Research & Search
Research agent skills teach AI agents to gather and synthesize information properly: literature reviews, competitive analysis, web research with citations, and structured summaries. Each SKILL.md encodes a method, not just a prompt, so results stay consistent across runs.
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jnemargut Skill AutodecideLike /decide but auto-picks the recommended option for every decision. Same research, same options, same recommendations — skip the per-decision pause and review everything at the end before the action skill fires. Hidden power-user variant of /decide.
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jnemargut Skill Research SourcesConfigure your research trust preferences before running other thinking skills. Walk through 5 decisions: your domain, which source types you trust, specific voices and publications, domain allowlist/blocklist, and recency preferences. Saves to .decisions/sources.json which other thinking skills read to shape their research.
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zhuochun Bundle Research SynthesisProduce a bounded cross-source synthesis of what high-trust evidence supports, contradicts, or leaves unresolved, with claim provenance, applicability, confidence, and gaps. Use for literature reviews and comparisons across papers, standards, reports, guidance, or datasets. Exclude one-source summaries, current-system orientation, local domain modeling, regulated applicability, verification design or execution, and downstream recommendations or decisions.
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mshadmanrahman Skill Search FirstResearch existing solutions before writing custom code
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mshadmanrahman Skill Deep ContextCross-channel research on any topic. Searches all connected MCP tools in parallel, then synthesizes into a comprehensive briefing with timeline, status, stakeholders, and sources. Triggers on: "deep context", "tell me everything about", "research X", "full context on".
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mshadmanrahman Skill Market SizingTAM/SAM/SOM market sizing analysis. Uses web search and research tools to produce a structured analysis with data sources, assumptions, calculations, and confidence ranges. Triggers on: "calculate TAM", "size the market", "market opportunity".
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mshadmanrahman Skill Market ResearchCompetitive analysis and market research with source attribution. Parallel fan-out across web, review sites, and news. Triggers on: "market research", "competitive analysis", "competitor comparison".
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aryaminus Skill Standup SummarySummarize work completed over a time period using git commits + CK session data. Trigger: 'what did I get done', 'standup', 'weekly summary', 'status update'.
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chris2ao Skill Deep ResearchMulti-source deep research using Exa, Firecrawl, and WebSearch/WebFetch. Searches the web with semantic and keyword search, scrapes JS-rendered pages, and delivers cited reports with source attribution. Use when the user wants thorough research on any topic with evidence and citations.
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blockscout Bundle Research ScopeInvestigate the intended scope of a codebase topic through discussion with a human, propose a research-note outline, and only create a .memory-bank/research file after explicit human confirmation.
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blockscout Bundle Implementation PlanTurn an approved task-analysis result into a shared technical design and coding-ready implementation handoff. Use when Codex has an existing task folder under `tmp/tasks/`, plus a selected solution and related codebase research, and needs to produce `implementation-plan-X.md` and `coding-task-X.md` before writing code.
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ctsstc Skill Gsd SynthesizeSynthesize research findings into actionable insights
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ctsstc Skill Gsd Research ProjectResearch project domain and requirements
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davidlee Skill ResearchUse when a slice is scoped but not yet designed — run the pre-design research round and persist its evidence artefact — or when a consuming skill's staleness advisory reports drift. Produces a cited, verification-legended research.md that design and plan load-bear instead of recall.
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davidlee Skill PreflightUse after routing has chosen this path, when the next step is bounded up-front research to understand a substantive task, surface unknowns and tensions, and assess readiness — without drifting into implementation or open-ended exploration.
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easyinplay Bundle Plan PhaseStage ②.b 计划层 plan sub-workflow — GSD /gsd-plan-phase Wave A research + Wave B planner + Wave C plan-checker + planning-with-files Claude Code plugin /plan 持久化 task_plan.md + progress.md (bundled Plan-stage cadence: GSD + planning-with-files)。Stage ② 铁律: dual capability (GSD orchestration + planning-with-files plugin)。schema_version: harnessed.workflow.v3 with disciplines_applied (6 default) + tools_available [gsd-plan-phase, planning-with-files] + 2 phases (01-gsd-plan + 02-persist)。Triggered by harnessed CLI `harnessed plan-phase --phase <num>` or slash command `/plan-phase` after `harnessed setup`.
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theeranon Skill Prove ItCompatibility name for research-it. Use when an older instruction explicitly requests prove-it; new work uses research-it.
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theeranon Skill Research ItSettle a doubt about one claim, approach, or requirement with outside evidence from official sources and real users. Use when confidence is missing, not when choosing between options or checking your own work.
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theeranon Bundle Grill MeInterrogate the user through a branching interview until their own goal and requirement are sharp, then proceed when the necessary decisions are clear. Use to sharpen a plan before building; not to coach the person and not to research the answer.
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lee-to Bundle Aif ExploreEnter explore mode to investigate ideas, systems, problems, and requirements before planning. Use explicit ultra mode when the user wants a durable adaptive research bundle with an index and only the justified C4, ADR, or dependency artifacts.
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moonlight-lupin Bundle Entity ResearchDeep background research on an entity — a company OR a person — into a cited dossier: identity & background, ownership & key management, adverse / negative media, public sanctions-list name-match signals, PEP indications from public research, and litigation / regulatory history. Use when the user says "research this company / person", "background check on X", "any negative press / adverse media on X", "who owns / who runs X", "is X sanctioned / sanctions check on X", "vet this vendor / counterparty / candidate / partner", or "entity search". It RESEARCHES and COMPILES with sources; it is NOT a compliance/AML/CDD determination and NOT a sanctions or PEP clearance. A sanctions-list or PEP signal is a SIGNAL to escalate to a human compliance function, never a "clear" or "block". Research a person only for a legitimate purpose and only from public information.
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moonlight-lupin Bundle News MonitoringRecurring topic/news monitoring with web search, multi-language sources, digest formatting, and automated delivery via Hermes cron jobs. Covers search strategy, source selection, Chinese-language platforms, and digest templates.
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moonlight-lupin Bundle Youtube Topic ResearchFind and summarize YouTube videos for topics where visual explanation, demos, tutorials, talks, walkthroughs, or screen recordings are useful. Can run standalone, or export transcript-backed video source notes into notebooklm-mode vaults for grounded research.
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anothersava Skill Pr PrepareAnalyze progress log, commits, and optionally a plan to summarize what was done, what diverged, and what review found.
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timsmykov Bundle Peer ReviewPrepare evidence-bounded, constructive peer-review drafts and structured manuscript assessments. Use for authorized review of scientific manuscripts, protocols, preprints, or research proposals; reporting-guideline selection; claim–evidence checks; methods, statistics, reproducibility, ethics, figure/table, and citation critique; or revision-response planning.
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timsmykov Bundle Citation ManagementComprehensive citation management for academic research. Search OpenAlex, PubMed, and Google Scholar for papers, extract accurate metadata, validate citations, and generate properly formatted BibTeX entries. This skill should be used when you need to find papers, verify citation information, convert DOIs to BibTeX, or ensure reference accuracy in scientific writing.
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timsmykov Bundle Database LookupQuery documented public database APIs with explicit endpoints, filters, pagination, and provenance. Use when a scientific, regulatory, financial, or other database-backed fact must be retrieved reproducibly from a named source rather than inferred from general knowledge.
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timsmykov Bundle Literature ReviewPlan and conduct reproducible literature reviews with explicit search boundaries, documented screening decisions, structured evidence extraction, quality appraisal, synthesis, and verified citations. Use for systematic, scoping, rapid, or narrative reviews; use paper-lookup for a bounded paper search and writing-skill only after the evidence set is stable.
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timsmykov Bundle Statistical PowerSample-size and statistical power calculations for planning studies. Use whenever someone asks "how many subjects/samples/replicates do I need", wants an a priori power analysis, a minimum detectable effect (MDE), a power curve, or needs to justify a sample size for a grant, IRB protocol, or pre-registration. Covers closed-form power for t-tests, ANOVA, proportions, correlations, chi-square, and regression, plus simulation-based (Monte Carlo) power for designs with no formula — logistic/Poisson regression, mixed models, cluster-randomized trials, survival, and interactions. Use this skill even when the request only mentions an effect size, alpha, or "80% power" without saying "power analysis" explicitly. For laying out the study (randomization, blocking, factorial/DOE, crossover, sequential designs) use experimental-design; for analyzing data already collected and reporting it use statistical-analysis.
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timsmykov Bundle Systematic ReviewBuild and run a reproducible systematic-search, deduplication, and screening workflow with explicit eligibility criteria and decision reasons. Use for systematic, scoping, or evidence reviews that require an auditable record flow; do not use for an informal literature overview or fabricate database coverage.
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timsmykov Bundle Experimental DesignDesign experiments and studies BEFORE data is collected — choosing a design, randomizing, blocking, and laying out treatment combinations so results are interpretable. Use whenever someone is planning a study, asks how to assign subjects/samples to groups, mentions randomization, blocking, stratification, controls, factorial or fractional-factorial designs, design of experiments (DOE), screening many factors, response-surface optimization, crossover or repeated-measures or split-plot designs, cluster/group randomization, Latin squares, plate layouts, batch/run-order effects, replication vs. pseudoreplication, or sequential/adaptive/group-sequential designs. Trigger even for informal phrasings like "how should I set up this experiment", "how do I avoid confounding", "what's the best way to test these 6 factors", or "assign these mice to conditions". For computing the sample size or power once the design is chosen, use statistical-power; for analyzing data already collected, use statistical-analysis.
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timsmykov Bundle Evidence Lab OnboardingRuns the fast Evidence Lab setup when a researcher asks to configure, personalize, install, or choose research capabilities; do not trigger for ordinary research questions after setup.
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timsmykov Bundle Qualitative AnalysisDevelop and apply a traceable qualitative codebook to interviews, open-ended responses, field notes, or text corpora, preserving coded excerpts, reflexive notes, disagreements, and negative cases. Use for qualitative coding and thematic synthesis; do not substitute generic summarization or tabular statistics.
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timsmykov Bundle Hypothesis GenerationFormulate evidence-bounded scientific questions, candidate hypotheses, rival explanations, causal or associational claims, discriminating predictions, measurements, and preregistration-ready analysis plans. Use when turning observations or preliminary findings into transparent, testable research plans without treating hypotheses as facts.
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timsmykov Bundle Publication MonitoringSet up or update a repeatable scholarly-publication monitor with explicit sources, queries, date boundaries, stable identifiers, deduplication, and a source-linked digest. Use for recurring alerts or update scans; do not use for a one-time paper lookup or claim exhaustive coverage of inaccessible databases.
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timsmykov Bundle Research Image AnalysisInspect scientific or research images while preserving source identity, acquisition context, transformations, measurement definitions, exclusions, and interpretation limits. Use for microscopy, experimental photographs, scans, or instrument images; do not use merely to make decorative figures or infer unsupported diagnoses.
Frequently asked questions
What are Research & Search agent skills?
Research agent skills teach AI agents to gather and synthesize information properly: literature reviews, competitive analysis, web research with citations, and structured summaries. Each SKILL.md encodes a method, not just a prompt, so results stay consistent across runs.
Which Research & Search skills are most installed?
Popular Research & Search skills on SkillMD right now include autodecide, research-sources, research-synthesis. Rankings shift as installs change; sort this page by "Most installs" for the live list.
Do Research & Search skills work with Claude Code and Cursor?
Yes. Every skill here ships as a SKILL.md file, an open format that works in Claude Code, Claude.ai, Cursor, Codex, Windsurf, and 60+ other agents. Install one with npx skillmds@latest add <owner>/<name>, or copy the file into your agent's skills directory.