research-note-template

name	research-note-template
description	**WORKFLOW SKILL** — Extract structured research notes from a source URL or document into a standardized YAML-frontmatter markdown note. Applies fixed extraction rules for consistent note-taking across all research areas. WHEN: "create research note", "extract research note", "note from URL", "research note template", "take research notes", "extract findings from". INVOKES: microsoft_docs_search, microsoft_docs_fetch, fetch_webpage, editFiles. FOR SINGLE OPERATIONS: Copy the note template and fill manually.
metadata	{"author":"PlagueHO","version":"1.0","reference":"https://github.com/PlagueHO/plagueho.skills"}
compatibility	["GitHub Copilot","GitHub Copilot CLI","VS Code"]
argument-hint	Provide the source URL and the research area (docs, tech, blogs, arch, samples, solutions, other). E.g., "Extract notes from https://learn.microsoft.com/... for the docs area".
user-invocable	true

Research Note Template

Extract structured research notes from a source into the standardized note format. Each note captures key facts, quotes, code snippets, and metadata from a single source, ensuring consistent extraction across all research areas and subagents.

Prerequisites

• A source URL or document to extract from
• The research area this source belongs to (docs, tech, blogs, arch, samples, solutions, other)
• An active research plan at .research/<topic-slug>/plan.md

Process

Step 1 — Load Extraction Rules

Read extraction-rules.md for extraction rules, attribution requirements, and quality thresholds.

Step 2 — Fetch Source Content

Use the appropriate tool for the research area:

Area	Primary Tool	Fallback
docs	microsoft_docs_fetch	fetch_webpage
tech	fetch_webpage	—
blogs	microsoft_docs_fetch	fetch_webpage
arch	microsoft_docs_fetch	fetch_webpage
samples	microsoft_code_sample_search	fetch_webpage
solutions	fetch_webpage	—
other	fetch_webpage	—

Step 3 — Extract Content

Apply the extraction rules to produce:

1. Key Facts — bullets of important technical information
2. Quotable Passages — exact quotes with page context
3. Code Snippets — relevant code with language annotation
4. Relationships — connections to other dimensions or topics
5. Limitations Noted — any caveats, constraints, or gaps mentioned
6. Questions Raised — follow-up questions for other research areas

Step 4 — Write Note File

Write the note to: .research/<topic-slug>/notes/<area>/<note-slug>.md

Use the template at note-template.md.

The note-slug is derived from the source title in kebab-case, truncated to 60 characters.

Step 5 — Update Research Log

Append an entry to .research/<topic-slug>/log.md:

- [{{TIMESTAMP}}] NOTE: {{area}}/{{note-slug}} — {{source-title}} ({{url}})

Output

A single structured note file in the appropriate area subdirectory, plus a log entry recording the extraction.