| name | research |
| description | Systematic multi-source research across web, GitHub, community discussions, and official docs. Use when asked to research best practices, trends, patterns, or find information on any topic. Invoke with a topic to research.
|
Research Skill
Systematic multi-source research workflow that produces structured, actionable reports. Use when the user asks you to research best practices, trends, patterns, find information about a tool/concept, or needs up-to-date knowledge beyond your training data.
Workflow
Phase 1: Gather & Explore
Search across these sources in order, using your available search tools. Do not skip sources unless instructed.
Step 1 — Web Search:
- Search for
best practices for <topic>, <topic> trends 2025 2026, <topic> patterns, <topic> guide
- Extract: consensus recommendations, common approaches, top tools/libraries, current state of the art
Step 2 — GitHub:
- Search for
github <topic> awesome-list, github <topic> best-practices, github <topic> style-guide, github <topic>
- Open and read the top 2-3 most starred/active repositories' READMEs
- Also search
<topic> vs <alternative> to understand ecosystem choices
- Extract: code patterns, README recommendations, community conventions, real project examples
Step 3 — Community Discussions:
- Search for
reddit <topic>, site:news.ycombinator.com <topic>
- Also search
<topic> discussion, <topic> experience, <topic> review
- Extract: real-world experiences, common pitfalls, debated topics, version migration stories, hot takes with evidence
Step 4 — Official Documentation:
- From gathered URLs, fetch official docs pages for the most relevant tools/libraries
- Look for: getting started guides, API references, migration guides, deprecation notes
- Extract: current recommendations, version requirements, configuration details
Configuration:
- Default sources:
web,github,community,docs
- Can be filtered:
--sources web,docs to skip community/GitHub
- User may specify
--output-dir for the report file
Phase 2: Cross-Reference & Synthesize
After gathering, analyze the collected information:
- Compare findings across sources — note where they agree and where they diverge
- Tag information quality using these labels:
[official] — from official documentation[community consensus] — widely agreed upon across multiple sources[debated] — conflicting opinions or approaches[version specific] — tied to a particular version or release[opinion] — individual or minority perspective
- Prioritize recency — prefer information from the last 2 years
- Identify genuine best practices vs. popular-but-dated approaches
- Note any deprecation warnings or security concerns explicitly
Phase 3: Output
Terminal Summary — Print a compact ~10-line summary first:
Research: <Topic>
• <key finding 1> [source type]
• <key finding 2> [source type]
• ...
Full report saved to: ./research-<topic-slug>.md
Full Report — Save to ./research-<topic-slug>.md (or custom path):
# Research: <Topic>
Generated: <date>
## Executive Summary
Brief 3-5 sentence overview synthesizing the most important findings.
## Best Practices
- <Finding with context and source tag>
- <Finding with context and source tag>
## Trends & Patterns
- <Trend description with evidence>
- <Trend description with evidence>
## Real-World Examples
- <Example from GitHub repo / Reddit thread / article>
- <Example from GitHub repo / Reddit thread / article>
## Official Documentation
- <Key docs page> — <takeaway>
- <Key docs page> — <takeaway>
## Community Discussion
- <Notable Reddit/HN thread> — <key sentiment or debate>
- <Notable Reddit/HN thread> — <key sentiment or debate>
## Recommendations
- <Actionable synthesis and guidance>
## Sources
- <URL 1>
- <URL 2>
Usage Examples
Research a topic with all sources:
Research best practices for structuring tmux configurations
Research with limited sources:
Research neovim lua plugin patterns using only web and github sources
Research with custom output dir:
Research rust async patterns, output to ./research-output/
Triggering
This skill activates when the user:
- Asks to "research" something
- Asks to "find best practices for" something
- Asks to "look into" a topic deeply
- Says "research "
- Asks about current trends, patterns, or state of the art for a topic
