---

name: research-post description: Generate research material on a given topic, placing content in the in-research folder. Focuses on content aggregation from different sources and outlining what should be covered in a future article.

Research Post Skill

Generates comprehensive research material on a topic, aggregating content from multiple sources and creating an outline for a future article. Output goes to content/in-research/.

Invocation

• /research-post <topic name>
• /research-post WebSocket internals and scaling patterns

If called without arguments, ask user for topic.

Purpose

This skill is for research and content aggregation, not article writing. It:

• Gathers information from multiple authoritative sources
• Identifies key concepts and areas to cover
• Creates a structured outline for future article writing
• Collects references with annotations
• Flags areas needing deeper investigation

Workflow

Copyflowchart TD
    A[User Request] --> B[Parse Topic]
    B --> C[Initial Research]
    C --> D[Deep Dive Sources]
    D --> E[Organize Findings]
    E --> F[Create Outline]
    F --> G[Save Research]

Output Structure

Create a folder in content/in-research/:

Copycontent/in-research/YYYY-MM-DD-[topic-slug]/
├── index.md          # Main research document
├── _sources.md       # Annotated source list
├── _outline.md       # Proposed article outline
└── _notes.md         # Raw research notes

Phase 1: Parse Topic

Extract:

• Core topic: Main subject to research
• Scope hints: Any specific angles mentioned
• Target audience context: Senior/staff engineers

Phase 2: Initial Research

Search Strategy

Execute multiple searches to cast a wide net:

Copy[topic] architecture internals
[topic] design decisions why
[topic] how it works under the hood
[topic] official documentation
[topic] source code github
[topic] specification RFC
[topic] vs alternatives comparison
[topic] production experience case study
[topic] limitations problems pitfalls
[topic] best practices patterns
[topic] history origin evolution

Source Categories to Target

1. Official Sources

   • Specifications (RFC, W3C, ECMA)
   • Official documentation
   • Source code repositories

2. Technical Deep Dives

   • Engineering blogs from major companies
   • Conference talks (InfoQ, QCon, Strange Loop)
   • Academic papers

3. Practical Experience

   • Case studies
   • Production incident reports
   • Performance benchmarks

4. Community Knowledge

   • Expert blog posts
   • High-quality Stack Overflow discussions
   • GitHub discussions/issues

Phase 3: Deep Dive Sources

For each promising source:

Evaluate Quality

• Is this authoritative? (official docs, recognized expert, peer-reviewed)
• Is this current? (check dates, version numbers)
• Is this accurate? (cross-reference claims)

Extract Key Information

• Main concepts and definitions
• Design decisions and rationale
• Trade-offs and alternatives
• Real-world examples
• Performance characteristics
• Common pitfalls

Annotate Sources

For each source, document:

Copy## [Source Title]

**URL**: [link]
**Type**: Official Docs | Engineering Blog | Conference Talk | Paper | Other
**Date**: YYYY-MM-DD
**Authority**: High | Medium | Low

### Key Points

- [Point 1]
- [Point 2]

### Relevant Quotes

> "[Direct quote with context]"

### Areas Covered

- [ ] Fundamentals
- [ ] Internals
- [ ] Trade-offs
- [ ] Production usage

### Notes

[Any caveats, disagreements with other sources, areas needing verification]

Phase 4: Organize Findings

Identify Key Themes

Group research findings into themes:

1. Fundamentals - Core concepts everyone needs to understand
2. Internals - How it actually works under the hood
3. Design Decisions - Why it was built this way
4. Trade-offs - What you gain and give up
5. Production Considerations - Real-world operational aspects
6. Common Pitfalls - What goes wrong and how to avoid it
7. Alternatives - Other approaches and when to use them

Identify Gaps

Note areas where:

• Sources disagree
• Information is outdated
• More depth needed
• No authoritative source found
• Practical examples missing

Phase 5: Create Outline

Generate a proposed article outline:

Copy# [Topic]: [Compelling Subtitle]

## Abstract

[2-3 sentences setting context]
[Overview diagram description]

## TLDR

### [Theme 1]

- [Key point]
- [Key point]

### [Theme 2]

- [Key point]

## Proposed Sections

### Section 1: [Fundamentals/Context]

**Goal**: [What reader should understand]
**Key sources**: [Source references]
**Content ideas**:

- [Subtopic]
- [Subtopic]

### Section 2: [How It Works]

**Goal**: [What reader should understand]
**Key sources**: [Source references]
**Content ideas**:

- [Subtopic]

### Section 3: [Trade-offs]

**Goal**: [What reader should understand]
**Key sources**: [Source references]
**Content ideas**:

- [Comparison topic]

## Diagrams Needed

- [ ] [Diagram description]
- [ ] [Diagram description]

## Code Examples Needed

- [ ] [Example description]

## Open Questions

- [ ] [Question needing resolution]
- [ ] [Area needing more research]

Phase 6: Save Research

Main Research Document (index.md)

Copy---
topic: [Topic Name]
status: research # research | ready-to-write
researchedOn: YYYY-MM-DD
targetCollection: posts | in-research
estimatedArticles: 1-3
---

# Research: [Topic Name]

## Research Summary

**Topic**: [Description]
**Scope**: [What this research covers]
**Target Audience**: Senior/staff engineers
**Estimated Article Length**: [Short/Medium/Long]

## Key Findings

### [Finding 1]

[Summary with inline source references]

### [Finding 2]

[Summary]

## Theme Breakdown

### Fundamentals

[What we found about core concepts]

### Internals

[Technical details discovered]

### Trade-offs

[Key trade-offs identified]

### Production Considerations

[Real-world aspects]

## Research Gaps

- [ ] [Gap 1]: [What's missing and why it matters]
- [ ] [Gap 2]: [What's missing]

## Proposed Articles

1. **[Article 1 Title]** - [Brief description]
2. **[Article 2 Title]** (if applicable)

## Next Steps

1. [Action item]
2. [Action item]

Quality Checklist

Research Breadth

• Official documentation consulted
• Multiple expert sources found
• Different perspectives captured
• Real-world examples identified

Research Depth

• Design decisions documented
• Trade-offs identified
• Historical context captured
• Limitations noted

Organization

• Clear themes identified
• Gaps explicitly noted
• Article outline is actionable
• Sources properly annotated

Actionable Output

• Outline is specific enough to write from
• Key sources identified for each section
• Diagrams and examples identified
• Open questions documented

Anti-Patterns

• Surface-level research: Only reading summaries, not going deep
• Single-source bias: Relying too heavily on one source
• Ignoring contradictions: Not noting when sources disagree
• Missing practical angle: Only theory, no production experience
• Over-scoping: Trying to cover too much in one research effort
• Migration timelines/development plans: Do NOT include phased rollout plans, week-by-week timelines, or development schedules in research outlines unless explicitly requested by user

Reference Documents

IMPORTANT: Before researching, read these documents from the project root:

Usage: Use the Read tool with absolute paths (e.g., /path/to/project/llm_docs/content-guidelines.md) to read these files before starting work.

Tools Available

• WebSearch - Search for sources
• WebFetch - Fetch and analyze content
• Write - Create research documents
• Glob - Find existing related content
• Read - Read existing content for context