Guide · Agent skill
How to use the writing-systems-papers agent skill
Updated · written with AI from the project's own documentation and checked against our catalogue data
The writing-systems-papers skill is a set of written instructions that an AI agent (such as Claude) loads when you ask for help structuring a systems research paper. It gives the agent a page budget for a roughly 12-page paper, paragraph roles for each section, and writing patterns used at venues such as OSDI, SOSP, ASPLOS, NSDI and EuroSys. This guide covers what the skill does, how to install it, how to trigger it, and where its limits are.
Systems Paper Structure Blueprintwanshuiyin/Auto-claude-code-research-in-sleep · MIT Download the skill Quick start
- 1Download and unzip. Download the skill ZIP from this page and unzip it. Confirm that the folder contains SKILL.md.
- 2Place the skill folder. Move the folder into ~/.claude/skills/ for personal use, or into a project's .claude/skills/ folder for one project. Alternatively, upload it under Settings → Capabilities → Skills in the Claude apps.
- 3Prepare your inputs. Decide your target venue, page limit and main claim, and have your real results or observations ready.
- 4Ask with a natural request. Describe your goal in plain words, naming the venue, for example an OSDI or SOSP paper structure.
- 5Work section by section. Ask for one section at a time, such as the Introduction or Evaluation, and check the page budget it proposes.
- 6Run the self-check. Review the draft against the skill's checklist, including the thesis formula and the three-statement rule for evaluation conclusions.
- 7Hand off for LaTeX and citations. Pass the structured draft to paper-write to generate LaTeX and verify citations.
What the skill makes the agent do
Without the skill, an agent will give you a generic paper outline. With it, the agent follows a fixed plan: how many pages each section should take, what each paragraph in the introduction, design and evaluation should accomplish, and which writing pattern suits your paper.
The skill is a structural guide only. It does not write the LaTeX, and it does not check citations. Its instructions say to hand those tasks to the companion skill paper-write, and to use paper-plan first if you do not yet have a research outline.
- Page allocation for a 12-page paper, such as Introduction 1.5–2 pages, Design 3–4 pages and Evaluation 3–4 pages.
- Paragraph roles: for example, the Introduction runs Problem, Gap, Key insight, Contributions.
- Four writing patterns: Gap Analysis, Observation-Driven, Contribution List and Thesis Formula.
- A pre-submission self-check list and a workflow ending in a handoff to /paper-write.
Install the skill from the ZIP
Download the ZIP file for this skill from this page and unzip it. The skill's main file is SKILL.md. Place the unzipped skill folder in one of two locations: your personal skills folder at ~/.claude/skills/, or a project's .claude/skills/ folder if you want it available only inside one project.
If you use the Claude apps instead of files on disk, you can upload the skill under Settings → Capabilities → Skills.
- Personal install: put the folder in ~/.claude/skills/.
- Project install: put the folder in the project's .claude/skills/ directory.
- App install: upload the skill under Settings → Capabilities → Skills.
Trigger the skill with natural requests
The skill loads when your request matches its description. The source lists these trigger phrases: "写系统论文", "systems paper structure", "OSDI paper" and "SOSP paper". You can also ask for fine-grained structural guidance for a systems conference submission in plain words.
The skill accepts an optional argument, a venue or section name, which it uses as its focus. Because the trigger is based on meaning as well as exact phrases, a clear sentence describing your goal works well.
- "Give me a paragraph-level structure for an OSDI submission about storage scheduling."
- "Allocate page budgets for a 12-page SOSP paper with a design section and an evaluation section."
- "Help me outline the Evaluation section of my EuroSys paper: setup, end-to-end, ablation, scalability."
- "I have a research outline from paper-plan. Turn it into a page-budgeted draft structure."
What you need before you start
The skill lists no required tools, does not run scripts, and does not use the network. Its own description states that it needs nothing beyond the skill file.
The most important input is real work. The skill gives structure, not results. Before you ask for an evaluation outline, you should already have experiments, traces or measurements to describe.
- No listed requirements.
- No scripts are run by this skill.
- No network use is declared by this skill.
- Real experimental results or production observations for the sections that report them.
Safety notes on scripts and network access
The skill's metadata says it runs no scripts and uses no network. Its allowed tools list does include Bash, WebSearch and WebFetch, so the agent is permitted to run commands and fetch web pages while using it. Read the SKILL.md file yourself before installing, and review any command the agent proposes to run.
The skill also tells the agent never to fabricate observations, traces or results, and never to produce citations from memory.
- The allowed tools include Bash and web tools, so review commands before approving them.
- Check current calls for papers yourself; the skill says its venue rules may be out of date.
- Verify every citation through paper-write rather than trusting generated references.
Tips for getting a useful outline
Give the agent your venue, your page limit and your main claim. The skill's thesis formula is "X is better for Y in Z", so a clear version of that sentence produces a much better outline. Ask for one section at a time if you want depth rather than a whole-paper skeleton.
Use the skill's self-check list to review the draft. It asks whether each major design choice discusses alternatives, whether evaluation conclusions are stated in the hypothesis, the result and the caption, and whether related work is grouped by methodology.
- State your venue and page budget at the start of the request.
- Ask the agent to apply the Gap Analysis or Observation-Driven pattern, depending on whether your paper starts from gaps or from production data.
- Run the self-check list on the draft before handing it to paper-write.
What people use it for
- Turning a finished research outline into a 12-page draft structure with page budgets per section.
- Planning the Evaluation section of a systems paper: setup, end-to-end results, ablation and scalability.
- Checking an existing draft for missing alternatives in design choices or unsupported conclusions.
- Helping a first-time author understand how systems papers are typically organised.
Frequently asked questions
Is the writing-systems-papers skill free?
The skill is published under the MIT licence, as stated on this page. The licence terms cover the skill's source files, so read the licence in the repository before reuse or redistribution.
What do I need to install writing-systems-papers?
The skill lists no required tools. Download the ZIP, unzip it, and place the folder in ~/.claude/skills/ or a project's .claude/skills/ directory, or upload it under Settings → Capabilities → Skills.
Does this skill write my paper in LaTeX?
No. It provides structure only: page budgets, paragraph roles and writing patterns. Its instructions direct LaTeX generation and citation checking to the companion paper-write skill.
Which conferences does the skill cover?
The skill covers OSDI, SOSP, ASPLOS, NSDI and EuroSys. It includes a table of formats and page limits for each, but the file says to verify against the current call for papers because rules change yearly.
Can the skill check my citations?
No. The skill states that citations must be verified through the paper-write citation workflow and never generated from memory.
What is the alternative if I am not writing a systems paper?
The page budgets and patterns are specific to systems conferences. For other fields or venues with different conventions, the skill's guidance may not fit, so use a skill or guide written for your field.
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Our verdict
Use this skill if you are preparing a systems conference submission and want a page-budgeted, paragraph-level outline, especially if you already have real results and an outline. Do not use it to produce results, citations or LaTeX, and pick a different guide for non-systems venues.
Download the skill