# What to use for literature review

> 'Lit review' — finding and synthesising prior work.

Source: https://tashan.sh/task/literature-review.html
Ranked by fit for the task, then how well it documents itself, then the tashan score
  (upkeep and freshness, gated by real adoption). Public evidence only — nothing paid can
  change a rank. Method: https://tashan.sh/methodology.html

## Ranked

| # | Capability | tashan score | Adoption evidence | Activity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | [Notebooklm · PleasePrompto](https://tashan.sh/capability/pkg-notebooklm-mcp.html) | 51 | 5k/wk | active |
| 2 | [Arx](https://tashan.sh/capability/plugin-eric-tramel-arx-arx.html) | 37 | 7 ★ | active |
| 3 | [Exa · exa-labs](https://tashan.sh/capability/plugin-exa-labs-exa-mcp-server-exa.html) | 76 | 5k ★ | active |
| 4 | [Clinicaltrialsgov](https://tashan.sh/capability/pkg-clinicaltrialsgov-mcp-server.html) | 67 | 802/wk | active |
| 5 | [Sciverse](https://tashan.sh/capability/plugin-opendatalab-sciverse-agent-tools-sciverse.html) | 61 | 78 ★ | active |
| 6 | [Phd Deepread](https://tashan.sh/capability/plugin-heleninsights-dot-phd-deepread-workflow-phd-deepread.html) | 45 | 56 ★ | active |
| 7 | [Research Co Pilot](https://tashan.sh/capability/plugin-marazii-research-co-pilot-research-co-pilot.html) | 42 | 5 ★ | active |
| 8 | [Paper Interpreter](https://tashan.sh/capability/plugin-chujianyun-skills-paper-interpreter.html) | 36 | 1 marketplaces | active |
| 9 | [Article Interpreter](https://tashan.sh/capability/plugin-chujianyun-skills-article-interpreter.html) | 36 | 1 marketplaces | active |
| 10 | [Research Toolkit · gioviat](https://tashan.sh/capability/plugin-gioviat-research-toolkit-research-toolkit.html) | 34 | 2 ★ | active |
| 11 | [Research](https://tashan.sh/capability/skill-alirezarezvani-research.html) | not scored | 9 repos | active |
| 12 | [Claude Scholar](https://tashan.sh/capability/plugin-galaxy-dawn-claude-scholar-claude-scholar.html) | 72 | 5k ★ | active |
| 13 | [Bettercallclaude](https://tashan.sh/capability/plugin-fedec65-bettercallclaude-bettercallclaude.html) | 59 | 33 ★ | active |
| 14 | [Bettercallclaude Italia](https://tashan.sh/capability/plugin-fedec65-bettercallclaude-italia-bettercallclaude-italia.html) | 50 | 41 ★ | active |
| 15 | [Pubcrawl](https://tashan.sh/capability/pkg-pharmatools-pubcrawl.html) | 53 | 334/wk | active |
| 16 | [Openalex Research](https://tashan.sh/capability/pkg-openalex-research-mcp.html) | 47 | 224/wk | active |
| 17 | [Medsci Literature](https://tashan.sh/capability/plugin-aperivue-medsci-skills-medsci-literature.html) | 41 | 1 marketplaces | active |
| 18 | [Medsci Data](https://tashan.sh/capability/plugin-aperivue-medsci-skills-medsci-data.html) | 41 | 1 marketplaces | active |

## What these numbers are not

- The tashan score measures upkeep, freshness and adoption. It is **not** a security
  verdict and **not** a measure of whether the capability works well.
- `not scored` means too little public evidence to rank, never that something is bad.
- The security audit is separate and free per capability, on each page above.