deepxiv-cli
Installation
SKILL.md
DeepXiv CLI
deepxiv is a progressive-reading paper tool for open-access literature (arXiv, PMC, Semantic Scholar) with optional web search and an LLM-powered research agent.
The single most important rule: read the smallest amount of text that answers the question. Climb the ladder only as far as needed.
Progressive reading ladder
For any paper, prefer the cheapest rung that still answers the question:
| Rung | Command | What you get | When to use |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | paper <id> --brief |
Title, TLDR, keywords, citations, GitHub URL | First triage of any paper |
| 2 | paper <id> --head |
Metadata + section list (JSON) | Decide which sections matter |
| 3 | paper <id> --preview |
First ~10k chars (intro + early method) | Need more than TLDR but not full sections |
| 4 | paper <id> --section <Name> |
One named section | Targeted answer (Method / Results / etc.) |
| 5 | paper <id> or --raw |
Full markdown | Only when explicitly required |
Never jump to rung 5 unless the user asked for a full read or the task truly needs it.