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Agent skill stack for manuscripts targeted at Cell (Cell Press) — the flagship molecular and cell-biology research journal.
This pack is opinionated. It is not a generic "scientific writing" toolbox. It is a Cell-specific stack that encodes the journal's editorial bar — a complete, mechanistic, hypothesis-driven story with multiple converging lines of evidence — and the concrete conventions that follow: the single-narrative Article, the signature Highlights / eTOC blurb / Graphical Abstract trio, the ≤150-word unstructured Summary, STAR Methods with the Key Resources Table and Resource Availability, data/code deposition (with Mendeley Data as Elsevier's default), Cell Press author–date references, and a conceptual-advance cover letter.
Cell imposes constraints that differ materially from field journals — and from Nature/Science:
| Constraint | Cell | Implication |
|---|---|---|
| Editorial bar | A complete, mechanistic story with converging evidence | Single-observation / descriptive papers are pre-review rejected |
| Article structure | Summary · Intro · Results · Discussion · STAR Methods | A free-text Methods section is off-style |
| Signature artifacts | Highlights, eTOC blurb, Graphical Abstract | Missing/weak artifacts hurt at every editorial stage |
| Highlights | 3–4 bullets, each ≤ 85 characters | Full sentences or overruns are non-compliant |
| Summary (abstract) | Single paragraph, ≤ ~150 words, mechanism named, quantified | Long/structured abstracts are off-style |
| Methods | STAR Methods + Key Resources Table + Resource Availability | Reagents need source + RRID/catalog # |
| Data & code | Deposited with accession/DOI; Mendeley Data default; 3-bullet statement | "On request" not acceptable for primary data |
| References | Author–date, alphabetical list, full author lists | Numbered-by-appearance (Science) must be converted |
| Over-claiming | A top rejection reason; reviewers demand a complete story | Conclusions must not outrun the evidence |
Generic "scientific writing" packs do not encode these venue constraints.
/plugin marketplace add https://github.com/brycewang-stanford/awesome-journal-skills
/plugin install cell-skills
/reload-pluginsgit clone https://github.com/brycewang-stanford/awesome-journal-skills.git
cd awesome-journal-skills/Cell-Skills
mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills && cp -R skills/cell-* ~/.claude/skills/
# or
mkdir -p ~/.codex/skills && cp -R skills/cell-* ~/.codex/skills/Use cell-workflow to tell me which skill I should use next for my manuscript targeted at Cell.
cell-fit (clear the complete-mechanistic-story bar first)
▼
cell-framing (lock the single narrative arc: hypothesis → mechanism → significance)
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cell-writing (Article structure; hold length; STAR Methods, not free-text)
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cell-figures (display items within budget)
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cell-star-methods (Key Resources Table + Resource Availability + QSA)
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cell-data (data / code deposition + 3-bullet availability statement)
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cell-summary (≤150-word Summary — polish)
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cell-highlights (Highlights + eTOC blurb + Graphical Abstract — polish)
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cell-citation (Cell Press author–date style — polish)
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cell-submission (cover letter + preflight)
▼
cell-rebuttal (after review)
cell-workflow is the router — it tells you which skill to use next based on where you are.
| Skill | Purpose |
|---|---|
cell-workflow |
Router — decides which sub-skill to invoke next |
cell-fit |
Pre-review filter: complete mechanistic story; Cell Press venue routing |
cell-framing |
Lock the single narrative arc and a declarative title |
cell-highlights |
Highlights (≤85 chars), eTOC blurb (~50 words), Graphical Abstract |
cell-summary |
≤150-word unstructured Summary, mechanism named, quantified |
cell-writing |
Article structure; length budget (~45,000 chars); STAR Methods location |
cell-figures |
Column sizing (85/114/174 mm), ≥6–7 pt fonts, show-the-data, integrity |
cell-star-methods |
Key Resources Table + Resource Availability (3 subsections) + QSA |
cell-data |
Deposition (GEO/PDB/PRIDE/Mendeley Data), accessions, 3-bullet statement |
cell-citation |
Cell Press author–date style, alphabetical list, full author lists |
cell-submission |
Full preflight checklist + cover-letter template |
cell-rebuttal |
Decision triage, experiment prioritization, point-by-point response |
skills/cell-submission/templates/checklist.md— full preflight checklistskills/cell-submission/templates/cover_letter_template.md— conceptual-advance cover-letter scaffoldresources/external_tools.md— deposition repositories, STAR Methods/RRID standards, figure/stats tooling, and key Cell Press author pages
| Dimension | Cell | Nature / Science | Molecular Cell / Cell Reports / CRM |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bar | Complete mechanistic story | Top-1% broad significance | Cell Reports: more accepting |
| Signature artifact | Highlights + eTOC + Graphical Abstract | One-sentence summary (Science) / summary paragraph (Nature) | Same Cell Press artifacts |
| Abstract | Summary, ≤150 w, unstructured | Science ≤125 w + one-sentence summary | Similar Cell Press Summary |
| Methods | STAR Methods + KRT | Methods section / Supplementary | Also STAR Methods |
| References | Author–date, alphabetical | Science: numbered by appearance | Cell Press author–date |
| When to switch | — | If you want the widest audience | Molecular Cell (molecular focus) / Cell Reports (less broad) / CRM (translational) |
Note: Cell uses author–date references — the opposite of Science's numbered-by-appearance style. For Science, see the sibling Science-Skills pack; for Nature, see nature-skills.
- awesome-journal-skills — index of journal-specific skill packs
- Science-Skills · PNAS-Skills · NEJM-Skills · Lancet-Skills
This is an independent, community-built skill pack. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or produced by Cell Press, Elsevier, or Cell. All targets (word counts, character limits, item limits, style rules) reflect publicly documented author guidelines at the time of writing — always confirm against the current Cell author guidelines and STAR Methods guidelines before submitting.
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