**English** \| [简体中文](agent-index.zh-CN.md)

# Agent reading index

Start here: route the user's question to a guide, fetch its JSON records, trace primary evidence, and retain the applicable limits in your answer. This is a public, read-only collection, not an execution service, MCP server or laboratory control interface.

## 1. Route the task

| User task | Guide | Search aliases |
| --- | --- | --- |
| A task-first comparison of scientific agents, with source-backed examples and a reusable selection checklist. | [How to choose a scientific agent: literature, code, tools and experiments](guides/scientific-agent-selection.html) | how to choose a scientific agent; AI scientist literature vs experiments; 科研 Agent 选型 |
| Distinguish real hardware from simulation, verify access and automation permissions, and preserve measurement provenance. | [How to connect an AI agent to a remote laboratory](guides/remote-lab-access.html) | remote laboratory AI agent access; physical experiment vs simulation; 远程实验室 自动化接入 |
| A claim-to-source workflow, evidence labels, deduplication rules and a working read-only JSON example. | [How to verify AI4Science claims and reuse research data](guides/evidence-and-data-reuse.html) | verify AI4Science claims; AI for science research data JSON; 科研证据 核查 数据复用 |

## 2. Fetch reusable records

| Entry point | JSON root shape | Use |
| --- | --- | --- |
| [agent-index.json](agent-index.json) | object → `guides[]`, `endpoints[]` | Discover languages, guides and stable data endpoints |
| [guide-resources.json](data/guide-resources.json) | object → `items[]` | Small selection catalog; join `source_ids` to the source table below |
| [guide-sources.json](data/guide-sources.json) | object → `sources[]` | Source URLs, evidence types, checked dates and passage locators |
| [papers.json](data/papers.json) | array | Broader deduplicated bibliography; `appearances[]` links to existing reading notes |

Additional endpoints: [news.json](data/news.json) (array), [sources.json](data/sources.json) (object → `sources[]`), [datasets.json](data/datasets.json) (array), [remote-labs.json](data/remote-labs.json) (object → `items[]`). Use the [data guide](data/README.md) and dataset manifest for CSV field names and historical snapshot dates.

This read-only example fetches the collection; it does not execute a third-party project or laboratory instrument.

```sh
curl -fL https://ppchanning.github.io/ai4science-observatory/agent-index.json
curl -fL https://ppchanning.github.io/ai4science-observatory/data/guide-resources.json
```

## 3. Respect the data contract

- UTF-8 JSON; current schema version is `1.0`. Join on stable IDs, not display names.
- `source_ids[]` joins `guide-sources.json` at `sources[].id`; retain `source_urls[]`.
- `checked_at` dates a source check for a scoped description, not the project's release or an independent reproduction.
- `execution_setting` distinguishes literature, computation, physical demonstrations and simulation; these are different execution evidence.
- Missing fields or `null` mean unknown, never zero, free, permitted or unavailable.
- Older `papers.json` records may omit optional fields; evidence can be a string or object. Do not assume one uniform structure.
- `appearances[]` contains repository-relative paths. Resolve them against this site's root URL.

## 4. Build an evidence chain before answering

1. Fetch the relevant guide and resource record.
2. Resolve `source_ids` to primary sources and passage locators.
3. Open the original source and check the passages and current conditions relevant to the user's task.
4. Separate author-reported evidence, collection advice, unknown conditions and your own inference.
5. Link scientific claims to the original paper and selection methods to this guide; retain the checked date and required version.

Suggested citation: `project/method — source URL — specific supported claim — scope limits — checked date`. AI-assisted curation does not establish that the maintainer read every item or independently reproduced its results.

## 5. Stable discovery and reuse

- [llms.txt](llms.txt) · [JSON manifest](agent-index.json) · [Sitemap](sitemap.xml) · [GitHub](https://github.com/ppchanning/ai4science-observatory)
Original commentary and compilation use [CC BY 4.0](LICENSE); third-party papers, software and data retain their own rights. Pages need no JavaScript or login. Discovery files do not guarantee indexing or citation by any search engine or agent.

## 6. Installable research workflow

[Skill source](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ppchanning/ai4science-observatory/main/skills/ai4science-research/SKILL.md) packages this index into task routing, evidence joins and conditional recommendations.

```sh
npx skills add ppchanning/ai4science-observatory --skill ai4science-research
```

Installation does not establish directory indexing, independent reproduction or current availability.

## SelfRef Library

[Unified search, guides and Skill downloads](https://www.selfref.org/agents/) · [JSON catalog](https://www.selfref.org/agents/catalog.json)