journal-abbrev
Use when looking up journal or magazine name abbreviations, converting between full names and ISO 4/MEDLINE abbreviations, processing BibTeX files for journal name standardization, or answering questions about 期刊缩写/杂志缩写. Triggers on "journal abbreviation", "abbreviate journal", "journal name", "期刊缩写", "杂志缩写", "ISO 4", "LTWA", "BibTeX journal". PROACTIVELY USE when user mentions citation formatting, reference list preparation, or manuscript submission to specific journals.
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Install
Works with every agent the skills CLI supports.
npx skills add https://github.com/agents365-ai/365-skills --skill journal-abbrev- 01
Install
Run the command in your project. The CLI asks which agents to install for.
- 02
Describe the task
Ask your agent for something this skill covers. It loads journal-abbrev automatically when relevant.
- 03
Review the result
The agent follows the SKILL.md steps, scripts and references bundled with the skill.
SKILL.md
The instructions your agent reads when the skill is triggered.
Journal Abbreviation Lookup
Look up journal/magazine name abbreviations using a multi-source cascade: JabRef database (~25K journals) → AbbrevISO API (ISO 4) → NLM Catalog (MEDLINE).
Critical rule: Always use jabbrv.py for lookups. Never guess abbreviations — even common journals have non-obvious abbreviations.
Quick Reference
| User wants... | Tier | Command |
|---|---|---|
| Abbreviate a journal name | read | python3 jabbrv.py abbrev "Nature Medicine" |
| Expand an abbreviation | read | python3 jabbrv.py expand "Nat. Med." |
| Auto-detect direction | read | python3 jabbrv.py lookup "J. Am. Chem. Soc." |
| Fuzzy search (paginated) | read | python3 jabbrv.py search "biolog chem" --limit 10 --offset 0 |
| Process a .bib file | write | python3 jabbrv.py bib refs.bib |
| Preview .bib changes (no write) | read | python3 jabbrv.py bib refs.bib --dry-run |
| Explicit .bib output path | write | python3 jabbrv.py bib refs.bib --output out.bib |
| Expand .bib abbreviations | write | python3 jabbrv.py bib refs.bib --expand |
| Replay-safe .bib (retry returns cached envelope) | write | python3 jabbrv.py bib refs.bib --idempotency-key run-001 |
| Batch text list | read | python3 jabbrv.py batch journals.txt |
| Batch as NDJSON stream | read | python3 jabbrv.py batch journals.txt --stream |
| Inspect cache state | read | python3 jabbrv.py cache status |
| Download missing cache files | write | python3 jabbrv.py cache update |
| Preview what update would fetch | read | python3 jabbrv.py cache update --dry-run |
| Atomic rebuild | ⚠️ destructive | python3 jabbrv.py cache rebuild --yes |
| Preview rebuild (no delete) | read | python3 jabbrv.py cache rebuild --dry-run |
| Suppress stderr progress | read | python3 jabbrv.py --quiet cache update |
| Machine-readable CLI contract | read | python3 jabbrv.py schema |
| Schema for one subcommand | read | python3 jabbrv.py schema lookup |
Output format
Stdout is a stable JSON envelope when the CLI is not attached to a terminal
(piped or captured by an agent), and a human table/indented view when run on a
TTY. To force a format: --format json|table|human|auto. --json remains as a
back-compat alias for --format json. Flags may appear before or after the
subcommand.
Envelope shape (always the same fields for every subcommand):
- Success:
{ "ok": true, "data": ..., "meta": { "schema_version", "cli_version", "cache", "latency_ms" } } - Partial success (batch):
{ "ok": "partial", "data": { "succeeded": [...], "failed": [...] }, "meta": {...} } - Error:
{ "ok": false, "error": { "code", "message", "retryable", ... }, "meta": {...} }
Exit codes
| Code | Meaning |
|---|---|
0 | success (including partial success) |
1 | runtime / upstream error |
2 | validation / bad input (missing file, bad flag) |
3 | not found (the looked-up journal does not exist) |
Error codes (inside error.code)
| Code | Retryable | Exit | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
not_found | no | 3 | Lookup completed but no source matched |
upstream_unavailable | yes | 1 | One or more upstream APIs failed transiently; the lookup could not be concluded. Carries error.sources[] listing each failure. Retry later. |
file_not_found | no | 2 | Input file path does not exist |
validation_error | no | 2 | Bad argument or flag combination |
runtime_error | yes | 1 | Unexpected internal error |
Branch on error.code + error.retryable rather than exit code alone — exit
1 covers both upstream_unavailable and runtime_error. Full machine-readable
listing: python3 jabbrv.py schema → data.error_codes.
Environment variables (set by host, not by agent argv)
| Variable | Effect |
|---|---|
JABBRV_CACHE_DIR | Override the cache directory (default: <install>/cache). Useful in sandboxes where the install tree is read-only. |
JABBRV_OFFLINE | Truthy (1/true/yes/on) skips AbbrevISO and NLM; only the local JabRef cache is consulted. Misses become definitive not_found (not retryable) since the host has declared upstream off-limits. meta.offline: true appears in every envelope so callers can see the policy. |
NO_COLOR | https://no-color.org convention. Any non-empty value disables color. No ANSI is emitted today; meta.no_color: true appears when set so callers can see the policy. |
Trust boundary: these are read from the process environment, not from
arguments. The host or sandbox sets them; the agent cannot override them via
argv. Schema introspection: python3 jabbrv.py schema → data.global_env.
Retries, idempotency, and destructive intent
- Branch on
error.code+error.retryable, not exit code alone. Exit1covers bothupstream_unavailable(retry) andruntime_error(retry once, then escalate). bib --idempotency-key <token>persists the success envelope next to the output file as<output>.<token>.envelope.json. A retry with the same key returns that envelope withmeta.idempotent_replay: trueinstead of rerunning the rewrite. Token must match[A-Za-z0-9._-]{1,64}.cache rebuildis atomic — downloads stage into a sibling directory and the swap only happens if every file succeeded. If any fails, the existing cache is preserved and the response isupstream_unavailable(retryable). Add--yesto recordmeta.confirmed: truefor audit policies; the CLI itself never prompts, so--yesis not a gate.
Workflow
Step 1: Detect Intent
| Intent | Action |
|---|---|
| Single journal name/abbreviation | Use lookup (auto-detect) or abbrev/expand (explicit direction) |
| "What's the abbreviation for X?" | Use abbrev |
| "What journal is X?" | Use expand |
| Partial or uncertain name | Use search for fuzzy matching |
| Fix journal names in .bib file | Use bib |
| List of journals to process | Use batch |
Step 2: Execute
Run the appropriate jabbrv.py command. The script handles:
- Local cache lookup (instant, ~25K journals from JabRef)
- AbbrevISO API fallback (algorithmic ISO 4 abbreviation, forward only)
- NLM Catalog fallback (biomedical journals, bidirectional)
First run downloads JabRef CSV cache files automatically (~2-5 MB).
Step 3: Present Results
- Show the full name, abbreviation, and source
- Note the standard (ISO 4 vs MEDLINE) when relevant
- For .bib processing: show the change summary before confirming
ISO 4 vs MEDLINE
Two common abbreviation standards exist:
| Standard | Periods | Example | Used by |
|---|---|---|---|
| ISO 4 | Yes | Nat. Med. | Most publishers, BibTeX |
| MEDLINE | No | Nat Med | PubMed, NLM databases |
JabRef provides ISO 4 style. NLM Catalog provides MEDLINE style. AbbrevISO computes ISO 4 algorithmically from LTWA (List of Title Word Abbreviations).
Common Abbreviation Patterns
| Word | Abbreviation | Word | Abbreviation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Journal | J. | International | Int. |
| American | Am. | European | Eur. |
| Science/Sciences | Sci. | Medicine/Medical | Med. |
| Biology/Biological | Biol. | Chemistry/Chemical | Chem. |
| Physics/Physical | Phys. | Engineering | Eng. |
| Research | Res. | Review/Reviews | Rev. |
| Society | Soc. | National | Natl. |
| Proceedings | Proc. | Transactions | Trans. |
| Letters | Lett. | Communications | Commun. |
| Applied | Appl. | Computational | Comput. |
Note: Single-word titles (e.g., "Nature", "Science", "Cell") are NOT abbreviated per ISO 4 rules.
Integration Examples
With Zotero
# Export BibTeX from Zotero, then standardize journal names
zot export COLLECTION_KEY --format bibtex > refs.bib
python3 jabbrv.py bib refs.bib
With LaTeX
# Before compiling, ensure all journal names are abbreviated
python3 jabbrv.py bib references.bib
# Use the output file (references_abbrev.bib) in your LaTeX document
Batch Processing
Create a text file with one journal name per line:
Nature Medicine
Journal of Biological Chemistry
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Then run:
python3 jabbrv.py batch journals.txt
Troubleshooting
| Issue | Solution |
|---|---|
| "No result found" | Try search with partial name for fuzzy matching |
| Cache download fails | Check network connection, retry with cache update (or cache rebuild to force) |
| Wrong abbreviation style | JabRef = ISO 4 (with dots), NLM = MEDLINE (no dots) |
| BibTeX field not detected | Ensure format is journal = {Name} (curly braces) |
FAQ
What does the journal-abbrev skill do?
Use when looking up journal or magazine name abbreviations, converting between full names and ISO 4/MEDLINE abbreviations, processing BibTeX files for journal name standardization, or answering questions about 期刊缩写/杂志缩写. Triggers on "journal abbreviation", "abbreviate journal", "journal name", "期刊缩写", "杂志缩写", "ISO 4", "LTWA", "BibTeX journal". PROACTIVELY USE when user mentions citation formatting, reference list preparation, or manuscript submission to specific journals.
How do I install journal-abbrev?
Run npx skills add https://github.com/agents365-ai/365-skills --skill journal-abbrev in your project. The skills CLI detects the agents you use and copies the skill into the right folder. For Claude Code you can also place the skill folder at ~/.claude/skills/journal-abbrev/ (personal) or .claude/skills/journal-abbrev/ (project).
Which AI agents can use journal-abbrev?
Any agent that supports the open Agent Skills format (a folder with a SKILL.md file), including Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI, Windsurf, Cline, OpenCode and more.
Is journal-abbrev safe to install?
No partner security audit is available yet. Skills can run commands and scripts, so read the SKILL.md and any bundled files before installing.
Who maintains journal-abbrev?
It is published by agents365-ai in agents365-ai/365-skills. It has 2,991 recorded installs.
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