/gs-search

name: gs-search
description: Search Google Scholar for academic papers by keywords. Returns results with title, authors, journal, year, citation count, and full-text links. Use when the user wants to search Google Scholar.
argument-hint: "[search keywords]"

Google Scholar Basic Search

Search Google Scholar for papers using keyword(s). Returns structured result list via DOM scraping.

Arguments

$ARGUMENTS contains the search keyword(s).

Steps

1. Navigate

Use `mcp__chrome-devtools__navigate_page`:

• url: `https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q={URL_ENCODED_KEYWORDS}&hl=en&num=10`

2. Extract results (evaluate_script)

Wait for results to load, check for CAPTCHA, then scrape the DOM:

async () => {
  // Wait for results or CAPTCHA
  for (let i = 0; i < 20; i++) {
    if (document.querySelector('#gs_res_ccl') || document.querySelector('#gs_captcha_ccl')) break;
    await new Promise(r => setTimeout(r, 500));
  }

  // CAPTCHA check
  if (document.querySelector('#gs_captcha_ccl') || document.body.innerText.includes('unusual traffic')) {
    return { error: 'captcha', message: 'Google Scholar requires CAPTCHA verification. Please complete it in your browser, then tell me to continue.' };
  }

  const items = document.querySelectorAll('#gs_res_ccl .gs_r.gs_or.gs_scl');
  const results = Array.from(items).map((item, i) => {
    const titleEl = item.querySelector('.gs_rt a');
    const meta = item.querySelector('.gs_a')?.textContent || '';
    // Parse "Author1, Author2 - Journal, Year - publisher"
    const parts = meta.split(' - ');
    const authors = parts[0]?.trim() || '';
    const journalYear = parts[1]?.trim() || '';
    const citedByEl = item.querySelector('.gs_fl a[href*="cites"]');
    const relatedEl = item.querySelector('.gs_fl a[href*="related"]');
    const versionsEl = item.querySelector('.gs_fl a[href*="cluster"]');

    return {
      n: i + 1,
      title: titleEl?.textContent?.trim() || item.querySelector('.gs_rt')?.textContent?.trim() || '',
      href: titleEl?.href || '',
      authors,
      journalYear,
      citedBy: citedByEl?.textContent?.match(/\d+/)?.[0] || '0',
      citedByUrl: citedByEl?.href || '',
      dataCid: item.getAttribute('data-cid') || '',
      fullTextUrl: (item.querySelector('.gs_ggs a') || item.querySelector('.gs_or_ggsm a'))?.href || '',
      snippet: item.querySelector('.gs_rs')?.textContent?.trim()?.substring(0, 200) || '',
      relatedUrl: relatedEl?.href || '',
      versionsUrl: versionsEl?.href || '',
      versions: versionsEl?.textContent?.match(/\d+/)?.[0] || ''
    };
  });

  const totalText = document.querySelector('#gs_ab_md')?.textContent?.trim() || '';
  const currentUrl = window.location.href;
  return { total: totalText, resultCount: results.length, currentUrl, results };
}

3. Report

Present results as a numbered list:

Searched Google Scholar for "$ARGUMENTS": {total}

1. {title}
   Authors: {authors} | {journalYear}
   Cited by: {citedBy} | [Full text]({fullTextUrl})
   Data-CID: {dataCid}

2. ...

Always show the `dataCid` — it's the unique identifier used for citation export and "cited by" tracking.

If `fullTextUrl` is available, highlight it (means open-access PDF/HTML).

4. Follow-up

When the user wants to:

• **See more results**: use `gs-navigate-pages` to go to next page
• **See who cited a paper**: use `gs-cited-by` with the data-cid
• **Export to Zotero**: use `gs-export` with the data-cid(s)

CAPTCHA Handling

If the result contains `{error: 'captcha'}`: 1. Tell the user: "Google Scholar is requesting CAPTCHA verification. Please complete it in your browser." 2. Wait for user confirmation 3. Retry the evaluate_script extraction

Notes

• This skill uses 2 tool calls: `navigate_page` + `evaluate_script`
• Google Scholar has NO public API — all data extraction is via DOM scraping
• `data-cid` is the primary identifier (cluster ID) — used across all GS skills
• Keep request frequency low to avoid triggering CAPTCHA
• Default `num=10` results per page (max 20)