INSPIRE-HEP Search and Retrieval Skill
Search and retrieve papers from INSPIRE-HEP, the high-energy physics literature database.
Requires: requests (pip install requests)
Record Identifiers
INSPIRE accepts multiple identifier types:
- INSPIRE recid:
451647(internal ID) - arXiv ID:
1207.7214orhep-th/9711200 - DOI:
10.1103/PhysRevLett.19.1264
Basic Usage
# Get a record by INSPIRE ID
python scripts/inspire.py 451647
# Get by arXiv ID
python scripts/inspire.py 1207.7214
# Get by DOI
python scripts/inspire.py 10.1103/PhysRevLett.19.1264
# Get BibTeX
python scripts/inspire.py 1207.7214 --format bibtex
Searching
# Search by author (SPIRES syntax)
python scripts/inspire.py --search "a E.Witten.1"
# Search by title
python scripts/inspire.py --search "t dark matter"
# Search by arXiv category
python scripts/inspire.py --search "arXiv:hep-th"
# Combined search
python scripts/inspire.py --search "a Maldacena and t AdS/CFT"
# Most cited results
python scripts/inspire.py --search "a Hawking" --sort mostcited
# Limit results
python scripts/inspire.py --search "t supersymmetry" -n 5
Search Query Syntax (SPIRES-compatible)
| Prefix | Field | Example |
|---|---|---|
a | Author | a E.Witten.1 |
t | Title | t black hole |
k | Keywords | k inflation |
j | Journal | j Phys.Rev.Lett. |
eprint | arXiv ID | eprint 1207.7214 |
topcite | Citation count | topcite 1000+ |
Boolean operators: and, or, not
Citations
# Get papers citing a record
python scripts/inspire.py 1207.7214 --citations
# Top 20 citing papers
python scripts/inspire.py 1207.7214 --citations -n 20
Output Formats
# JSON (default - shows metadata)
python scripts/inspire.py 1207.7214
# BibTeX
python scripts/inspire.py 1207.7214 --format bibtex
# LaTeX (European style)
python scripts/inspire.py 1207.7214 --format latex-eu
# LaTeX (US style)
python scripts/inspire.py 1207.7214 --format latex-us
Typical Workflow
- Search for papers:
python scripts/inspire.py --search "a Author" - Note the INSPIRE recid or arXiv ID
- Get full details:
python scripts/inspire.py <id> - Get BibTeX for citation:
python scripts/inspire.py <id> --format bibtex - Check citations:
python scripts/inspire.py <id> --citations
Rate Limits
INSPIRE allows 15 requests per 5-second window per IP address.
Comparison with arXiv Skill
- INSPIRE: Citation counts, publication info, SPIRES search syntax, HEP-focused
- arXiv: Paper source code (LaTeX), all physics categories, preprint access
Use both together: search on INSPIRE for citation data, then use arXiv skill to get the paper source.