How do I install the Research skill?

Run npx skillmds@latest add kitsune-den/research 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 Research safe to use?

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

Which AI agents work with Research?

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 Research free to use?

Yes. Installing skills from SkillMD is free, and the skill stays under its author's original license.

Who published Research?

Kitsune-Den (@kitsune-den) published this skill. Their other Agent Skills are listed on their SkillMD profile.

Research by kitsune-den — Agent Skill

Name: Research
Author: Kitsune-Den

Research

Structured research workflows for deep dives on any topic. Use when: starting a research question, gathering sources, compiling findings, or publishing research to sage.skulk.ai. NOT for: quick one-off web searches (use web_search directly) or simple fact lookups.

Kitsune-Den 1dcc93b 3 files · 18.9 KB Updated Sep 17, 2026

File contents

Research Skill

Structured deep-dive research with source gathering, synthesis, and publishing.

Workspace

All research lives in workspace/research/. Each thread is a folder:

research/
├── active/           ← in-progress threads
│   └── ethics-md/
│       ├── meta.json
│       ├── sources.md
│       ├── notes.md
│       └── draft.md
├── published/        ← completed, published to sage.skulk.ai
└── archived/         ← abandoned or superseded

Workflow

1. Start a thread

Run scripts/research.sh start "<question>" [slug]

This creates the folder structure with meta.json containing:

{
  "question": "The core question",
  "slug": "url-safe-name",
  "status": "active",
  "created": "ISO date",
  "tags": [],
  "sources": []
}

2. Add sources

For each source, fetch the URL and append to sources.md:

## [Title](url)
- **Fetched:** date
- **Relevance:** why this matters
- **Key points:**
  - point 1
  - point 2

Update meta.json sources array with URLs.

3. Take notes

Append insights, connections, and emerging themes to notes.md. Use headers to organize by sub-topic. Tag connections to other research threads.

4. Compile draft

Synthesize sources and notes into draft.md — a coherent document that answers the original question. Structure:

# [Title]
## The Question
## Key Findings
## Analysis
## Open Questions
## Sources

5. Publish

Run scripts/research.sh publish <slug>

This:

Converts draft.md to a styled HTML page (matching sage.skulk.ai aesthetic)
SCPs it to Koda's Hearth: scp file root@100.116.240.72:/root/openclaw/koda-hearth/workspace/nexus/public/sage/research/<slug>.html
Moves the thread from active/ to published/
Updates meta.json with publish date
Adds a link to the research index page

6. Archive

scripts/research.sh archive <slug> — moves to archived/, marks as abandoned in meta.json.

Quick Commands

# Start new research
scripts/research.sh start "Does ETHICS.md matter more than LICENSE?" ethics-vs-license

# List active threads  
scripts/research.sh list

# Publish finished research
scripts/research.sh publish ethics-vs-license

# Archive abandoned thread
scripts/research.sh archive old-thread

Publishing Style

Published pages use the Bookstacks aesthetic:

Parchment background (#fdf6e3), gold accent (#b58900), Georgia serif
Clean readable layout, max-width 700px
Back link to sage.skulk.ai
Source citations with links

See assets/research-template.html for the base template.

Integration

Add timeline events via memory engine when publishing
Log research activity in daily memory files
Share interesting findings on Moltbook (s/skulk or relevant submolt)

---name: researchdescription: Structured research workflows for deep dives on any topic. Use when: starting a research question, gathering sources, compiling findings, or publishing research to sage.skulk.ai. NOT for: quick one-off web searches (use web_search directly) or simple fact lookups.---# Research SkillStructured deep-dive research with source gathering, synthesis, and publishing.## WorkspaceAll research lives in `workspace/research/`. Each thread is a folder:```research/├── active/ ← in-progress threads│ └── ethics-md/│ ├── meta.json│ ├── sources.md│ ├── notes.md│ └── draft.md├── published/ ← completed, published to sage.skulk.ai└── archived/ ← abandoned or superseded```## Workflow### 1. Start a threadRun `scripts/research.sh start "<question>" [slug]`This creates the folder structure with `meta.json` containing:```json{ "question": "The core question", "slug": "url-safe-name", "status": "active", "created": "ISO date", "tags": [], "sources": []}```### 2. Add sourcesFor each source, fetch the URL and append to `sources.md`:```markdown## [Title](url)- **Fetched:** date- **Relevance:** why this matters- **Key points:** - point 1 - point 2```Update `meta.json` sources array with URLs.### 3. Take notesAppend insights, connections, and emerging themes to `notes.md`. Use headers to organize by sub-topic. Tag connections to other research threads.### 4. Compile draftSynthesize sources and notes into `draft.md` — a coherent document that answers the original question. Structure:```markdown# [Title]## The Question## Key Findings## Analysis## Open Questions## Sources```### 5. PublishRun `scripts/research.sh publish <slug>`This:1. Converts draft.md to a styled HTML page (matching sage.skulk.ai aesthetic)2. SCPs it to Koda's Hearth: `scp file root@100.116.240.72:/root/openclaw/koda-hearth/workspace/nexus/public/sage/research/<slug>.html`3. Moves the thread from `active/` to `published/`4. Updates meta.json with publish date5. Adds a link to the research index page### 6. Archive`scripts/research.sh archive <slug>` — moves to `archived/`, marks as abandoned in meta.json.## Quick Commands```bash# Start new researchscripts/research.sh start "Does ETHICS.md matter more than LICENSE?" ethics-vs-license# List active threads scripts/research.sh list# Publish finished researchscripts/research.sh publish ethics-vs-license# Archive abandoned threadscripts/research.sh archive old-thread```## Publishing StylePublished pages use the Bookstacks aesthetic:- Parchment background (#fdf6e3), gold accent (#b58900), Georgia serif- Clean readable layout, max-width 700px- Back link to sage.skulk.ai- Source citations with linksSee `assets/research-template.html` for the base template.## Integration- Add timeline events via memory engine when publishing- Log research activity in daily memory files- Share interesting findings on Moltbook (s/skulk or relevant submolt)

Frequently asked questions