openalex is a skill in brycewang-stanford/Auto-Empirical-Research-Skills, last changed 29 Oct 2026. It can change agent settings, run shell commands, reach the network, name web addresses and pre-approve tools — read the findings before installing.

From the author
Search academic papers via OpenAlex API for open citation data, institutional affiliations, and funding information. Use when user says "openalex search", "search openalex", "open citation graph", or wants comprehensive academic metadata beyond arXiv/Semantic Scholar.

At a glance

Pattern check

1 item to review

Broad tools pre-approved in allowed-tools

R34 · High · SKILL.md:5

Commit 8dd077b · 31 Oct 2026

How the check works

Pattern check:1 item to reviewSee it

Install

Each tab says whether it installs commit 8dd077b, the one we checked, or the latest version.

Read this before installing: Broad tools pre-approved in allowed-tools — SKILL.md:5

Read SKILL.md first
Licence not identified
Licence
4.9k
Repo stars
Files

What it can touch

From the files and frontmatter at commit 8dd077b. This is how much a skill can do, not whether it is risky.

  • Changes agent settings

    It writes to agent memory or settings files such as CLAUDE.md, AGENTS.md or .claude/settings.json.

    SKILL.md:112 (opens in a new tab)

  • Runs shell commands

    Its instructions or files give the agent commands to run on your computer.

  • Reaches the network

    It sends or fetches data over the internet, for example with curl, an HTTP library or a package install.

  • Names web addresses

    It mentions outside web addresses the agent may visit. We list them but don't follow them.

    Outside links we did not follow
  • Pre-approves tools

    Its allowed-tools field lists tools the agent may use without asking you first, in agents that honour it.

    SKILL.md:5 (opens in a new tab)

Pattern check

Pattern check: 1 item to review · commit 8dd077b · 31 Oct 2026

We checked every text file in this skill, at commit 8dd077b on 31 Oct 2026, against 45 published patterns such as download-and-run commands, hidden text and credential access. We don't run the skill, we don't read the web pages it points to, and we can't judge everything its instructions might lead an agent to do. In published tests, pattern checks like this one missed most malicious skills. Read the skill before you install it — especially anything it asks you to download or run.

How the check worksReport an incorrect finding

  • https://openalex.org/

Format check

Each agent reads SKILL.md a little differently. We check the file against each one's published rules; we don't run the skill in any agent.

  • Agent Skills specPasses with warnings

    The open format from agentskills.io, held to what the strictest agents enforce, so one folder loads everywhere.

    • Warning

      Fields outside the spec: argument-hint (read by Claude Code and VS Code). Uploads to the Claude apps and API, and the spec's validator, reject the file; most agents ignore these fields. O1

      Fix: Delete them for a portable skill, or keep them if you only target the agents that read them.

    • Warning

      Paths that may not work once the skill is installed: line 37: ../shared-references/integration-contract.md (outside the skill folder) and line 95: ../shared-references/integration-contract.md (outside the skill folder). B6

      Fix: Use forward-slash paths relative to SKILL.md, and copy shared files into the skill.

    • Note

      There is no license field, so readers can't tell whether they may reuse the skill. O2

      Fix: Add license: with an SPDX name such as MIT or Apache-2.0, or the name of a bundled licence file.

  • Claude CodePasses with warnings

    Claude Code reads its own extra fields, ignores unknown ones, and still loads a skill whose frontmatter is broken, without its fields.

    • Warning

      Paths that may not work once the skill is installed: line 37: ../shared-references/integration-contract.md (outside the skill folder) and line 95: ../shared-references/integration-contract.md (outside the skill folder). B6

      Fix: Use forward-slash paths relative to SKILL.md, and copy shared files into the skill.

  • Claude apps & API uploadFails

    Uploading to claude.ai or the Claude API, or packaging with Anthropic's script, accepts only the six spec fields and stops on anything else.

    • Error

      Upload and packaging fail on fields outside the spec: argument-hint. O1

      Fix: Delete them, and keep your own data under metadata as text values.

    • Warning

      Paths that may not work once the skill is installed: line 37: ../shared-references/integration-contract.md (outside the skill folder) and line 95: ../shared-references/integration-contract.md (outside the skill folder). B6

      Fix: Use forward-slash paths relative to SKILL.md, and copy shared files into the skill.

    • Note

      The description is 268 characters. The claude.ai Help Center says 200 at most, though Anthropic's API docs and validator allow 1,024. D4

      Fix: If the claude.ai upload refuses it, trim the description to 200 characters.

  • OpenAI (Codex & API)Passes with warnings

    Codex finds SKILL.md by its exact name and needs a description; OpenAI's Skills API checks the frontmatter against the spec and caps uploads.

    • Warning

      Fields outside the spec: argument-hint. Codex ignores them; OpenAI doesn't say whether its upload accepts them. O1

      Fix: Delete them, or move your own data under metadata as text values.

    • Warning

      Paths that may not work once the skill is installed: line 37: ../shared-references/integration-contract.md (outside the skill folder) and line 95: ../shared-references/integration-contract.md (outside the skill folder). B6

      Fix: Use forward-slash paths relative to SKILL.md, and copy shared files into the skill.

  • VS Code & CopilotPasses with warnings

    VS Code reads skills one folder below .github/skills, .claude/skills or .agents/skills and falls back to the folder name when the name is missing or differs; GitHub's Copilot docs require the exact name SKILL.md.

    • Warning

      Paths that may not work once the skill is installed: line 37: ../shared-references/integration-contract.md (outside the skill folder) and line 95: ../shared-references/integration-contract.md (outside the skill folder). B6

      Fix: Use forward-slash paths relative to SKILL.md, and copy shared files into the skill.

SKILL.md

We only show SKILL.md text here when its licence clearly allows it.

Read SKILL.md on GitHub (opens in a new tab)

Files

1 file

PathSize
SKILL.md (opens in a new tab)9.4 KB

Copies

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