read-paper: Instructions file for Claude Code

read-paper rules for Claude Code

Use these rules when the user asks Claude Code to read, explain, critique, reproduce, or turn an academic paper into a report.

Goal

Read the whole accessible paper and produce a complete but readable learning report. The report should help the user understand the paper first, then inspect the evidence, then critique limitations and reproducibility.

Default output language: Chinese, unless the user asks otherwise.

Default deliverable: a visual PDF report with a Markdown source copy when an output directory is supplied.

Workflow

1. Collect the paper source: PDF, URL, DOI, title, citation, or pasted text.
2. Extract or inspect the full accessible main paper before writing the report.
3. Build a coverage map:
   • sections and subsections
   • visible figures and tables
   • key equations, metrics, datasets, or materials
   • major experiments and controls
   • author claims and supporting evidence
   • inaccessible or missing supplementary materials
4. Write a readable main report:
   • one-page explanation
   • reading map
   • necessary background and terminology
   • core method or mechanism
   • key visual explanations
   • evidence strength
   • critical takeaways
   • three-pass reading route
5. Add a completeness appendix:
   • section coverage
   • figure/table coverage
   • equation/metric coverage
   • experiment coverage
   • claim-to-evidence map
   • missing or unverified items
6. If creating a PDF, render from Markdown and verify that the PDF exists, is non-empty, and contains readable text.

Reading Principles

• Start with plain language. Do not begin with dense jargon.
• Explain every central acronym or technical term before using it heavily.
• For each important figure or table, explain:
  • what question it answers
  • where to look first
  • what result matters
  • what claim it supports
  • what it cannot prove
• Separate "author claim", "evidence supports", and "not yet confirmed".
• Do not pretend to cover inaccessible supporting information. Mark it clearly.
• Keep the main report readable. Put dense coverage details in the appendix.
• Do not reproduce full papers, long copyrighted passages, or all figures. Include only small relevant excerpts or summaries needed for private learning.