/novelty-check

name: novelty-check
description: Verify research idea novelty against recent literature. Use when user says "查新", "novelty check", "有没有人做过", "check novelty", or wants to verify a research idea is novel before implementing.
argument-hint: "[method-or-idea-description]"
allowed-tools: Bash(*), WebSearch, WebFetch, Grep, Read, Glob, mcp__codex__codex, mcp__antigravity__antigravity, mcp__antigravity__antigravity-reply, mcp__grok__grok, mcp__grok__grok-reply, mcp__claude-review__review, mcp__claude-review__review_reply, mcp__claude-review__review_start, mcp__claude-review__review_reply_start, mcp__claude-review__review_status

Novelty Check Skill

> **Before each reviewer slot**, follow [Selectable Reviewers](../shared-references/reviewer-backends.md): > resolve invocation → `.aris/reviewer.json` → Claude Code default (Codex MCP) > with `reviewer_route.py` through the canonical helper resolver, preserving this > slot's tier, fresh contexts, source/image inputs and deterministic gates. > Codex examples/pins below apply only to `backend=codex`; other routes use their > own first-call/reply contract. Save the route and actual returned identity; > unavailable selections are `REVIEW_UNAVAILABLE`. Classify acceptance from actual > families/completion/scope. Forward invocation reviewer/model/effort overrides > to reviewer-bearing children. Generation workers are unchanged.

Check whether a proposed method/idea has already been done in the literature: **$ARGUMENTS**

Constants

• REVIEWER_MODEL = `gpt-6-astra` — Model used via Codex MCP. For `backend=codex`, use an OpenAI model (e.g., `gpt-6-astra`, `gpt-6.1-sol`)

Instructions

Given a method description, systematically verify its novelty:

Phase A: Extract Key Claims

1. Read the user's method description 2. Identify 3-5 core technical claims that carry the claimed delta:

• What is the method?
• What problem does it solve?
• What is the mechanism?
• What makes it different from obvious baselines?

Phase B: Multi-Source Literature Search

For EACH core claim, search using ALL available sources:

1. **Web Search** (via `WebSearch`):

• Search arXiv, Google Scholar, Semantic Scholar
• Use specific technical terms from the claim
• Try at least 3 different query formulations per claim
• Include year filters for 2024-2026

2. **Known paper databases**: Check against:

• ICLR 2025/2026, NeurIPS 2025, ICML 2025/2026
• Recent arXiv preprints (2025-2026)

3. **Read abstracts**: For each potentially overlapping paper, WebFetch its abstract and related work section

Phase C: Cross-Model Verification

Call REVIEWER_MODEL via Codex MCP (`mcp__codex__codex`) with xhigh reasoning. When the method description plus the Phase-B paper list is more than a short note, avoid pasting it inline into the MCP prompt. Write a dossier file such as `NOVELTY_DOSSIER.md` (or a project-local equivalent) containing the method description, core claims, candidate papers, and the exact questions below, then send only the file path: > Resolve this reviewer slot first; the following is the `backend=codex` example.

mcp__codex__codex:
  model: gpt-6-astra
  config: {"model_reasoning_effort": "xhigh"}
  prompt: |
    Read the novelty dossier at <absolute path to NOVELTY_DOSSIER.md> and
    follow all instructions in it.

Dossier contents should include:

• The proposed method description
• All papers found in Phase B
• Ask: "Is this method novel? What is the closest prior work? What is the delta?"
• The NOVELTY VERDICT LIMITS block below, verbatim — the reviewer judges under it

The verdict limits

Copy this block **verbatim** into the reviewer's briefing; the report in Phase D is judged under it too.

=== NOVELTY VERDICT LIMITS (these bound how you judge, never how widely you search) ===
Search exhaustively; judge calibrated. Two failures waste months equally:
passing an idea a published paper already contains, and killing a viable idea
because the territory has neighbors.
1. Proximity is information, not a verdict. Someone working nearby goes in the
   report; it is not by itself a reason to reject.
2. ABANDON has exactly one qualification: a specific published paper already
   contains this result — name that paper. No named paper, no ABANDON.
3. Crowded-but-deltaed is PROCEED: state the delta in one sentence a reviewer
   could verify. Thin or contested delta is PROCEED WITH CAUTION — say what
   would make it carry, not why it should die. CAUTION is not a safe middle:
   if you cannot name the specific thing that makes the delta thin, the
   verdict is PROCEED.
4. Concurrent or competing work is not a veto. That is a race — report it and
   let the user decide whether to run it.
5. A direct attack on a central problem is legitimate novelty when nobody has
   executed it well. "This area is hot" does not mean "this area is taken."
6. This check is an early gate, never the last one — more triage, pilots, or
   external review still stand between any idea and a paper, whatever order
   this run uses. A wrongly passed idea dies cheaply at one of them; a wrongly
   killed idea is never seen again. When torn between two verdicts, choose the
   more permissive one.
Say plainly when an idea clears the check. Do not manufacture overlap.

Phase D: Novelty Report

Output a structured report:

## Novelty Check Report

### Proposed Method
[1-2 sentence description]

### Core Claims
1. [Claim 1] — Closest: [paper] — What stays unknown or different: [delta]
2. [Claim 2] — Closest: [paper] — What stays unknown or different: [delta]
...

### Closest Prior Work
| Paper | Year | Venue | Overlap | Key Difference |
|-------|------|-------|---------|----------------|

### Overall Novelty Assessment
- Score: X/10 (anchor: 5/10 = has clear neighbors but a defensible delta worth
  a pilot; reserve 1-3 for results a named published paper already contains)
- Recommendation: PROCEED / PROCEED WITH CAUTION / ABANDON (per the v