paper-preflight plugin
Checks every reference of a paper against Crossref, dblp and arXiv before submission, with no language model in the verdicts.
- 162 ★ on the repository
- Last commit
- MIT
Minimal access
Why this level
- Work titles and identifiers from the paper are sent to Crossref, arXiv, OpenAlex and other open registries.
Install
- Works in
In your terminal, with SkillFoxx CLI
npx skillfoxx add plugins/paper-preflightDetects the agents on your machine, shows the access level and pins the version.
Other ways to install
Access and checks
How we reviewMinimal accessThe tool runs nothing and makes no network calls.
- Work titles and identifiers from the paper are sent to Crossref, arXiv, OpenAlex and other open registries.
This is third-party code. Review the repository files before installing.
What it does
paper-preflight reads LaTeX, Word, Markdown, Typst or PDF and asks Crossref, dblp, arXiv, DataCite, PubMed and OpenAlex about every cited work. The check finds missing sources, a DOI that belongs to another paper, wrong years, retracted publications and duplicate entries. When sources do not know a work or stay silent, the tool says it cannot determine the answer and gives the reason. In Claude Code it installs as a plugin: an MCP server plus a skill that makes the agent run the check before a paper is called finished, fix only what is proven wrong and never invent a reference. Other agents get the same skill through `npx skills add`.
Who it is for. Paper authors who build a bibliography with an AI agent and want to submit without invented references.
Good fit when
- Before sending a paper to a journal or conference.
- An agent drafted BibTeX from memory, and every work must be confirmed to exist.
- A preprint in the reference list may have been published, and the citation needs updating.
- The check should run on every push through a GitHub Action.
Not a fit when
- You must decide whether a cited work supports your claim, because the tool does not judge meaning.
- The bibliography is mostly Chinese-language books, which get a cannot-determine answer.
- The network is unavailable and there is no cache of earlier checks.
Example request
Check the bibliography of the paper in the `paper` folder and show only proven errors with the source of each.Limitations
The first check of a paper takes about a minute because sources are queried politely, one after another, and later answers come from the cache. Python 3.11 or newer is required, and PDF reading and the MCP server come from the `pdf` and `mcp` extras. On recent arXiv papers the author reports 0.79 false alarms per 100 references and asks for every false positive to be reported. Work titles and identifiers go to open scholarly registries.
How to disable. Disable the plugin in Claude Code or remove the `paper-preflight` MCP entry if you added it by hand. The response cache stays on disk separately and is cleared on your own.
FAQ
How is this different from asking a model?
Each verdict rests on registry records. A work is reported missing only after every source has answered.
Which paper formats does it read?
LaTeX, Word, Markdown, Typst, PDF and a plain reference list. PDF needs the `pdf` extra.
How do I connect it to Codex or Cursor?
Install the skill with `npx skills add amos689/paper-preflight` or run the MCP server `paper-preflight mcp`. Without MCP the skill calls the CLI.
Does it change paper files?
No. MCP tools are read-only and stay inside the workspace, and `preflight_bib_fix` returns edits as a diff without writing anything.
Are API keys required?
No. Optional keys, such as `S2_API_KEY` for Semantic Scholar and `NCBI_API_KEY` for a larger PubMed budget, widen coverage and speed.
Discussion
No questions or reviews yet.
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README in short
Version 1.0 is declared stable: rule IDs, the JSON report, settings and commands are kept through the 1.x line.