coauthor-engine

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Activate when the user needs to manage multi-author collaboration on a paper. Tracks author contributions using the CRediT taxonomy, manages responsibility assignments, documents the human-AI division of labor, and produces an author contribution statement ready for submission.

TobiasBlask By TobiasBlask schedule Updated 3/7/2026

name: coauthor-engine description: > Activate when the user needs to manage multi-author collaboration on a paper. Tracks author contributions using the CRediT taxonomy, manages responsibility assignments, documents the human-AI division of labor, and produces an author contribution statement ready for submission.

Orchestration Log: When this skill is activated, append a log entry to outputs/orchestration_log.md:

### Skill Activation: Co-Author Engine
**Timestamp:** [current date/time]
**Actor:** AI Agent (coauthor-engine)
**Input:** [N] authors, task: [contribution tracking / responsibility assignment / CRediT statement]
**Output:** author_contributions.md saved

Co-Author Engine

Core Principle

Modern academic publishing increasingly requires transparent documentation of who did what. The CRediT (Contributor Roles Taxonomy) system standardizes this. For AI-assisted papers, documenting the human-AI division of labor is not optional — it's becoming a requirement at major venues.

When to Activate

  • User says "author contributions", "CRediT statement", "who did what"
  • User says "add co-author", "assign responsibilities", "contribution tracking"
  • Before submission (submission-engine may trigger this)
  • When documenting AI involvement in the research process

Step 1: DEFINE Author Roster

Author Information Template

## Authors

| # | Name | Affiliation | Role | ORCID | Corresponding |
|---|------|-------------|------|-------|--------------|
| 1 | [Name] | [University/Org] | [Senior/Junior/PI] | [ORCID] | [Yes/No] |
| 2 | [Name] | [University/Org] | [Senior/Junior] | [ORCID] | [No] |
| 3 | AI Agent (Claude) | Anthropic | AI Assistant | N/A | No |

Author Order Conventions

  • IS/Business conventions: First author did most work, last author is senior/PI
  • CS conventions: First author did most work, alphabetical otherwise or by contribution
  • Note: If AI is listed, typically in acknowledgments, not as author (venue-dependent)

Step 2: ASSIGN CRediT Roles

CRediT Taxonomy (14 Roles)

For each author (including AI), indicate contribution level:

# CRediT Role Definition Author 1 Author 2 AI Agent
1 Conceptualization Ideas, formulation of research goals Lead Supporting
2 Data curation Managing, annotating, maintaining data Lead Supporting
3 Formal analysis Statistical, mathematical, computational analysis Supporting Lead
4 Funding acquisition Obtaining financial support Lead
5 Investigation Conducting the research, data collection Lead Supporting Supporting
6 Methodology Development or design of methodology Lead Supporting Supporting
7 Project administration Managing and coordinating the project Lead
8 Resources Provision of study materials, tools, computing Lead
9 Software Programming, implementation, code Lead
10 Supervision Oversight and leadership responsibility Lead
11 Validation Verification and replication of results Lead Supporting Supporting
12 Visualization Creating figures, diagrams, plots Supporting Lead
13 Writing — original draft Creating the initial manuscript Supporting Lead
14 Writing — review & editing Critical review, commentary, revision Lead Lead Supporting

Levels: Lead / Supporting / — (not involved)

AI-Specific Contribution Documentation

For the AI agent, document specifically:

## AI Contribution Statement

This paper was produced with the assistance of an AI writing system (Claude,
via the Open Academic Paper Machine). The AI system contributed to:

- **Literature search and synthesis:** Automated multi-database search, deduplication,
  and initial thematic clustering of [N] papers
- **First draft generation:** Initial drafts of all sections following academic
  writing templates, subsequently revised by human authors
- **Figure generation:** [N] figures generated via AI (PaperBanana)
- **Citation verification:** Automated verification of [N] citations against source abstracts
- **LaTeX compilation:** Automated conversion and PDF generation

**Human oversight and quality control:**
- All research questions, theoretical framing, and methodological decisions were
  made by human authors
- All AI-generated text was reviewed, revised, and approved by human authors
- Empirical data collection and analysis were conducted by human authors
- Final manuscript was reviewed and approved by all human co-authors

**AI disclosure:** [Statement per venue requirements, e.g., "In accordance with
[Venue]'s AI policy, we disclose that AI tools were used in the preparation of
this manuscript as described above. All authors take full responsibility for the
content."]

Step 3: TRACK Responsibilities

Task Assignment Matrix

For ongoing collaboration, track who is responsible for what:

## Task Assignment

| Task | Responsible | Deadline | Status |
|------|------------|----------|--------|
| Finalize RQs | Author 1 | [date] | Done |
| Data collection | Author 1 | [date] | In progress |
| Method section review | Author 2 | [date] | Pending |
| Figure 3 redesign | AI Agent | [date] | Done |
| Discussion revision | Author 1 + Author 2 | [date] | Pending |
| Final proofread | Author 2 | [date] | Pending |
| Cover letter | Author 1 | [date] | Pending |
| Submission | Author 1 (corresponding) | [date] | Pending |

Step 4: GENERATE Output

Author Contribution Statement (for manuscript)

Generate venue-appropriate contribution statement:

CRediT format (most journals):

Author Contributions: [Author 1]: Conceptualization (lead), Investigation (lead),
Methodology (lead), Project administration (lead), Validation (lead), Writing —
review & editing (lead). [Author 2]: Conceptualization (supporting), Funding
acquisition (lead), Resources (lead), Supervision (lead), Writing — review &
editing (lead).

Prose format (some journals):

[Author 1] conceived the study, conducted the literature review, designed the
methodology, and wrote the initial manuscript. [Author 2] supervised the project,
provided critical feedback on theoretical framing, and co-edited the final
manuscript. Both authors approved the final version.

Save

File Content
author_contributions.md Full CRediT matrix + AI statement + task tracker
Add to paper.tex CRediT statement in Author Contributions section
Add to submission/ AI disclosure statement for venue requirements

Integration

Scenario Integration
Submission-engine Provides author contribution statement for submission
Orchestration log Complements the AI audit trail
Review-engine Tracks who addresses which reviewer comment
Install via CLI
npx skills add https://github.com/TobiasBlask/open-paper-machine --skill coauthor-engine
Repository Details
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