| 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:
- Key Facts — bullets of important technical information
- Quotable Passages — exact quotes with page context
- Code Snippets — relevant code with language annotation
- Relationships — connections to other dimensions or topics
- Limitations Noted — any caveats, constraints, or gaps mentioned
- 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.
