| name | research-add-fields |
| user-invocable | true |
| allowed-tools | Read, Write, Glob, Task, AskUserQuestion |
| description | Append new field definitions to an in-progress research outline's `fields.yaml` — either from user-supplied input or from a web-search agent that proposes common dimensions in the domain. Use mid-`/research-outline` when you've realised the schema is missing dimensions (e.g. pricing, performance, ecosystem, governance) before running `/research-deep`, so deep agents fill the new fields on first pass instead of needing a re-run. |
Research Add Fields — Append to the Field Schema
In-place updates fields.yaml with additional research dimensions.
Trigger
/research-add-fields
Pipeline position
/research-outline → ► /research-add-fields ◄ → /research-deep → /research-report
Reachable any time after /research-outline has produced fields.yaml, but most useful before /research-deep so deep agents fill the new fields in their first pass.
Workflow
Step 1 — Auto-locate fields file
Glob */fields.yaml from the current working directory. Read it to know what's already defined — so suggestions don't duplicate existing fields and you can show the user the current categories when asking.
Step 2 — Pick a supplement source
AskUserQuestion with two options:
- A. Direct input — user dictates field names, descriptions, and categories.
- B. Web search — launch a research subagent via the
Task tool (subagent_type: general-purpose) to propose common fields in the topic's domain.
Step 3 — Display and confirm
- Show the candidate field list back to the user (whether from A or B).
AskUserQuestion for each candidate: keep / drop / edit.- For each kept field, capture:
category (must match an existing field_categories[].category or be a new one), detail_level (brief | moderate | detailed), required (default false).
Step 4 — Save update
Append the confirmed fields to fields.yaml, preserving existing structure and ordering. Save in place.
Field shape (matches /research-outline)
field_categories:
- category: <name>
fields:
- name: <field_name>
description: <what to capture>
detail_level: brief | moderate | detailed
required: false
Output
Updated {topic}/fields.yaml — in-place modification, user confirms before save.
Gotchas
- Adding
required: true retroactively breaks already-completed items. If /research-deep already produced JSONs for some items and you add a new required field, those JSONs will fail validation. Either add the field as required: false, or plan to re-run /research-deep for the affected items.
- Category names are matched literally. A new field whose
category doesn't match an existing field_categories[].category creates a new top-level category in the schema. That's fine, but make sure it's intentional — a typo here is a silent split.
- The web-search subagent in option B operates outside the conversation context. Hand it the topic and an explicit list of categories that already exist, so its proposals fit the schema rather than colliding with what's there.
fields.yaml is also consumed by ~/.claude/skills/research-outline/validate_json.py. The schema this skill writes must stay compatible with that validator — same field_categories[].fields[].name / required shape, no exotic YAML constructs.
