journal-abbrev

name: journal-abbrev description: 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. allowed-tools: Bash, Read, Write, Edit, Glob, Grep

--- Claude Code fields above, OpenClaw/SkillsMP fields below ---

author: Agents365-ai category: Academic Research version: 1.3.1 created: 2026-03-29 updated: 2026-07-14 github: https://github.com/Agents365-ai/365-skills homepage: https://github.com/Agents365-ai/365-skills metadata: version: 1.3.1 openclaw: requires: bins: - python3 emoji: "📖" homepage: https://github.com/Agents365-ai/365-skills os: ["macos", "linux", "windows"]

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

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

Error codes (inside error.code)

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)

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. Exit 1 covers both upstream_unavailable (retry) and runtime_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 with meta.idempotent_replay: true instead of rerunning the rewrite. Token must match [A-Za-z0-9._-]{1,64}.
• cache rebuild is 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 is upstream_unavailable (retryable). Add --yes to record meta.confirmed: true for audit policies; the CLI itself never prompts, so --yes is not a gate.

Workflow

Step 1: Detect Intent

Step 2: Execute

Run the appropriate jabbrv.py command. The script handles:

1. Local cache lookup (instant, ~25K journals from JabRef)
2. AbbrevISO API fallback (algorithmic ISO 4 abbreviation, forward only)
3. 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:

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

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