research

Investigates questions against primary sources and writes cited findings to Markdown files.

Updated Apr 28, 2026
One-click install
npx skills add https://github.com/GregM1991/skills --skill research-gregm1991
Or copy as Structured Prompt for Agent▼
Please help me install this Agent Skill.
Skill: research
Source: https://github.com/GregM1991/skills/tree/main/skills/vendor/mattpocock/research
Command: npx skills add https://github.com/GregM1991/skills --skill research-gregm1991

SYSTEM DOCUMENTATION & REQUIREMENTS

What problem does it solve? Getting accurate answers about APIs, libraries, or technical topics usually means interrupting your work to read documentation yourself, or trusting secondary sources that may be outdated or wrong. This Skill delegates that reading to a background agent that consults primary sources directly. ## Core Features & Use Cases - Primary-source investigation: Traces every claim back to official docs, source code, specs, or first-party APIs rather than blog posts or summaries. - Background execution: Runs the research as a background agent so you can keep working while it reads. - Cited Markdown output: Writes findings to a single Markdown file with a source citation for each claim, saved where the repo already keeps such notes. - Use Case: Ask how a specific API endpoint behaves; the agent reads the official documentation and source code, then saves a cited summary into your repo's notes directory. ## Quick Start Research how the Stripe API handles idempotency keys and save the findings as a Markdown note in this repo.

Frequently Asked Questions about research

High-intent search queries and answers about installing and using this skill.

FAQPage Schema
How do I research a technical topic with cited sources?▼

Ask the research question and a background agent investigates it against primary sources like official docs, source code, and specs. It writes the findings to a single Markdown file with a citation for each claim.

What sources does the research agent use?▼

The agent uses primary sources only: official documentation, source code, specifications, and first-party APIs. It follows every claim back to the source that owns it rather than relying on secondary write-ups.

Can research run in the background while I keep working?▼

Yes, the research runs as a background agent so you can continue your current work while it reads. The findings are saved to a Markdown file when the investigation completes.

Where are research findings saved in the repo?▼

Findings are saved where the repository already keeps such notes, matching the existing convention. If no convention exists, the agent picks a sensible location and tells you where it saved the file.

When should I not use a background research agent?▼

Avoid it for questions answerable from your own codebase context or when you need an immediate inline answer. It is designed for deeper investigations that require reading external primary sources.