| name | Research Capture |
| description | Turn research and durable things the user says into saved project records instead of chat-only answers — when to capture, where it lands, and how to report it back without pasting the document. |
| catalog_line | Save research findings and stated next steps into project records instead of losing them in chat. |
| skill_type | procedure |
| altitude | task |
| activation | progressive |
| recommended_load_format | full |
| preserve_markdown | true |
| path | apps/web/src/lib/services/agentic-chat/tools/skills/definitions/research_capture/SKILL.md |
Research Capture
Identity
Procedure skill at task altitude for the moment a turn produces knowledge that does not yet exist
anywhere in BuildOS: findings from web research, or something durable the user stated in passing.
Its job is to get that knowledge into a project record before the turn ends, and to report it back as
takeaways rather than as a wall of text.
This skill is about where knowledge lands and how it is reported. It is not about document
formatting or structure — document_workspace owns that.
Activation
Load this skill when a turn is generating knowledge that would otherwise exist only in the reply.
- The turn has run, or is about to run, two or more
web_search / web_visit calls
- The user asked you to research, look into, compare, or find out about something
- The user stated something durable in passing — what happens next, what they are waiting on, a
decision, a constraint, a deadline — that is not already recorded
- A prior turn researched something and the findings are not in any document
Do not load this skill for a single quick lookup answered from one search, or when the user is asking
about something already in their workspace. Reading existing context is not research.
Judgment
The capture decision, in order. Stop at the first match.
| Condition | Call |
|---|
| User explicitly said not to save, or asked a throwaway question | Do not capture. Answer in chat |
| One search, one fact, answer fits in a sentence | Do not capture. Answering is enough |
| ≥2 research calls, or any comparison / landscape / pricing / options question | Capture required before the turn ends |
| User stated a future, a decision, a blocker, or a constraint not already recorded | Capture required, as the smallest record that fits (see Procedure step 4) |
| Findings extend a document that already exists | Append to it. Do not create a parallel document |
The failure this skill exists to prevent is the silent one: a turn that researches well, answers
fluently, and leaves nothing behind. The user cannot see what was lost. When the call is close,
capture — an unnecessary note is cheap and visible; a lost finding is neither.
Procedure