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Pipeworx core-research
by
Bruce Gutman
· GitHub ↗
· v1.0.0
· MIT-0
74
Downloads
0
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0
Active Installs
1
Versions
Install in OpenClaw
/install pipeworx-core-research
Description
Search open-access research papers by keyword and retrieve full metadata including title, authors, abstract, and full text by CORE ID.
Usage Guidance
This skill appears to be what it says (search and fetch CORE papers) but routes requests through an external gateway (gateway.pipeworx.io) from an unknown source. Before installing, ask the publisher for: (1) source code or a homepage, (2) the gateway operator's identity and privacy policy, (3) whether queries or full texts are logged or stored, and (4) whether any API keys or credentials are used by the gateway. If you cannot verify those, avoid sending sensitive or proprietary text through the skill and prefer a direct integration with api.core.ac.uk or another trusted proxy.
Capability Analysis
Type: OpenClaw Skill
Name: pipeworx-core-research
Version: 1.0.0
The skill bundle provides documentation and configuration for an MCP server that wraps the CORE research paper API. The files (SKILL.md and _meta.json) contain no executable code, suspicious instructions, or evidence of malicious intent, and the functionality is consistent with the stated purpose of searching academic papers via the gateway.pipeworx.io endpoint.
Capability Assessment
Purpose & Capability
The skill claims to wrap the CORE API to search and retrieve papers — that purpose is consistent with the small set of runtime instructions. However, instead of calling the official api.core.ac.uk endpoint directly the SKILL.md specifies an mcpServers entry pointing to https://gateway.pipeworx.io/core-research/mcp. The skill metadata does not disclose this third-party proxy, there is no homepage or source link, and the gateway operator is unknown. This could be a legitimate proxy but it should be disclosed.
Instruction Scope
SKILL.md is minimal and does not instruct the agent to read local files or secrets (good), but it explicitly directs requests to the pipeworx gateway. The doc is also truncated in places and lacks details on what is sent to the gateway (queries, full text), rate limiting, or how authentication is handled. That leaves open the possibility that user queries and retrieved full texts would be forwarded to an external service without the user's awareness.
Install Mechanism
No install spec and no code files are present — this is instruction-only, so nothing is written to disk by an installer. This minimizes installation risk.
Credentials
The skill requests no environment variables or credentials, which reduces secret-exfiltration risk. At the same time, the presence of an external gateway suggests the proxy may perform authentication on behalf of the skill (hidden from the user). The absence of declared credentials or a privacy/ownership statement is surprising and should be clarified.
Persistence & Privilege
The skill is not marked always:true, and it is user-invocable with normal autonomous invocation allowed. It does not request system-wide persistence or modify other skills' configs.
How to Use
- Make sure OpenClaw is installed (local or Docker)
- Run the install command in chat:
/install pipeworx-core-research - After installation, invoke the skill by name or use
/pipeworx-core-research - Provide required inputs per the skill's parameter spec and get structured output
Version History
v1.0.0
Initial release
Metadata
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Pipeworx core-research?
Search open-access research papers by keyword and retrieve full metadata including title, authors, abstract, and full text by CORE ID. It is an AI Agent Skill for Claude Code / OpenClaw, with 74 downloads so far.
How do I install Pipeworx core-research?
Run "/install pipeworx-core-research" in the OpenClaw or Claude Code chat to install it in one step — no extra setup required.
Is Pipeworx core-research free?
Yes, Pipeworx core-research is completely free, licensed under MIT-0. You can download, install and use it at no cost.
Which platforms does Pipeworx core-research support?
Pipeworx core-research is cross-platform and runs anywhere OpenClaw / Claude Code is available (cross-platform).
Who created Pipeworx core-research?
It is built and maintained by Bruce Gutman (@brucegutman); the current version is v1.0.0.
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