nature-ref-verifier (nature-skills): a Claude skill that checks every reference in a paper against other sources

nature-ref-verifier makes Claude check each reference in a paper against Crossref and other sources and flag wrong authors, pages, years and DOIs.

Installs: 12.4K; on skills.sh
Stars: 51.7K; on GitHub
Files: 5; besides SKILL.md
Updated: Nov 2026; last repo commit

Paste a reference list, one citation, a BibTeX file or a Zotero item key, and Claude checks each entry. It looks up the DOI on Crossref first, then compares authors, title, year, volume, issue and pages with other sources. Each reference gets a rating: verified, check suggested, needs fix, or unverifiable.

The report is a Markdown summary. Claude can also write a BibTeX patch or a list of Zotero fixes. The skill bundles no scripts. Which sources it can reach depends on your setup, and it falls back to web search when a database is not available. The README says unreachable databases are marked unverified.

Good for

Authors who want a final check of every reference before submission
Researchers who got a reviewer comment about a citation error
Anyone cleaning a Zotero or BibTeX library with wrong metadata

Install nature-ref-verifier

Claude Code

Copy this prompt.

Install the nature-ref-verifier skill in Claude Code. Run this command:

npx skills add https://github.com/yuan1z0825/nature-skills --skill nature-ref-verifier

Then check that it loaded and tell me how to use it.

2
Paste it into Claude Code. It shows the change and asks before running it.

Requires Node.js.

From its listing on skills.sh. Source.

What's in the skill

When it loads

对学术文献逐条执行多源交叉验证，逐字段对比作者、标题、年份、卷期、页码，标记卷年/DOI年冲突、作者顺序异常、页码偏差等问题，输出结构化验证报告。可批量处理整篇论文/开题报告的参考文献列表，也可单条校验，支持与 Zotero 同步修正。

Sections in SKILL.md

触发词
适用场景
工作流
Step 1: 解析输入
Step 2: 多源并行查询
Step 3: 字段级对比
Step 4: 置信度评估
Step 5: 输出报告
验证结果：56 条文献
❌ 必须修正
⚠️ 建议核对
多来源交叉验证策略
已知局限与应对
环境依赖

Key facts

Author: yuan1z0825 (GitHub)
Repo: yuan1z0825/nature-skills (skills/nature-ref-verifier)
License: Apache-2.0
Installs on skills.sh: 12,371 as of 2026-11-02
GitHub stars: 51,696 (whole repo) as of 2026-11-02
Last repo commit: 2026-11-01
Folder contents: 6 files including SKILL.md: SKILL.md, a pattern guide in references/, two READMEs, manifest.yaml and agents/openai.yaml
skills.sh audits: Gen Agent Trust Hub pass, Socket pass, Snyk warn

What it includes

Accepts a full reference list, a single citation, or a BibTeX file.
Step 1: parse input
Requests the DOI from Crossref; a 404 means a wrong DOI, a 200 is compared.
Network · Step 2.0: DOI check
Queries Crossref, IEEE Xplore, web search, CNKI or Wanfang, and Zotero.
Network · Step 2: multi-source lookup
Compares author, title, year, volume, pages and DOI and grades each gap.
Step 3: field comparison
Marks each entry verified, check suggested, needs fix or unverifiable.
Step 4: confidence rating
Writes a Markdown summary, a BibTeX patch or Zotero correction steps.
Write · Step 5: report
A reference file on frequent errors such as volume-year versus DOI-year conflicts.
Common patterns guide

From the official docs

Permissions

Low risk

Reference text you check is sent to outside lookup services such as Crossref and web search. Keep unpublished or confidential references out of it.

What it can do

Read your data
Create and change things
Delete things
Read-only mode

Watch out for

It sends your citations to lookup services
SKILL.md queries Crossref and falls back to web search, CNKI and Wanfang. Do not paste unpublished or sensitive references.
Optional Zotero write route needs your API key
SKILL.md prefers pyzotero in web mode for bulk Zotero edits, which needs your Zotero user ID and API key. Check the generated corrections before you apply them.

Technical details

Talks to	api.crossref.org. IEEE Xplore, CNKI, Wanfang and web search (as available)

Questions

What does nature-ref-verifier do?

It checks references one by one against outside records. It flags wrong authors or author order, page differences, titles that do not match, DOIs that point to a different paper, and volume year versus DOI year conflicts. Each reference is rated verified, check suggested, needs fix or unverifiable.

How do I install it?

Use the install box above. It is one folder in the nature-skills repo with no scripts. Trigger phrases in SKILL.md include "verify references", "check references" and "ref check".

Which sources does it check?

SKILL.md lists Crossref, IEEE Xplore, web search, CNKI or Wanfang for Chinese references, and a local Zotero library. It uses whichever your environment provides and falls back to web search for the rest.

Does it need an API key?

SKILL.md names none for checking. Writing fixes back to Zotero through pyzotero's web mode needs your Zotero user ID and API key, and that step is optional.

Can it change my Zotero library?

Only if you set up a write route. SKILL.md says Zotero 7's local API on localhost:23119 is read-only, and it prefers pyzotero in web mode for bulk changes. It generates a list of Zotero corrections that you apply.

Is it safe?

The checking sends citation text to outside services such as Crossref and web search, so do not run it on unpublished or confidential references. Review any BibTeX patch or Zotero change before you apply it.

How many references can it handle?

SKILL.md suggests splitting lists of more than 20 entries into groups of 10 to 15 and checking them with parallel subagents. It reports that a 35-entry run needed 3 subagents.

Does it catch fake citations?

It is built to catch invented first authors and DOIs that resolve to a different paper, which the pattern guide calls the most serious errors. A match with Crossref or a publisher record is the evidence, so entries it cannot find are marked unverifiable rather than wrong.

Information

updated Nov 2, 2026

Repository: yuan1z0825/nature-skills
Folder: skills/nature-ref-verifier

yuan1z0825/nature-skills skills.sh

Sources

Docs, issue trackers and discussions this page is built from.

Show all 4

nature-ref-verifier SKILL.md · github.com
nature-ref-verifier README · github.com
common-patterns.md · github.com
nature-ref-verifier on skills.sh · skills.sh