Installation Guide

Prerequisites

  • Python 3.13+

  • uv package manager (or pip)

  • 4GB RAM minimum

Installation

1. Install Dependencies

cd SciLEx
uv sync

Or with pip:

pip install -r requirements.txt

2. Configure API Keys

cp src/api.config.yml.example scilex/api.config.yml
nano scilex/api.config.yml

Add your API keys. Note that key names use snake_case:

# Semantic Scholar (optional but recommended for higher rate limits)
sem_scholar:
  api_key: "your-key-here"

# IEEE (required if using IEEE Xplore)
ieee:
  api_key: "your-key"

# Elsevier (required if using)
elsevier:
  api_key: "your-key"

# Springer (required if using)
springer:
  api_key: "your-key"

# Zotero (for export)
zotero:
  api_key: "your-key"
  user_mode: "user"  # or "group" for group libraries

Get API keys from:

The following APIs do not require a key: OpenAlex, arXiv, DBLP, HAL, ISTEX, OpenAIRE, ORKG.

Verify Installation

# Test that dependencies are installed
uv run python -c "import pandas, requests, yaml; print('OK')"

# Run a test collection
uv run python src/run_collecte.py

Common Issues

Python Version Error

Install Python 3.13+ from python.org

Module Not Found

uv sync
# or
pip install -r requirements.txt

API Key Invalid

  • Check for typos in scilex/api.config.yml

  • Verify the key name matches exactly (e.g., sem_scholar not semantic_scholar)

  • Verify the key is active on the API provider’s dashboard

Next Steps