawn/claude-scholar --skill obsidian-literature-workflow -a gemini-cli2Platform CLI
gemini skills install https://github.com/Galaxy-Dawn/claude-scholar --path skills/obsidian-literature-workflowManually: put the files in place
.devin/skills/obsidian-literature-workflow/SKILL.mdThe legacy .windsurf/skills/ path still works
Skills CLI (Vercel)
npx skills add Galaxy-Dawn/claude-scholar --skill obsidian-literature-workflow -a opencodeClaude.ai
Zip the folder and upload it in Settings → Capabilities → Skills
Step by step, with commands for each platform: How to install skills in Claude Code: five ways
Questions about obsidian-literature-workflow
How do I install obsidian-literature-workflow in Claude?
Run npx skills add Galaxy-Dawn/claude-scholar --skill obsidian-literature-workflow -a claude-code. The skill file then sits at ~/.claude/skills/obsidian-literature-workflow/SKILL.md.
What does obsidian-literature-workflow do?
It runs a literature review inside an Obsidian vault: source notes, synthesis, a related-work draft and a canvas of the links.
Which notes can support conclusions?
Only full paper notes. Abstract-only pages and webpage placeholders update coverage or To-Read, but conclusions in Knowledge and Writing are not built on them.
Source text
SKILL.md · MIT
---
name: obsidian-literature-workflow
description: Use this skill for project-scoped literature review built on Sources/Papers, with synthesis landing in Knowledge, writing handoff in Writing, and the default literature canvas under Maps/literature.canvas.
version: 1.0.0
---
# Obsidian Literature Workflow
This skill owns the **project literature workflow**.
## Main flow
```text
Sources/Papers/ -> Knowledge/ -> Writing/ -> Maps/literature.canvas
```
## Default outputs
- `Sources/Papers/{paper-slug}.md`
- `Knowledge/Literature Overview.md`
- `Knowledge/Method Taxonomy.md`
- `Knowledge/Research Gaps.md`
- `Knowledge/Claim Map.md`
- `Writing/related-work-draft.md` only after promoted claims pass the evidence gate
- `Writing/comparison-matrix.md` only after promoted claims pass the evidence gate
- `Maps/literature.canvas`
## Rules
- paper notes stay under `Sources/Papers/`
- literature synthesis does not live inside source notes
- every synthesis note must link its supporting source notes
- every research gap must carry evidence
- every promoted claim must carry an Evidence Record ID, source type, claim strength, allowed wording, and forbidden stronger wording when it may flow into writing or rebuttal
- weak paper notes, abstract-only pages, and webpage placeholders may update coverage or `To-Read`, but they cannot support `Knowledge` or `Writing` conclusions
- default graph output is `Maps/literature.canvas`
- do not generate extra canvases unless explicitly requested
## Read next
- `references/PAPER-NOTE-SCHEMA.md`
- `references/LITERATURE-OVERVIEW.md`
- `references/CLAIM-EXTRACTION.md`
- `references/METHOD-TAXONOMY.md`
- `references/RESEARCH-GAPS.md`
- `references/LITERATURE-CANVAS.md`
© Galaxy-Dawn · MIT · Galaxy-Dawn/claude-scholar