Scite Research Assistant
Structures literature search, citation, and retraction checks around scite's MCP tool.
Test report
- Verdict
- Works with setup
- Score
- Tested
- Jul 16, 2026
- Environment
- Claude Code 2.x (agent harness)
- Upstream re-checked
- Aug 10, 2026 · 66ac21a
Runs entirely on scite's search_literature MCP tool, which needs a paid Premium/Enterprise subscription and a live MCP connection -- disclosed honestly in the README's Prerequisites section, but real friction: without that subscription the skill is inert, and I could not exercise a single live call to verify actual output quality.
Scored on four weighted criteria — install, triggering, output vs. baseline, docs. How scoring works
- Installs cleanly 5/5
- Triggers reliably 5/5
- Output vs. baseline 6/10
- Docs & honesty 4/5
What Scite Research Assistant does
Guides Claude to use scite's search_literature MCP tool to find papers, fact-check scientific claims, verify DOIs and citations, and check for retractions before citing. Triggers on questions about scientific research, evidence, or literature reviews. Requires a paid scite Premium/Enterprise subscription and a connected scite MCP server -- it does not work as a standalone file copy.
How to install Scite Research Assistant
git clone https://github.com/scitedotai/scite-mcp-skill.git
mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills
cp scite-mcp-skill/SKILL.md ~/.claude/skills/scite-research-assistant/SKILL.md
# ALSO REQUIRES: a scite Premium/Enterprise subscription and the scite MCP server connected (https://scite.ai/mcp) -- the skill has no bundled MCP config and cannot call search_literature without it.
Skills live in ~/.claude/skills/ (global) or .claude/skills/
(per-project). Restart Claude Code after installing.
Commands — how to trigger Scite Research Assistant
-
/scite-research-assistantStructures literature search, citation, and retraction checks around scite's MCP tool.
It also activates on plain-language prompts like these:
-
Is it true that intermittent fasting improves cardiovascular health? -
Find peer-reviewed papers on this claim and check for retractions -
Verify these citations are real and not retracted before I cite them
Frequently asked questions
- Is the Scite Research Assistant skill free?
- Yes. The skill itself is free from scitedotai/scite-mcp-skill. SkillProof publishes the install command and an independent test verdict at no cost.
- Does Scite Research Assistant work with Claude Code?
- We tested it with Claude Code 2.x (agent harness) on Jul 16, 2026. Verdict: Works with setup. Runs entirely on scite's search_literature MCP tool, which needs a paid Premium/Enterprise subscription and a live MCP connection -- disclosed honestly in the README's Prerequisites section, but real friction: without that subscription the skill is inert, and I could not exercise a single live call to verify actual output quality.
- What is the Scite Research Assistant SkillProof Score?
- 8.0/10 — installs cleanly 5/5, triggers reliably 5/5, output vs. baseline 6/10, docs & honesty 4/5.
- How do I install Scite Research Assistant?
- Copy the install command from this page, run it in your terminal, and restart Claude Code. Skills live in ~/.claude/skills/ (global) or .claude/skills/ inside a project.
- Can I use Scite Research Assistant with Cursor, Copilot, Gemini CLI, Codex or other AI tools?
- The SKILL.md format is native to Claude (Claude Code, Desktop, claude.ai). The instructions inside adapt to other assistants: Cursor rules, GitHub Copilot instructions, Windsurf rules, Custom GPTs, AGENTS.md for OpenAI Codex, and GEMINI.md for Google Gemini CLI — our conversion guides cover each, and the free converter on the tools page does the wrapping for you.