Journal Selector

Journal Selector — Route a Manuscript to Its Journal Skill

Maps a target journal to the correct journals/<folder> author-guideline skill and returns its ## Formatting constraints. Authoritative mappings: food (60) · nutrition (59) · multidisciplinary (35) · agriculture Q1+Q2 (230).

Behavior

Determine the target journal — ask once. If the author has already named a journal (full name or JCR abbreviation), resolve it. If a target journal is already on record for this project/session (resolved earlier, or set by food-pipeline), reuse it and skip the question. Otherwise ask exactly once:

"Which journal are you targeting? (name or JCR abbreviation — e.g. Food Chemistry, LWT, Nature Food). If undecided, say 'generic' and I'll use standard food-science conventions."
Resolve the journal to its skill folder using the alias table below (or journals/_coverage.md). Match case-insensitively on full name or abbreviation.
Load journals/<folder>/SKILL.md and return its ## Formatting constraints block plus the checklist. Note any per-journal override row in that skill's "Applies to" table (limits can differ within a publisher group).
Hand off: the calling pipeline applies these constraints to structure, word/abstract limits, and reference style, and passes figure_dpi / column_widths_* to the food-figure skill.
If 'generic' or unresolved: use standard food-science conventions (IMRaD; abstract ≤250 words; numbered or author–date references; figures ≥300 dpi; ~90/190 mm columns) and state the assumption so the author can correct it.

Ask once, then persist

The journal question is asked at most once per project. Once resolved (to a journal or to 'generic'/APA 7.0), record the choice and its constraints and reuse them for every downstream stage and subagent — never re-prompt. Re-run this resolution only when the user explicitly asks to target a different journal; then replace the recorded choice and re-flow the affected formatting (structure, limits, reference style, figure spec).

Resolution table (journal / abbreviation → skill folder)

nature-food — Nature Food (NAT FOOD); npj Science of Food (NPJ SCI FOOD)
food-chemistry — Food Chemistry (FOOD CHEM)
j-dairy-science — Journal of Dairy Science (J DAIRY SCI)
elsevier-food — Trends in Food Science & Technology; Food Hydrocolloids; Food Hydrocolloids for Health; Food Packaging and Shelf Life; Global Food Security; Current Opinion in Food Science; Food Chemistry-X; Future Foods; Food Research International; Current Research in Food Science; Postharvest Biology and Technology; Innovative Food Science & Emerging Technologies; LWT; Food Control; Journal of Agriculture and Food Research; Applied Food Research; Meat Science; Food Policy; Food Bioscience; Food Structure; Journal of Food Engineering; International Journal of Food Microbiology; Food Quality and Preference; Food Chemistry: Molecular Sciences; Food Microbiology; Journal of Food Composition and Analysis; Microbial Risk Analysis; Journal of Functional Foods; Journal of Cereal Science
wiley-food — Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety; Food Frontiers; eFood; Legume Science; Food and Energy Security; Molecular Nutrition & Food Research; Journal of Food Biochemistry; Food Science & Nutrition
springer-food — Food Engineering Reviews; Food and Bioprocess Technology; Food Security; Food Production Processing and Nutrition
crit-rev-food — Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition; Food Reviews International; International Journal of Food Properties
foods-mdpi — Foods; Antioxidants; Toxins
food-function — Food & Function; Sustainable Food Technology
jafc — Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry
annu-rev-food — Annual Review of Food Science and Technology (invited only)
food-quality-safety — Food Quality and Safety (Oxford)
british-food-journal — British Food Journal (structured abstract required)
j-future-foods — Journal of Future Foods; Food Science and Human Wellness
qas-crops-foods — Quality Assurance and Safety of Crops & Foods
agri-food-security — Agriculture & Food Security (BMC declarations block)

Nutrition journals (Nutrition & Dietetics category)

Grouped by publisher format, same as food. Clinical-nutrition titles add structured abstracts, trial registration, and reporting guidelines.

elsevier-food — Progress in Lipid Research; Advances in Nutrition; American Journal of Clinical Nutrition; Clinical Nutrition; Clinical Nutrition ESPEN; Journal of Nutrition; Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry; Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics; Journal of Nutrition Health & Aging; Current Developments in Nutrition; Journal of Renal Nutrition; Nutrition Metabolism and Cardiovascular Diseases; Nutrition; Nutrition Research; Appetite; NFS Journal
wiley-food — Obesity; International Journal of Eating Disorders; Nutrition Bulletin; Nutrition & Dietetics; Journal of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition; Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition; Journal of Nutrition and Metabolism; International Journal of Food Science
springer-food — Current Obesity Reports; Current Nutrition Reports; European Journal of Nutrition; International Journal of Obesity; Nutrition & Diabetes; European Journal of Clinical Nutrition; Plant Foods for Human Nutrition
crit-rev-food (Taylor & Francis) — Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition; International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition; Journal of the American Nutrition Association; Nutritional Neuroscience; Journal of Dietary Supplements
foods-mdpi — Nutrients; Dietetics; Obesities
annu-rev-food — Annual Review of Nutrition (invited only)
agri-food-security (BMC) — International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity; Lipids in Health and Disease; Journal of Eating Disorders; Nutrition Journal; Nutrition & Metabolism; BMC Nutrition; Genes and Nutrition
food-quality-safety (Oxford) — Nutrition Reviews
cambridge-nutrition — British Journal of Nutrition; Nutrition Research Reviews; Proceedings of the Nutrition Society; Public Health Nutrition; Journal of Nutritional Science
frontiers-nutrition — Frontiers in Nutrition; Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems
nutrition-other — Obesity Facts (Karger); Current Opinion in Clinical Nutrition and Metabolic Care (Lippincott); Hepatobiliary Surgery and Nutrition (AME); Beneficial Microbes (Brill); Food & Nutrition Research (Swedish Nutrition Foundation)

Agriculture journals (Q1 + Q2, seven JCR categories)

The 230 Q1/Q2 journals of Agronomy, Agriculture Multidisciplinary, Agriculture Dairy & Animal Science, Soil Science, Agricultural Economics & Policy, Horticulture, and Agricultural Engineering — deduplicated across categories at their best quartile. They reuse the publisher-tier folders above (an Elsevier agronomy journal follows the same Guide for Authors as an Elsevier food journal), so resolve them from the full table: journals/_coverage_agriculture.md. Common routings:

elsevier-food — Soil Biology & Biochemistry; Computers and Electronics in Agriculture; Industrial Crops and Products; Agricultural Systems; Agricultural Water Management; Field Crops Research; Soil & Tillage Research; European Journal of Agronomy; Scientia Horticulturae; Animal Feed Science and Technology; Livestock Science; Geoderma; Agriculture Ecosystems & Environment; Bioresource Technology; Biosystems Engineering; Biomass & Bioenergy; Smart Agricultural Technology.
wiley-food — Agronomy Journal; Crop Science; Soil Science Society of America Journal; Journal of Animal Breeding and Genetics; Journal of Agronomy and Crop Science; Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture; Plant Breeding; Grass and Forage Science; European Journal of Soil Science; Land Degradation & Development; Vadose Zone Journal; Agricultural Economics.
springer-food — Biochar; Molecular Horticulture; Precision Agriculture; Agronomy for Sustainable Development; Biology and Fertility of Soils; Plant and Soil; Irrigation Science; Journal of Soils and Sediments; Tropical Animal Health and Production; Food Security.
crit-rev-food (Taylor & Francis) — Critical Reviews in Plant Sciences; Journal of Sustainable Agriculture; Archives of Animal Nutrition; Soil Science and Plant Nutrition.
foods-mdpi — Agronomy; Agriculture; Horticulturae; Land; Animals; Plants; AgriEngineering.
food-quality-safety (Oxford) — Horticulture Research; Journal of Animal Science; Translational Animal Science; Journal of Economic Entomology.
cambridge-nutrition — Journal of Agricultural Science; Animal; Experimental Agriculture; Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems.
j-future-foods (KeAi) — Artificial Intelligence in Agriculture; The Crop Journal; Rice Science; Journal of Integrative Agriculture.
annu-rev-food — Annual Review of Animal Biosciences; Annual Review of Resource Economics.
british-food-journal (Emerald) — China Agricultural Economic Review; Agricultural Finance Review.
agri-food-security (BMC) — Agriculture & Food Security; CABI Agriculture and Bioscience.
frontiers-nutrition — Frontiers in Plant Science; Frontiers in Veterinary Science; Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems.
jafc — Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. · j-dairy-science — Journal of Dairy Science.
agri-other — society/regional titles with no shared format: SOIL (Copernicus); Crop and Pasture Science (CSIRO); Animal Bioscience; Journal of Animal Science and Technology; Plant Soil and Environment; Czech Journal of Animal Science; Scientia Agricola; American Journal of Enology and Viticulture; Australian Journal of Grape and Wine Research; Seed Science and Technology; and similar.

Multidisciplinary & cross-discipline journals

High-priority venues food/nutrition researchers publish in, grouped by publisher format (the Nature/Science/Cell families and PNAS are top-priority per the ranking rule).

nature-portfolio — Nature; Nature Communications; Nature Microbiology; Nature Metabolism; Nature Sustainability; Nature Biotechnology; Nature Medicine; Nature Reviews titles. (Nature Food and npj Science of Food → nature-food.)
science-aaas — Science; Science Advances; Science Translational Medicine; Science Immunology; Science Signaling; Science Robotics.
cell-press — Cell; Cell Metabolism; Cell Host & Microbe; Molecular Cell; Immunity; Current Biology; Cell Reports Medicine; One Earth; Joule; Matter; Chem.
pnas — Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
multidisciplinary — eLife; PLOS Biology; PLOS Medicine; National Science Review; The Innovation; Environmental Science & Technology; Gut; Gastroenterology; Diabetes Care; The ISME Journal.

Output contract

Return: {journal, publisher, skill_folder, reference_style, abstract_words, figure_spec, notes} drawn from the resolved skill's constraints block, so the paper pipeline and food-figure can consume it directly.

README