How do I install the Swain Search skill?

Run npx skillmds@latest add cristoslc/swain-search-6 in your terminal (requires Node.js), paste this page's agent-chat prompt into Claude, Cursor, or any MCP-connected agent, or download the SKILL.md file and copy it into your agent's skills directory.

Is Swain Search safe to use?

This skill has not completed SkillMD's automated safety review yet. Capability flags: executes scripts. SkillMD never runs a skill's scripts for you; review the SKILL.md before installing.

Which AI agents work with Swain Search?

This skill is tagged as working with Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex. SKILL.md is an open format, so most agents that read a skills directory can load it too.

Is Swain Search free to use?

Yes. Installing skills from SkillMD is free. This skill is licensed under MIT.

Who published Swain Search?

cristoslc (@cristoslc) published this skill. Their other Agent Skills are listed on their SkillMD profile.

Swain Search by cristoslc — Agent Skill

Name: Swain Search
Rating: 4.5 (4 reviews)
Author: cristoslc

Swain Search

Trove collection and normalization. Collects sources from the web, local files, and media (video/audio), normalizes them to markdown, and caches them in reusable troves. Use when researching a topic for a spike, ADR, vision, or any artifact that needs structured research. Also use to refresh stale troves or extend existing ones with new sources. Triggers on: 'research X', 'gather sources for', 'compile research on', 'search for sources about', 'refresh the trove', 'find existing research on X', or when research inputs are needed for a spike or ADR.

cristoslc Updated Sep 22, 2026

File contents

swain-search

Collect, normalize, and cache source materials into reusable troves.

Script invocation convention

Scripts live under the scripts/ directory. Use the <SKILL_DIR> placeholder to mean the folder holding this SKILL.md. Resolve it at run time. In an installed skill, that is .claude/skills/swain-search/. In the standalone repo, it is skills/swain-search/.

Run the bootstrap once per session before the media or X-thread flows:

bash "<SKILL_DIR>/scripts/bootstrap.sh"

The script checks that uv is on PATH. After the first run, a marker file at ~/.local/share/swain-search/.bootstrapped short-circuits later runs. If it exits non-zero, stop and tell the operator what is missing.

Mode detection

Signal	Mode
No trove exists for the topic, or user asks for research/sources/information on a topic (e.g. "research X", "gather sources for X", "find me information about X")	Create — references/create-mode.md
Trove exists and user provides new sources or says "add to" / "extend"	Extend — references/extend-mode.md
Trove exists and user says "refresh" or sources are past TTL	Refresh — references/refresh-mode.md
User asks about existing troves ("what troves do we have", "find existing research on X", "do we already have a trove for X")	Discover — references/discover-mode.md

Core policies

Verbatim mandate — Sources are evidence, not summaries. See references/verbatim-mandate.md.
Snapshot evidence gate (SPEC-220) — Remote sources require raw snapshot + metadata verification before normalization. See references/snapshot-evidence-gate.md.
Prior art check — Always scan existing troves before creating new ones. See references/prior-art-check.md.
Capability detection — Check available tools before collecting. See references/capability-detection.md.

Source collection

Every source type (web, media, X-threads, CLI, local files, etc.) has its own collection procedure. See references/source-collection.md for the full reference.

Normalization formats per source type are in references/normalization-formats.md.

Commit and linking

All trove-modifying operations follow the dual-commit pattern and produce artifact links of the form trove: <trove-id>@<hash>. See references/linking-from-artifacts.md for the full workflow.

---name: swain-search-6description: Trove collection and normalization. Collects sources from the web, local files, and media (video/audio), normalizes them to markdown, and caches them in reusable troves. Use when researching a topic for a spike, ADR, vision, or any artifact that needs structured research. Also use to refresh stale troves or extend existing ones with new sources. Triggers on: 'research X', 'gather sources for', 'compile research on', 'search for sources about', 'refresh the trove', 'find existing research on X', or when research inputs are needed for a spike or ADR.license: MIT---# swain-searchCollect, normalize, and cache source materials into reusable troves.## Script invocation conventionScripts live under the `scripts/` directory. Use the `<SKILL_DIR>` placeholder to mean the folder holding this SKILL.md. Resolve it at run time. In an installed skill, that is `.claude/skills/swain-search/`. In the standalone repo, it is `skills/swain-search/`.Run the bootstrap once per session before the media or X-thread flows:```bashbash "<SKILL_DIR>/scripts/bootstrap.sh"```The script checks that `uv` is on `PATH`. After the first run, a marker file at `~/.local/share/swain-search/.bootstrapped` short-circuits later runs. If it exits non-zero, stop and tell the operator what is missing.## Mode detection| Signal | Mode ||--------|------|| No trove exists for the topic, or user asks for research/sources/information on a topic (e.g. "research X", "gather sources for X", "find me information about X") | **Create** — [references/create-mode.md](references/create-mode.md) || Trove exists and user provides new sources or says "add to" / "extend" | **Extend** — [references/extend-mode.md](references/extend-mode.md) || Trove exists and user says "refresh" or sources are past TTL | **Refresh** — [references/refresh-mode.md](references/refresh-mode.md) || User asks about existing troves ("what troves do we have", "find existing research on X", "do we already have a trove for X") | **Discover** — [references/discover-mode.md](references/discover-mode.md) |## Core policies- **Verbatim mandate** — Sources are evidence, not summaries. See [references/verbatim-mandate.md](references/verbatim-mandate.md).- **Snapshot evidence gate (SPEC-220)** — Remote sources require raw snapshot + metadata verification before normalization. See [references/snapshot-evidence-gate.md](references/snapshot-evidence-gate.md).- **Prior art check** — Always scan existing troves before creating new ones. See [references/prior-art-check.md](references/prior-art-check.md).- **Capability detection** — Check available tools before collecting. See [references/capability-detection.md](references/capability-detection.md).## Source collectionEvery source type (web, media, X-threads, CLI, local files, etc.) has its own collection procedure. See [references/source-collection.md](references/source-collection.md) for the full reference.Normalization formats per source type are in [references/normalization-formats.md](references/normalization-formats.md).## Commit and linkingAll trove-modifying operations follow the dual-commit pattern and produce artifact links of the form `trove: <trove-id>@<hash>`. See [references/linking-from-artifacts.md](references/linking-from-artifacts.md) for the full workflow.

Frequently asked questions