// Use research-hub to operate Zotero, Obsidian, and NotebookLM research workflows through CLI, MCP, REST, and dashboard. Trigger when the user asks to find papers, ingest sources, organize a literature review, build Obsidian research notes, upload sources to NotebookLM, inspect clusters, generate AI briefs, or maintain a research vault.
Operate research-hub workflows for literature discovery, source ingest into Zotero/Obsidian/NotebookLM, dashboard inspection, and vault maintenance. Use when the user asks to find papers and organize them, build a knowledge base, ingest a folder of PDFs, upload to NotebookLM, generate research briefs, inspect clusters, or maintain a research vault. NOT for auditing or cleaning up an existing Zotero library — that's `zotero-library-curator` (read-only audit) plus `zotero-skills` (for CRUD).
After research-hub ingests a cluster of cited papers, fill the per-paper Key Findings + Methodology + Relevance sections in BOTH Obsidian markdown and the Zotero child note. Use when the user says "fill the TODO Key Findings/Methodology blocks left by research-hub auto", "I just ran auto and don't know what these papers are about", or "summarize the papers in cluster X". Invokes a supported LLM CLI on each paper's abstract. NOT for summarizing the user's own manuscript draft — that's `paper-memory-builder`. NOT for cluster-level briefs — that's `research-hub notebooklm generate`. This skill is per-cited-paper only. If the user says "extract claims from these papers", disambiguate before acting: their own manuscript draft → `paper-memory-builder`; a cross-paper comparison matrix → `literature-triage-matrix`; per-cited-paper Key Findings → this skill.
Research-domain router that writes `.coord/multi_ai_plan.md` when a single round of work will need two or more delegates AND the work touches research-hub artifacts (`.research/`, `.paper/`, Zotero/Obsidian/NotebookLM pipelines). For a single delegate, use `codex-delegate` or `gemini-delegate` directly — do not invoke this skill. For generic non-research multi-agent decomposition (pure code refactor, generic translation, no research-hub artifact), use `agent-collab-workspace:agent-task-splitter` instead (different artifact `.coord/plan.yml`, different scope). The router decides task splitting, dependency ordering, and reconciliation; the leaves execute.
Audit and curate a Zotero library — find duplicate DOIs, orphan items missing required tags, propose collection rebinds, identify bloated or under-used collections, generate tag hygiene reports, emit preview-only cleanup plans. Use when the user asks to "audit Zotero", "find duplicates", "tag hygiene report", "which collections are bloated or under-used", or "propose a Zotero cleanup plan". Defers all CRUD operations to the standalone `zotero-skills` skill or `research-hub zotero` CLI. Includes a backup-first reminder before any apply/CRUD handoff suggestion.
Convert a paper draft + figures + Zotero metadata into reusable .paper/claims.yml and .paper/figures.yml files so the academic-writing-skills skill can do writing, revision, and audit passes without re-reading the manuscript every time. Use when the user asks to "build paper memory", "extract claims from this manuscript", "extract claims, supporting evidence, and figure key numbers", or "prepare this paper for AI-assisted writing". NOT for summarizing cited papers in a literature cluster — that's `paper-summarize`. This skill is for the user's own manuscript draft only.
Guide a researcher through 5 Socratic segments — research question sharpening, expected mechanism, identifiability check, validation plan, risk register — and produce `.research/design_brief.md`. Use when the user asks to "frame this research question", "design my study", "help me think through what model to build", "sharpen my hypothesis", "is my research question sharp enough to be falsifiable?", or "before I start coding, walk me through the design". Runs AFTER a topic is chosen — it designs the study for a given question; to decide whether a research gap is worth pursuing at all (open / a contribution / feasible), use `gap-to-topic`. Does NOT write the model spec; does NOT invent the research question — guides the human to articulate them.
| name | research-hub |
| description | Use research-hub to operate Zotero, Obsidian, and NotebookLM research workflows through CLI, MCP, REST, and dashboard. Trigger when the user asks to find papers, ingest sources, organize a literature review, build Obsidian research notes, upload sources to NotebookLM, inspect clusters, generate AI briefs, or maintain a research vault. |
research-hub is an AI-operable research workspace. It can use Zotero, Obsidian, and NotebookLM together, but it is also useful when the user only has two of them.
Default language policy: respond in the user's language, but generate durable research notes and metadata in English unless the user asks otherwise.
| User has | Prefer this path |
|---|---|
| Zotero + Obsidian + NotebookLM | Full research-hub auto "topic" workflow |
| Zotero + Obsidian | Search/add/backfill papers, write Markdown notes, skip NotebookLM with --no-nlm |
| Obsidian + NotebookLM | import-folder, dashboard, NotebookLM bundle/upload/generate |
| Zotero + NotebookLM | Zotero-backed paper selection and NotebookLM operations |
| No accounts yet | research-hub dashboard --sample |
research-hub dashboard --sample
research-hub setup
research-hub auto "topic" --no-nlm
research-hub serve --dashboard
research-hub doctor --autofix
For local files without Zotero:
research-hub setup --persona analyst
research-hub import-folder ./papers --cluster my-local-review
research-hub serve --dashboard
For MCP hosts, configure:
{ "mcpServers": { "research-hub": { "command": "research-hub", "args": ["serve"] } } }
Install host-specific skill files when useful:
research-hub install --platform claude-code
research-hub install --platform cursor
research-hub install --platform codex
research-hub install --platform gemini
For Hermes, OpenClaw, or other hosts with SKILL.md/rules support,
copy the relevant skills/<name>/ directories manually or inline the
skill text into the host's instructions. Use MCP/REST for tool calls
when no installer target exists.
research-hub doctor first when setup or runtime behavior is unclear.--no-nlm for smoke tests or when NotebookLM browser automation is not configured.import-folder for analysts, internal knowledge bases, local PDFs, DOCX, Markdown, TXT, and URL sources.README.md: public project overview.docs/first-10-minutes.md: persona-based onboarding.docs/mcp-tools.md: MCP tool reference.docs/ai-integrations.md: Claude/Cursor/Codex/Gemini integration paths.docs/import-folder.md: local file ingest.docs/notebooklm.md: NotebookLM setup and automation.