# Skill Research Process > Builds comprehensive Claude Code skills using parallel research agents — categorization, parallel documentation gathering, anti-hallucination checkpoints, and final validation. Use when building a skill from official docs, when "research for skill" or "create comprehensive skill" is requested, or when extensive multi-source documentation gathering is needed before skill creation. - Skill: `jamie-bitflight/skill-research-process` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 4 files) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add jamie-bitflight/skill-research-process` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/jamie-bitflight/skill-research-process/raw - Safety review: pending - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: Docs & Writing - Author: Jamie-BitFlight (https://skillmd.com/u/jamie-bitflight) - Updated: 2026-09-10 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/jamie-bitflight/skill-research-process --- # Skill Research Process Systematic, scalable approach for building comprehensive Claude Code skills using parallel research agents. Use this when a skill requires extensive documentation gathering from official sources. ## Process Overview ```text Stage 1: Initialize → Categorization agent creates TODO checklist ↓ Gate 1: Verify categories are distinct and complete ↓ Stage 2: Research → Parallel agents populate references/{category}/ ↓ Gate 2: Anti-hallucination checkpoint (verify all claims cited) ↓ Stage 3: Integrate → Update SKILL.md, validate structure ↓ Gate 3: Final validation (links work, quality standards met) ``` ## Pre-Requisites 1. Activate skill-creator for structure guidance: ```text Skill(skill: "plugin-creator:skill-creator") ``` 2. Read CLAUDE.md for verification requirements ## Stage 1: Initialize Skill Structure **Objective**: Create base skill directory and identify documentation categories. ### Steps 1. **Initialize skill directory**: ```bash plugins/plugin-creator/skills/skill-creator/scripts/init_skill.py --path ``` 2. **Launch categorization agent** - see [Agent Prompts](./references/agent-prompts.md#categorization-agent) 3. **Output**: `{skill-name}.TODO.md` with categorized checklist ### Quality Gate 1: Category Verification Before proceeding, verify: - [ ] Categories are distinct (no overlap) - [ ] Each category is specific enough to guide focused research - [ ] 5-10 categories total (fewer for simple tools, more for complex) - [ ] Categories cover the tool's full scope **If categories overlap**: Merge or redefine boundaries before Stage 2. ## Stage 2: Parallel Category Research **Objective**: Launch concurrent research agents to build reference documentation. ### Steps 1. Read TODO categories from `{skill-name}.TODO.md` 2. Launch concurrent Task agents (one per category) with `run_in_background: true` 3. Each agent outputs to `./references/{category}/` See [Research Agent Prompt](./references/agent-prompts.md#research-agent) for template. ### Parallel Execution Launch all agents in a **single message** with multiple Task calls: ```text Agent(subagent_type: "general-purpose", description: "Research Category A", run_in_background: true, ...) Agent(subagent_type: "general-purpose", description: "Research Category B", run_in_background: true, ...) ``` ### Quality Gate 2: Anti-Hallucination Checkpoint **MANDATORY before Stage 3.** For each category, verify: - [ ] Every factual claim has a cited source (URL + access date) - [ ] No claims based on training data knowledge - [ ] Sources are authoritative (official docs > blogs > forums) - [ ] Code examples are from official sources or tested - [ ] Uncertain information marked explicitly as "unverified" **Citation Format Required**: ```markdown According to the official documentation (https://example.com/docs, accessed 2026-02-01), ... ``` **If citation missing**: Research agent must add source or mark as "NOT_VERIFIED: [claim]". ## Stage 3: Integration **Objective**: Update SKILL.md with category links and finalize. ### Steps 1. Update `./SKILL.md` with links to each category's `index.md` 2. Verify SKILL.md body ≤5k words 3. Validate structure ### Quality Gate 3: Final Validation Run validation: ```bash plugins/plugin-creator/skills/skill-creator/scripts/package_skill.py ``` Verify: - [ ] All markdown links resolve (use Read tool to verify) - [ ] All index.md files contain working links - [ ] All TODO items from Stage 1 have corresponding reference files - [ ] Skill follows skill-creator guidelines ## Error Recovery ### MCP Tools Unavailable Fallback strategy when MCP tools not available: 1. **WebFetch + WebSearch**: For discovery and overview 2. **GitHub CLI (`gh`)**: For repository metadata, issues, releases 3. **Clone + Read**: Clone repo locally, use Read tool for code analysis ### Research Agent Fails If an agent fails or times out: 1. Check output file with Read tool (background agents write to file) 2. Resume with remaining work if partial results exist 3. Re-launch with narrower scope if timeout ### Incomplete Source Documentation If official docs are incomplete: 1. Document what IS available with citations 2. Mark gaps explicitly: "Official documentation does not cover [topic]" 3. Use GitHub issues/discussions as secondary sources (with citation) 4. Never fill gaps with training data assumptions ## MCP Tool Selection | Tool | Fidelity | Use When | | ------------ | -------- | ---------------------------------------------- | | WebFetch | Low | Scoping only. NEVER for implementation details | | mcp**exa**\* | Medium | Code snippets, documentation extraction | | mcp**Ref**\* | High | Authoritative, verbatim documentation | See [MCP Tool Usage Guide](./references/mcp-tools.md) for details. ## Key Principles | Principle | Rule | | ---------------------- | -------------------------------------------- | | Progressive Disclosure | SKILL.md ≤5k words; details in `references/` | | Parallel Execution | Launch all category agents in single message | | Citation Required | Every claim needs source + access date | | No Training Data | Only document what sources confirm | | Relative Paths | All links use `./` prefix | ## Success Checklist Before finalizing: - [ ] All quality gates passed (1, 2, 3) - [ ] Every factual claim has citation with access date - [ ] No speculation or training-data-based claims - [ ] All links use `./` relative paths - [ ] Categories are distinct (no overlap) - [ ] SKILL.md ≤5k words - [ ] Each category has `index.md` with working links - [ ] Validation script passes --- ## Agent Team Alternative for Stage 2 When Stage 2 (category research) involves 3+ independent categories where findings from one category inform or challenge another, consider agent teams instead of sequential subagents. ### When Agent Teams Apply A category research workflow is a candidate for agent teams when ALL of these are true: 1. 3+ independent categories to research (enough parallelism to justify coordination overhead) 2. Categories benefit from cross-communication (findings from one category inform or challenge another) 3. No shared file mutations (each teammate owns different category files) 4. Result is a synthesis, not a concatenation (value comes from combining, deduplicating, or reconciling findings across categories) ### When Subagents Suffice A category research workflow is NOT a candidate for agent teams when: - Only 1-2 categories (subagent overhead is lower) - Categories are fully independent with no cross-communication need (subagents suffice) - Result is just collecting N outputs (no synthesis step) - Work is sequential (each step depends on the previous) ### Reference See [Agent Teams Documentation](./../../../plugins/plugin-creator/skills/claude-skills-overview-2026/resources/agent-teams.md) for complete criteria, architecture, and usage patterns. SOURCE: Lines 27-39 of agent-teams.md (accessed 2026-02-06) ## References - [Agent Prompt Templates](./references/agent-prompts.md) - [MCP Tool Usage Guide](./references/mcp-tools.md) - [Gaps Analysis](./references/gaps-analysis.md) - Known limitations and improvement opportunities