Semantic Scholar Library & Feed#

Overview#

Use this skill to work against Semantic Scholar's authenticated Library and Research Feed surfaces without browser-driven login flows. Prefer the bundled CLI for Cookie Store inspection, browser-curl import, SSR probing, feed pagination, folder inspection, folder writes, and Graph paper/batch lookups.

Quick Start#

1. Check whether the fixed Cookie Store already exists:

bash

python3 scripts/semantic_scholar_cli.py cookie-summary

1. If the Cookie Store is missing or stale, ask the user to copy an authenticated Semantic Scholar request as curl from browser DevTools, then import it:

bash

python3 scripts/semantic_scholar_cli.py import-curl \
  --curl-file /tmp/semantic-scholar-request.sh

import-header is still available when the user already extracted only the raw Cookie header.

1. Check cookie health:

bash

python3 scripts/semantic_scholar_cli.py cookie-summary

1. Choose the task module below.

Cookie Store#

Save Semantic Scholar auth state under:

• ~/.auth/semantic-scholar.cookies.json
• ~/.auth/semantic-scholar.cookie-header.txt

Treat sid and s2 as the minimum required cookies for private Library and Feed access. If either is missing, ask the user for a fresh browser-copied curl and re-import it before touching private endpoints.

Read references/auth-and-cookies.md when you need the Cookie Store workflow or the curl import format.

Task Modules#

Research Feed#

Use this path when the user wants feed export, history crawl, or local coarse filtering.

1. Probe SSR if you need to inspect var DATA:

bash

python3 scripts/semantic_scholar_cli.py ssr-dump --list-names

1. Crawl the feed through /api/1/library/folders/recommendations:

bash

python3 scripts/semantic_scholar_cli.py feed-crawl \
  --output /tmp/research-feed.json

1. Persist output after every window. Do not wait for the entire crawl to finish.

Read references/research-feed.md when you need the SSR decode order, the real API path, or the pagination stop rules.

Library Folder#

Use this path when the user wants folder contents, folder diffs, or bulk add operations.

1. Export a folder:

bash

python3 scripts/semantic_scholar_cli.py folder-entries \
  --folder-id 13895811 \
  --all-pages \
  --output /tmp/folder.json

1. Add a paper to a folder:

bash

python3 scripts/semantic_scholar_cli.py folder-add \
  --paper-id 25f612200a3821c71b99819cd671f2e60df5b470 \
  --paper-title 'AgentArk: Distilling Multi-Agent Intelligence into a Single LLM Agent' \
  --folder-ids 13895811

Read references/library.md when you need endpoint behavior, pageSize limits, or the verified entries/bulk request shape.

Paper ID Resolution#

Use Graph paper/batch when BibTeX already contains stable identifiers such as arXiv IDs.

bash

python3 scripts/semantic_scholar_cli.py graph-batch \
  --ids ARXIV:2602.08234,ARXIV:2602.12670

Prefer this over search-page scraping when possible.

Operating Rules#

• Prefer direct HTTP after cookies exist.
• Do not use Playwright for login. If the Cookie Store is missing, ask the user to copy an authenticated browser request as curl and import it.
• Use Playwright only when rendered-page behavior or network inspection is needed to discover hidden interfaces.
• Treat browser clicking as a reconnaissance step, not the main extraction path.
• For feed history, stop on empty days, missing nextWindowUTC, or repeated windows.
• For folder sync, resolve paperId first, diff against existing folder entries, then call folder-add.
• If the task depends on a private page and returns 401, ask for a fresh browser-copied curl and refresh the Cookie Store before debugging the endpoint.