Reference Style Sync

Reference Style Sync

One-click synchronization and standardization of reference formats in literature management tools, intelligently fixing metadata errors.

When to Use

Key Features

See ## Features above for related details.

Dependencies

See ## Prerequisites above for related details.

Example Usage

See ## Usage above for related details.

cd "20260318/scientific-skills/Academic Writing/reference-style-sync"
python -m py_compile scripts/main.py
python scripts/main.py --help

Example run plan: 1. Confirm the user input, output path, and any required config values. 2. Edit the in-file CONFIG block or documented parameters if the script uses fixed settings. 3. Run python scripts/main.py with the validated inputs. 4. Review the generated output and return the final artifact with any assumptions called out.

Implementation Details

See ## Workflow above for related details.

Quick Check

Use this command to verify that the packaged script entry point can be parsed before deeper execution.

python -m py_compile scripts/main.py

Audit-Ready Commands

Use these concrete commands for validation. They are intentionally self-contained and avoid placeholder paths.

python -m py_compile scripts/main.py
python scripts/main.py --help
python scripts/main.py -h

Workflow

1. Confirm the user objective, required inputs, and non-negotiable constraints before doing detailed work. 2. Validate that the request matches the documented scope and stop early if the task would require unsupported assumptions. 3. Use the packaged script path or the documented reasoning path with only the inputs that are actually available. 4. Return a structured result that separates assumptions, deliverables, risks, and unresolved items. 5. If execution fails or inputs are incomplete, switch to the fallback path and state exactly what blocked full completion.

Overview

Reference Style Sync can:

Supported Literature Management Tools

Features

🔧 Metadata Repair

🎨 Format Sync

🔍 Quality Check

Usage

Command Line Interface

Process single file
python scripts/main.py --input library.bib --output fixed.bib --style apa
Fix metadata and convert to AMA format
python scripts/main.py --input zotero.rdf --output fixed.ris --style ama --fix-metadata
Batch processing and duplicate detection
python scripts/main.py --input library.json --output cleaned.json --deduplicate --style vancouver
Quality check only
python scripts/main.py --input library.bib --check-only

Python API

from scripts.main import ReferenceSync
Initialize
sync = ReferenceSync()
Load library
sync.load('library.bib')
Fix metadata
sync.fix_metadata()
Convert to target format
sync.convert_style(target_style='apa')
Export
sync.export('output.bib')

Parameter Description

| Parameter | Type | Default | Description | |------|------|--------|------| | --input | str | Required | Input file path (.bib, .ris, .json, .xml) | | --output | str | Required | Output file path | | --style | str | ama | Target format: apa, mla, ama, vancouver, chicago | | --fix-metadata | bool | False | Enable metadata repair | | --deduplicate | bool | False | Detect and merge duplicate entries | | --check-only | bool | False | Check only, no output | | --format | str | auto | Input format auto-detect or specify |

Repair Rules

Author Names

Before repair
Smith, John, Doe, Jane M.
Smith J., Doe J.M.
After repair (AMA)
Smith J, Doe JM.

Journal Names

Before repair
journal of the american medical association
J. Am. Med. Assoc.
After repair
JAMA

DOI

Before repair
www.doi.org/10.1234/example
doi:10.1234/example
10.1234/example
After repair
doi:10.1234/example

Page Numbers

Before repair
123-127
123 -- 127
123–127
After repair
123-127

Output Example

Before Repair (Zotero Export)

@article{smith2020,
  author = {Smith, John and Doe, Jane M.},
  title = {A Study of Something},
  journal = {journal of clinical medicine},
  year = {2020},
  volume = {15},
  pages = {123-127},
  doi = {10.1234/example}
}

After Repair (AMA Format)

@article{smith2020,
  author = {Smith J, Doe JM},
  title = {A Study of Something},
  journal = {J Clin Med},
  year = {2020},
  volume = {15},
  pages = {123-127},
  doi = {doi:10.1234/example}
}

Technical Details

Difficulty: Medium Dependencies: Python 3.8+, regex, titlecase Data Processing: Supports 10000+ entries batch processing

Supported Citation Formats

Error Handling

Notes

1. It is recommended to backup the original library before processing 2. Metadata repair is based on built-in rule library; complex cases may require manual review 3. Journal abbreviations follow ISO 4 standard 4. DOI validation uses regex patterns, does not actually resolve and verify

Risk Assessment

| Risk Indicator | Assessment | Level | |----------------|------------|-------| | Code Execution | Python/R scripts executed locally | Medium | | Network Access | No external API calls | Low | | File System Access | Read input files, write output files | Medium | | Instruction Tampering | Standard prompt guidelines | Low | | Data Exposure | Output files saved to workspace | Low |

Security Checklist

Prerequisites

Python dependencies
pip install -r requirements.txt

Evaluation Criteria

Success Metrics

Test Cases

Lifecycle Status

Output Requirements

Every final response should make these items explicit when they are relevant:

Input Validation

This skill accepts requests that match the documented purpose of reference-style-sync and include enough context to complete the workflow safely.

Do not continue the workflow when the request is out of scope, missing a critical input, or would require unsupported assumptions. Instead respond:

> reference-style-sync only handles its documented workflow. Please provide the missing required inputs or switch to a more suitable skill.

References

Response Template

Use the following fixed structure for non-trivial requests:

1. Objective 2. Inputs Received 3. Assumptions 4. Workflow 5. Deliverable 6. Risks and Limits 7. Next Checks

If the request is simple, you may compress the structure, but still keep assumptions and limits explicit when they affect correctness.

Command Line Interface

Process single file
python scripts/main.py --input library.bib --output fixed.bib --style apa
Fix metadata and convert to AMA format
python scripts/main.py --input zotero.rdf --output fixed.ris --style ama --fix-metadata
Batch processing and duplicate detection
python scripts/main.py --input library.json --output cleaned.json --deduplicate --style vancouver
Quality check only
python scripts/main.py --input library.bib --check-only

Python API

from scripts.main import ReferenceSync
Initialize
sync = ReferenceSync()
Load library
sync.load('library.bib')
Fix metadata
sync.fix_metadata()
Convert to target format
sync.convert_style(target_style='apa')
Export
sync.export('output.bib')

Python dependencies
pip install -r requirements.txt

1. It is recommended to backup the original library before processing 2. Metadata repair is based on built-in rule library; complex cases may require manual review 3. Journal abbreviations follow ISO 4 standard 4. DOI validation uses regex patterns, does not actually resolve and verify