Overview

• dsl-reference.md — Full DSL syntax, operators, fields, and example queries

~/.dimensions/dsl.ini

DIMENSIONS_KEY

DIMENSIONS_ENDPOINT

Quick Start

# Search publications
echo 'search publications for "machine learning" return publications limit 10' | shortwing

# Search grants
echo 'search grants for "artificial intelligence" return grants[title+funding_usd] limit 10' | shortwing

# Find researchers
echo 'search researchers for "John Smith" return researchers[first_name+last_name+current_research_org] limit 10' | shortwing

Query Structure

search <source> [for "<terms>"] [where <filters>] return <result> [limit N]

Available Sources

publications

grants

patents

clinical_trials

researchers

datasets

Common Query Patterns

search publications for "CRISPR" return publications limit 20

search publications where year=2024 return publications limit 10

search publications in title_only for "climate change" return publications limit 10

search publications for "AI" where times_cited>100 return publications sort by times_cited desc limit 10

search grants where funders.name~"NIH" return grants[title+funding_usd] limit 10

search patents where filing_year>=2023 return patents[title+assignees] limit 10

search clinical_trials for "diabetes" return clinical_trials[title+phase] limit 10

search publications for "robotics" return research_orgs aggregate count sort by count desc limit 10

Return Specific Fields

+

echo 'search publications for "quantum" return publications[id+title+doi+year+times_cited] limit 10' | shortwing

Filter Operators

=

year=2024

>

times_cited>100

~

journal.title~"Nature"

in

year in [2020:2024]

and/or

year=2024 and type="article"

Boolean Search Operators

for "machine learning AND healthcare"

for "python OR java"

for "AI NOT robotics"

for "(cancer OR tumor) AND treatment"

for "\"peer feedback\""

for "\"formal model\"~10"

and/or

where

AND/OR/NOT

Tips for Precise Results

1. Use targeted search indexes for relevant results:
   bash

   # Most specific - title only
   echo 'search publications in title_only for "machine learning" return publications limit 20' | shortwing
   
   # Good balance - title and abstract
   echo 'search publications in title_abstract_only for "peer feedback AND writing" return publications limit 20' | shortwing

2. Use phrase searches for exact multi-word terms:
   bash

   echo 'search publications in title_abstract_only for "\"formative assessment\" AND \"higher education\"" return publications limit 20' | shortwing

3. Combine search with filters to narrow scope:
   bash

   echo 'search publications in title_abstract_only for "\"peer review\"" where year>=2020 and times_cited>10 return publications[title+doi+times_cited+year] limit 20' | shortwing

4. Filter by citation count to find influential papers:
   bash

   echo 'search publications for "cognitive load" where times_cited>50 return publications sort by times_cited desc limit 10' | shortwing

General Tips

• Always use double quotes around search terms:

  for "search term"

• Use

  ~

  for partial string matching:

  where journal.title~"Nature"

• Use

  limit

  to control result size
• See dsl-reference.md for complete syntax and all available fields

Error Handling

cd ~/aves/shortwing && uv pip install .

DIMENSIONS_KEY

~/.dimensions/dsl.ini