ClaudSkills / Science & Research / research-methods

Local Paper Index

Q: What is a Claude Code skill and how does the Local Paper Index skill fit in?

A Claude Code skill is a SKILL.md file that lives under ~/.claude/skills/<name>/ and tells the Claude Code CLI agent how to perform a specific task (instructions, prompts, allowed tools). Skills are auto-discovered at session start. Local Paper Index is one of 67,000+ skills indexed in the open ClaudSkills catalog, classified under the Science & Research category. Learn more at https://claudskills.com/learn/what-is-skill-md/.

Category: Science & Research · Sub-category: research-methods · Last updated: 2026-06-14

Build a searchable Asta document index from a collection of local PDF files. Use when the user asks to "index these PDFs", "put these PDFs into an Asta index", "index these PDFs using Asta", "build a local paper index", "make these PDFs searchable", or "create an index from these papers".

About this skill (catalog notes)

Local Paper Index includes 8 code blocks for direct copy-paste. The SKILL.md runs to about 1,274 words, in the catalog's typical mid-range.

License: Apache-2.0
Original author: allenai
Indexed lastmod: 2026-06-14
Catalog position: Science & Research · research-methods
Indexed related skills: 10

How Local Paper Index fits the catalog

Local Paper Index sits in the Science & Research category under the research-methods sub-topic in the ClaudSkills catalog. There are 10 related skills indexed alongside it; comparing a few before installing usually reveals which fits your workflow best.

These notes are auto-generated from features detected in the SKILL.md file and from this catalog's structure — they aren't part of the source repository.

From the source SKILL.md

Build a searchable Asta document index from a collection of local PDF files. Each PDF is converted to markdown, split into ~2000-character chunks, and written as documents to an asta-documents YAML index — enabling semantic search across the full text of the collection.

What this skill does

Local Paper Index is a community-contributed Claude Code skill in the research-methods sub-category. It ships as a SKILL.md file that Claude Code auto-discovers under ~/.claude/skills/local-paper-index/ and loads when your prompt matches the skill's trigger.

When to invoke it: Use when the user asks to "index these PDFs", "put these PDFs into an Asta index", "index these PDFs using Asta", "build a local paper index", "make these PDFs searchable", or "create an index from these papers".

Who uses this skill

The Local Paper Index Claude Code skill is built for researchers, data scientists, academics, and analysts working with complex data and scientific literature. It's part of ClaudSkills (also referred to as Claude Skills or Claude Code Skills) — the open community-curated registry of 116,000+ SKILL.md files for Anthropic's Claude Code agent and the wider Claude ecosystem (Claude API, Claude Agent SDK).

How to install

Free

Manual install (2 steps)

mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills/local-paper-index
curl -L https://claudskills.com/skills/local-paper-index/SKILL.md \
  -o ~/.claude/skills/local-paper-index/SKILL.md

Or just download SKILL.md directly and drop it into ~/.claude/skills/local-paper-index/. Claude Code auto-discovers it on next session.

Skills live at ~/.claude/skills/local-paper-index/SKILL.md on macOS/Linux, or %USERPROFILE%\.claude\skills\local-paper-index\SKILL.md on Windows. See the full install guide for step-by-step instructions.

📱 Install from your phone or desktop Telegram

Open @claudskills_bot on Telegram, tap Open Desktop App, and the desktop app installs this skill for you. Or share the bot link with a colleague — they get the same one-tap install. Learn more →

Pro

One-click install via the desktop app

The ClaudSkills desktop app installs any skill directly into ~/.claude/skills/ with one click — no terminal required. Pro starts at $9/mo or $149 lifetime.

Pro

For the full experience including quality scoring and one-click install features for each skill — upgrade to Pro.

See pricing → Download desktop app

Frequently asked questions

How do I install the Local Paper Index Claude Code skill?

Install via the ClaudSkills desktop app (one click) or copy SKILL.md from the source repository to ~/.claude/skills/local-paper-index/SKILL.md and restart Claude Code. Both flows are detailed at claudskills.com/install/.

What does the Local Paper Index skill do?

Is this skill free to install?

Yes. ClaudSkills is an open registry — every skill keeps its source repository's license, and manual install via copy is free. ClaudSkills Pro ($9/mo, $79/yr, or $149 one-time) adds one-click install via the desktop app and a multi-signal Quality Score.

When should I use the Local Paper Index skill?

Use Local Paper Index when your Claude Code task falls under the Science & Research category — specifically in the research methods area. Claude Code auto-discovers installed skills and invokes the right one based on the task description, so you can also ask Claude directly (e.g. "use Local Paper Index" or describe the task and let Claude pick). Browse related skills at /category/science/.

What is a Claude Code skill and how does the Local Paper Index skill fit in?

A Claude Code skill is a SKILL.md file that lives under ~/.claude/skills/<name>/ and tells the Claude Code CLI agent how to perform a specific task (instructions, prompts, allowed tools). Skills are auto-discovered at session start. Local Paper Index is one of 67,000+ skills indexed in the open ClaudSkills catalog, classified under the Science & Research category. Learn more at /learn/what-is-a-claude-skill/.

Attribution & license

Source: https://github.com/allenai/asta-plugins/blob/3424f3f09891d9f40e53d4dc49b766290278ce3f/plugins/asta-preview/skills/local-paper-index/SKILL.md
License: Apache-2.0
Author: allenai

Cite this skill

If you reference this skill in a blog post, paper, or documentation, you can cite it as:

APA

allenai. (2026). Local Paper Index [Claude Code skill]. ClaudSkills. https://claudskills.com/skills/local-paper-index/

BibTeX

@misc{local-paper-index-2026,
  author    = {allenai},
  title     = {Local Paper Index [Claude Code skill]},
  year      = {2026},
  publisher = {ClaudSkills},
  url       = {https://claudskills.com/skills/local-paper-index/}
}

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Browse all Science & Research skills → Top 100 skills

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