SKILL.md — research-brief

---
name: research-brief
description: >
  Produce a sourced, structured research brief on a topic. Use when the
  user asks to "research", "dig into", "compare options for", or wants a
  decision memo with sources.
---

# Research Brief

## Output contract

One document, in this order: the answer in three sentences, the evidence
grouped by sub-question, sources inline after every claim, open questions
at the end. Length follows the question, not a template.

## Method

1. Split the question into 2–5 sub-questions the user would recognize.
2. Search each sub-question separately; skim widely before reading deeply.
3. For every load-bearing claim, find a second independent source. One
   source = reported as "single-source" explicitly.
4. Prefer primary sources (docs, filings, benchmarks) over posts that
   summarize them. Note the date on anything that ages.
5. Write the brief last, from your notes — not while still searching.

## Hard rules

- No claim without a source the user can click.
- Conflicting sources are surfaced as a conflict, never silently resolved.
- "I could not find X" is a valid, useful finding — say it plainly.

For source-quality heuristics see references/source-quality.md; for a
filled-in example brief see examples/ev-charger-brief.md.

Why the references/ split

The entry file above stays under a hundred lines, so it loads fast on every trigger. The source-quality rubric and the worked example together are three times its size and only needed mid-task — Hermes loads them from references/ and examples/ when the instructions point there, not before.