WTF-P

Write The F***ing Paper.

Also: Proposal. Presentation. Poster.

npx wtf-p

Academic writing commands for Claude Code, Gemini CLI, and OpenCode.

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What This Does

WTF-P installs structured commands into your AI coding assistant that turn it into an academic writing system. You get spec-driven workflows, citation grounding, section isolation, and quality verification — not just "write me a paper." Every section is planned before it's written, verified after, and grounded in your actual BibTeX sources.

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Quick Start

npx wtf-p                  # Install commands (Claude Code by default)

Then in your AI assistant:

/wtfp:new-paper            # Guided interview about your research
/wtfp:create-outline       # Build section structure + word budgets
/wtfp:plan-section 1       # Plan first section
/wtfp:write-section        # Write the section

Run /wtfp:help for the full command list.

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Runtime Support

Runtime	Commands	Agents	Extras
Claude Code	36	11	Skills, MCP server, plugin manifest
Gemini CLI	36	11	—
OpenCode	36	11	—

npx wtf-p --global              # Claude Code (default)
npx wtf-p --global --gemini     # Gemini CLI
npx wtf-p --global --opencode   # OpenCode

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Installation

# Default: install to Claude Code
npx wtf-p

# Global install (recommended — persists across projects)
npx wtf-p --global

# Local to current project only
npx wtf-p --local

# Specify a custom config directory
npx wtf-p --global --config-dir ~/research/.claude

# Check what's installed
npx wtf-p status

# Diagnose issues
npx wtf-p doctor

Upgrading

npx wtf-p update                    # Check for newer version
npx wtf-p --global                  # Reinstall (prompts on conflicts)
npx wtf-p --global --force          # Overwrite everything
npx wtf-p --global --backup-all    # Backup before overwriting

Uninstalling

npx wtf-p-uninstall --global
npx wtf-p-uninstall --global --dry-run   # Preview what would be removed

Only WTF-P files are removed. Your config files and other tools stay intact.

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Command Reference

Setup

Command	Purpose
/wtfp:new-paper	Guided interview to define your paper's vision and requirements
/wtfp:create-outline	Build section structure, argument map, and word budgets
/wtfp:map-project	Index existing drafts, data, and references
/wtfp:analyze-bib	Analyze bibliography and map citations to sections

Planning

Command	Purpose
/wtfp:discuss-section [N]	Discuss your vision for a section before planning
/wtfp:plan-section [N]	Create detailed writing plan with quality validation
/wtfp:list-assumptions [N]	Preview intended approach before writing
/wtfp:research-gap [N]	Research literature for a section (tiered: Semantic Scholar, Google Scholar, CrossRef)

Writing

Command	Purpose
/wtfp:write-section	Execute a section plan with agent-based writing
/wtfp:execute-outline	Write all sections in parallel, then check coherence
/wtfp:quick	Minimal-ceremony writing for quick tasks
/wtfp:progress	Show writing progress and suggest next step
/wtfp:pause-writing	Save current progress for later
/wtfp:resume-writing	Resume from a previous session

Review

Command	Purpose
/wtfp:review-section [N]	Review for citations, coherence, and venue requirements
/wtfp:verify-work [N]	Acceptance-test a section against its plan
/wtfp:plan-revision [N]	Create revision plan from review issues
/wtfp:polish-prose	Improve clarity, flow, and academic voice
/wtfp:check-refs	Audit BibTeX for missing, duplicate, or broken references

Structure

Command	Purpose
/wtfp:create-poster	Full poster creation workflow
/wtfp:create-slides	Presentation deck workflow
/wtfp:insert-section	Add a new section to the outline
/wtfp:remove-section	Remove a section from the outline

Export & Submission

Command	Purpose
/wtfp:export-latex	Export to LaTeX with bibliography and formatting
/wtfp:audit-milestone	Pre-submission checks on sections, citations, and word counts
/wtfp:plan-milestone-gaps	Create fix plans for gaps found by audit
/wtfp:submit-milestone	Archive a completed draft or submission version

Settings & Productivity

Command	Purpose
/wtfp:settings	View and edit project settings interactively
/wtfp:checkpoint	Save, restore, and list paper state checkpoints
/wtfp:add-todo	Capture a quick note or task without breaking flow
/wtfp:check-todos	Review pending todos (act, defer, dismiss)
/wtfp:update	Check for updates and install newer version

Help & Contributing

Command	Purpose
/wtfp:help	Full command reference
/wtfp:report-bug	Report a bug via GitHub issue
/wtfp:request-feature	Request a new feature via GitHub issue
/wtfp:contribute	Walk through contributing code via pull request

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Configuration

WTF-P uses a config.json in your .planning/ directory. Key settings:

{
  "model_profile": "balanced",        // "quality" | "balanced" | "budget"
  "workflow": {
    "research": true,                  // Enable research phase
    "plan_check": true,                // Pre-write plan validation
    "verifier": true                   // Post-write verification
  },
  "parallelization": {
    "enabled": false,                  // Parallel section writing
    "max_concurrent_agents": 3
  }
}

Model profiles route 11 specialized agents to appropriate models:

• quality — best models for all agents (slower, higher cost)
• balanced — strong models for writing, lighter for validation (default)
• budget — fastest models everywhere (good for iteration)

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Venue Templates

Template	Structure
acm-cs	Intro → Background → Approach → Evaluation → Related Work → Conclusion
ieee-cs	Intro → Background → Design → Implementation → Evaluation → Conclusion
arxiv-ml	Intro → Related Work → Preliminaries → Method → Experiments → Conclusion
nature	Intro → Methods → Results → Discussion
thesis	Flexible chapter structure

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How It Works

WTF-P follows a thin orchestrator → specialized agent → quality loop architecture:

1. Specification first — /wtfp:new-paper interviews you to extract research questions, argument structure, evidence inventory, and venue requirements into a PROJECT.md.
2. Hierarchical planning — Papers break down: Paper Vision → Section Outline → Section Plan → Paragraph Execution. Each level has its own document.
3. Isolated execution — Each section is written in a fresh context containing only the paper vision, that section's plan, relevant citations, and prior sections. No context pollution.
4. Quality loops — Pre-write plan validation (7 dimensions, up to 3 revisions) and post-write goal-backward verification ensure claims match plans and evidence.

WCN Mode (Reduced Tokens)

For smaller models or limited context windows, WTF-P includes compressed workflows with 35-50% token reduction:

./tools/wcn/swap-workflows.sh wcn      # Switch to compressed
./tools/wcn/swap-workflows.sh verbose   # Switch back

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Origin

Built at the Gnosis Research Center at Illinois Tech. The problem: research teams with grants to win, papers to publish, and no time for writer's block. The solution: treat your AI coding assistant as a structured writing system — proper context, explicit specs, verification layers.

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Links

• Changelog
• Contributing
• Roadmap
• License (MIT)
• GitHub

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No more excuses. Ship the paper.