# Research Project Orienter

> Read existing .research manifest files and produce a read-only orientation memo covering the research question, datasets, current stage, entry points, evidence, and open questions. Use when the user asks to orient in a project that already has manifests. If they are absent, report that and suggest research-context-compressor; do not run it automatically.

- Skill: `steven65026502/research-project-orienter` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 2 files)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add steven65026502/research-project-orienter`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/steven65026502/research-project-orienter/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Docs & Writing
- Author: steven65026502 (https://skillmd.com/u/steven65026502)
- Updated: 2026-09-17
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/steven65026502/research-project-orienter

---


# research-project-orienter

Quickly orient an AI assistant inside a research workspace **without
scanning the whole repository**. Reads the `.research/` manifest files
written by `research-context-compressor` and produces a single
in-conversation orientation memo.

Part of the research-hub skill pack; works alongside Zotero, Obsidian,
and NotebookLM workflows but does not require any of them.

This skill is read-only. If `.research/` doesn't exist yet, report that
prerequisite and suggest `research-context-compressor`.

## When to use

Trigger phrases:

- "Understand this research project before helping me."
- "Summarize this repo's research question, data, experiments, and outputs."
- "Build a context map for this paper/project."
- "Orient me in this codebase."
- "What is this repo about?"

Not for:

- Detailed code review — that's a code task.
- Generating new manifests — use `research-context-compressor` first.
- Literature review — use `literature-triage-matrix`.

## Inputs

Read in this order:

1. `.research/project_manifest.yml` — top-level orientation. **Required.**
2. `.research/experiment_matrix.yml` — experiment status. Read if present.
3. `.research/data_dictionary.yml` — datasets. Read if present.
4. `.research/decisions.md` — recent ADRs. Read last 5 if present.
5. `.research/open_questions.md` — known unknowns. Read all.
6. `.research/run_log.md` — last 3 entries for context.

Do **not** read source code, data files, or PDFs unless the manifest
points you at a specific path AND the user's question requires it.

## What if `.research/` doesn't exist?

Tell the user:

> This project doesn't have a `.research/` manifest yet. I can create a
> small manifest set with `research-context-compressor`, or I can scan the
> repository directly for this one orientation. Which do you prefer?

Don't auto-fall-back — ask first. If they pick "scan", read README.md +
`docs/` + the top-level entrypoint, and produce the memo from that, but
caveat: "this orientation came from a one-shot scan; for more reliable
future sessions, run `research-context-compressor` once."

## Output: orientation memo

Single message in this exact structure:

```
## Project orientation: <project_name>

**Research question**: <one sentence from manifest>

**Stage**: <current_stage>  ·  **Last updated**: <last_updated>

**Datasets** (<count>):
- `<name|id>`: <purpose|description; "(no description)" if both absent>
- ...

**Experiments** (<count>, by status):
- <status>: <id> — <hypothesis or method, one line; "(no hypothesis)" if both absent>
- ...

**Entrypoints**:
- `<path>` — <one-line purpose>  # if list form (`main_entrypoints`)
- `<key>: <path>`                # if object form (`entrypoints` map)
- ...

**Recent decisions** (<count>):
- <date>: <decision title>

**Open questions** (<count>):
- <question text>
- ...

**Evidence artifacts**:
- `<path>` — supports claim/figure
- ...

**Suggested next action**: <based on current_stage>
```

Length budget: ~200-400 tokens for typical project. Don't pad.

## Token-saving behavior

- The whole point of this skill is to save tokens. If you find yourself
  reading > 5 files outside `.research/`, stop and tell the user the
  manifest is incomplete — they should refresh with
  `research-context-compressor`.
- Cache-friendly: the orientation memo is identical between sessions if
  the manifests don't change. Future sessions can paste it back as
  context.

## What NOT to do

- Don't summarize the manuscript — `paper-memory-builder` does that.
- Don't compare papers — `literature-triage-matrix` does that.
- Don't propose code changes — that's a separate task.
- Don't invent missing fields. If `research_question` is empty in the
  manifest, say "no research question recorded; please add one to
  .research/project_manifest.yml" rather than guessing.
- Don't read PDFs in `data/` or `outputs/` unless directly asked.