thesis-skills MCP — Use Cases, Install & Live Demo

Why use it

Key features

Word → LaTeX migration with auto-extracted bibliography mapping
Citation Lock prevents reference renumbering when earlier cites are deleted
Sentence-aware language QA (connectors, collocations, acronym consistency)
YAML rule-pack system for per-university format validation
v0.5.2 span-based patch previews — apply fixes with text-match safety checks

Live Demo

What it looks like in practice

thesis-skill.replay ▶ ready

0/0

Install

Pick your client

~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json · Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "thesis-skill": {
      "command": "git",
      "args": [
        "clone",
        "https://github.com/quzhiii/thesis-skills",
        "~/.claude/skills/thesis-skills"
      ],
      "_inferred": true
    }
  }
}

Open Claude Desktop → Settings → Developer → Edit Config. Restart after saving.

~/.cursor/mcp.json · .cursor/mcp.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "thesis-skill": {
      "command": "git",
      "args": [
        "clone",
        "https://github.com/quzhiii/thesis-skills",
        "~/.claude/skills/thesis-skills"
      ],
      "_inferred": true
    }
  }
}

Cursor uses the same mcpServers schema as Claude Desktop. Project config wins over global.

VS Code → Cline → MCP Servers → Edit

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "thesis-skill": {
      "command": "git",
      "args": [
        "clone",
        "https://github.com/quzhiii/thesis-skills",
        "~/.claude/skills/thesis-skills"
      ],
      "_inferred": true
    }
  }
}

Click the MCP Servers icon in the Cline sidebar, then "Edit Configuration".

~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "thesis-skill": {
      "command": "git",
      "args": [
        "clone",
        "https://github.com/quzhiii/thesis-skills",
        "~/.claude/skills/thesis-skills"
      ],
      "_inferred": true
    }
  }
}

Same shape as Claude Desktop. Restart Windsurf to pick up changes.

~/.continue/config.json

{
  "mcpServers": [
    {
      "name": "thesis-skill",
      "command": "git",
      "args": [
        "clone",
        "https://github.com/quzhiii/thesis-skills",
        "~/.claude/skills/thesis-skills"
      ]
    }
  ]
}

Continue uses an array of server objects rather than a map.

~/.config/zed/settings.json

{
  "context_servers": {
    "thesis-skill": {
      "command": {
        "path": "git",
        "args": [
          "clone",
          "https://github.com/quzhiii/thesis-skills",
          "~/.claude/skills/thesis-skills"
        ]
      }
    }
  }
}

Add to context_servers. Zed hot-reloads on save.

claude mcp add thesis-skill -- git clone https://github.com/quzhiii/thesis-skills ~/.claude/skills/thesis-skills

One-liner. Verify with claude mcp list. Remove with claude mcp remove.

Use Cases

Real-world ways to use thesis-skills

Migrate a Word-format thesis draft into LaTeX without remapping 300 citations by hand

👤 Chinese graduate students switching to LaTeX late in the game ⏱ ~120 min intermediate

When to use: You wrote in Word, adviser demands LaTeX, deadline is in two weeks.

Prerequisites

Skill cloned — git clone https://github.com/quzhiii/thesis-skills ~/.claude/skills/thesis-skills
Zotero/EndNote export of your library — Export .bib from Zotero or use EndNote XML

Flow

Import the bibliography

Use thesis-skills — import my Zotero .bib and cross-reference with the Word doc's citations.✓ Copied

→ Every Word citation mapped to a .bib entry; gaps flagged
Convert the body

Now convert Chapter 1 of thesis.docx to LaTeX preserving structure and citations.✓ Copied

→ Clean .tex with \cite{} keys, not numeric citations
Enable Citation Lock

Turn on Citation Lock before I start rearranging sections.✓ Copied

→ Confirmation + a note on how to verify numbering integrity

Outcome: A LaTeX draft with every citation key intact and a safety net against renumbering bugs.

Pitfalls

Cross-references to figures/tables break during conversion — Run the rule-pack validation pass afterward — it catches dead refs

Combine with: filesystem

Validate thesis formatting against a specific university's YAML rule pack

👤 Students with university-specific format requirements ⏱ ~45 min intermediate

When to use: Final submission is next week; format committee rejects on trivia.

Flow

Point at the rule pack

thesis-skills — validate thesis.tex against the Tsinghua rule pack.✓ Copied

→ Per-rule pass/fail with line references
Apply patches

For each safe-level fix, show the span-based patch preview and apply.✓ Copied

→ Previews show exact before/after; applied only when text matches

Outcome: A format-compliant thesis without the typical 3 rounds of committee rejections.

Cross-file Chinese/English language QA on the whole thesis

👤 Students writing in a second language or mixing ⏱ ~60 min intermediate

When to use: Final polish; spell-check isn't enough.

Flow

Run sentence-aware screening

thesis-skills — full-thesis language screening. Flag connector misuse and acronym inconsistency.✓ Copied

→ Issues grouped by type, not raw grammar noise
Apply chosen fixes

Apply the 'safe' level fixes; preview 'risky' ones for my review.✓ Copied

→ Tiered application so you stay in control

Outcome: Consistent terminology and tone across all chapters.

Combinations

Pair with other MCPs for X10 leverage

thesis-skill + filesystem

Operate across the whole thesis tree, not just one file

Run language screen across all .tex files under thesis/.✓ Copied

thesis-skill + github

Commit each phase (bib import, chapter convert, format fix) as its own revertable step

Commit after each conversion phase so rollback is trivial.✓ Copied

Tools

What this MCP exposes

Tool	Inputs	When to call
import_bibliography	path to .bib / EndNote XML	Start of any migration
word_to_latex	chapter path + bib state	Converting body content
citation_lock	enable / verify	Before structural edits
rule_pack_validate	thesis path + pack name	Before submission
language_screen	thesis path + scope	Final polish

Cost & Limits

What this costs to run

API quota: None
Tokens per call: Can be large — full-thesis scans
Monetary: Free — skills are local files
Tip: Scope by chapter when possible; full-thesis scans eat context.

Security

Permissions, secrets, blast radius

Credential storage: No credentials — pure prompts

Data egress: None — thesis stays local

Your thesis is sensitive IP; don't feed snippets to external services.
Always commit before applying auto-fixes — the Citation Lock and span patches are safe but not magical.

Troubleshooting

Common errors and fixes

Skill not invoked — Claude does generic Pandoc conversion

Say 'use thesis-skills' explicitly; Pandoc doesn't do citation lock or rule-pack validation.

Verify: ls ~/.claude/skills/thesis-skills/SKILL.md

SKILL.md frontmatter wrong

Re-clone; description drives activation.

Verify: head ~/.claude/skills/thesis-skills/SKILL.md

Wrong trigger keywords — language screen misses cross-file issues

Pass 'full-thesis' scope explicitly rather than per-chapter.

Alternatives

thesis-skills vs others

Alternative	When to use it instead	Tradeoff
Pandoc	Generic Word↔LaTeX conversion without citation intelligence	No citation locking, no rule packs
Manual migration	Thesis is short	Hours of remapping citations

More

Resources

📖 Read the official README on GitHub

🐙 Browse open issues

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