Publications tag taxonomy spec

This document defines how type and tags should be used in _publications/*.md.

Source of truth

• Canonical publication tag taxonomy: _data/publication_tags.yml
• Allowed publication format values: type_values in _data/publication_tags.yml
• Validator: scripts/validate_publication_tags.sh

Why this exists

• Keep publication metadata semantically clean.
• Prevent drift between venue/platform labels and topical tags.
• Make publication filters and topic chips stable over time.

Tagging rules

• type is required and stores publication format (article, preprint, chapter, thesis, software).
• tags must contain topical slugs only, from _data/publication_tags.yml.
• tags must not repeat type values.
• tags must not contain venue/platform labels (for example journal names or biorxiv).
• Use lowercase, hyphenated slugs only.
• Recommended cardinality: 3-5 tags per publication.

Front matter pattern

type: article
tags: [birds, phylogenomics, macroevolution]

Validation workflow

Run:

./scripts/validate_publication_tags.sh

Expected behavior:

• exits 0 if all publication tags are canonical and valid.
• exits non-zero and prints file-specific errors otherwise.

Maintenance

• If a genuinely new topical area is needed, first add a new tag slug in _data/publication_tags.yml, then use it in publication front matter.
• If tag policy changes, update this file and agents/INDEX.md in the same change.