AI Tool Research Skill

Generates two Markdown artifacts for a given AI tool, updated for the last N days:

-Productivity-Playbook.md — how real people are using it (personas, use cases, unusual examples, links).
-Skills-Catalog.md — rated list of skills / extensions / plugins / rules / MCP servers with persona mapping.

The skill is runtime-agnostic. It works in Cursor, Claude Desktop, ChatGPT (web), Codex, Gemini CLI, and OpenClaw. See Usage across runtimes.

When to invoke

Trigger on requests like:

"Update the Cursor playbook with what happened this month"
"Do the same research for Claude / Codex / Gemini / OpenClaw"
"Run the monthly AI tool research"
"Rebuild -Skills-Catalog.md with fresh ratings"
"Do all five tools for this month"

Supported tools

| Tool key | What it is | Primary sources |

|---|---|---|

| claude | Claude Desktop + Claude Code + Anthropic Skills | anthropic.com, anthropics/skills, obra/superpowers, ComposioHQ |

| cursor | Cursor AI IDE + Rules / Skills / Plugins | cursor.com, cursor.directory, awesome-cursorrules |

| codex | OpenAI Codex (CLI + IDE + App + Cloud) | openai.com/codex, openai/skills, openai/codex-plugins |

| gemini | Google Gemini app + Gemini CLI + Code Assist + NotebookLM + Gems | ai.google.dev, gemini-cli-extensions, Piebald-AI/awesome-gemini-cli-extensions |

| openclaw | Peter Steinberger's OpenClaw local AI agent | openclaw.ai, openclaw/clawhub, VoltAgent/awesome-openclaw-skills |

All five honor the agentskills.io open SKILL.md standard, so skills from one ecosystem often work in another — this is called out in every catalog.

Inputs

Gather these before starting:

| Input | Required? | Default |

|---|---|---|

| tool | yes | ask the user: one of claude / cursor / codex / gemini / openclaw / all |

| since_date | no | 30 days before today (monthly cadence) |

| output_dir | no | current working directory |

| existing_file_mode | no | rewrite (default) or append-appendix (preserves body, adds "Updates since YYYY-MM-DD" appendix) |

If tool = all, loop through the five tools and produce ten files total.

Always print today's date and the since_date used at the top of every generated file so the user can verify the time window later.

High-level workflow

Copy this checklist into the conversation and track progress:

Research Progress:
- [ ] 1. Confirm inputs (tool, since_date, output_dir, mode)
- [ ] 2. Check existing files — if present, read them to avoid regressions
- [ ] 3. Research phase — search primary sources with since_date filter
- [ ] 4. Rating phase — apply validity + usefulness rubric to every item
- [ ] 5. Compose Productivity Playbook using playbook-template.md
- [ ] 6. Compose Skills Catalog using catalog-template.md
- [ ] 7. Verify link integrity + date stamps
- [ ] 8. Write files
- [ ] 9. Append run log entry

Do not skip any step. Step 2 is important — if the files already exist, you must read them so your update reflects genuine "what's new" signal, not repeated evergreen content.

Step 1 — Confirm inputs

If a tool isn't specified, ask with a quick multi-choice question. Example:

> Which tool should I research this month?

> 1. Claude Desktop

> 2. Cursor

> 3. OpenAI Codex

> 4. Google Gemini

> 5. OpenClaw

> 6. All five

Default since_date = today - 30 days. If the user already ran this skill recently, prefer since_date = last_run_date from the run log (see Step 9).

Step 2 — Check existing files

Check for these files in output_dir:

-Productivity-Playbook.md
-Skills-Catalog.md
research-log.md (created by Step 9)

If any exist:

Read them. Note the existing structure, tone, and skill ratings.
Preserve link references that are still valid.
In the new file, explicitly list what changed since the last run in a "Changes since " section near the top.
If existing_file_mode = append-appendix, do NOT rewrite the body. Add a new appendix called Updates — at the end with only the deltas.

Step 3 — Research phase

Source categories to cover (in order of trust)

Official — the tool vendor's own docs, blog, changelog, release notes
Official GitHub orgs — e.g., anthropics/, openai/, getcursor/, google-gemini/, openclaw/
Curated "awesome" lists — usually the fastest signal for new skills / rules / plugins
Community marketplaces — ClawHub, cursor.directory, Composio, geminicli.com/extensions
X.com / Twitter — search since:YYYY-MM-DD for fresh real-user workflows
Dev blogs — dev.to, Medium, Substack, HackerNoon, Pragmatic Engineer, The New Stack
Reddit — r/ClaudeAI, r/cursor, r/ChatGPTCoding, r/Bard
YouTube — transcripts of creator tutorials (last 30 days)

For the exact search-query library per tool, read research-queries.md.

Time filter

Apply date filtering to every search:

Google / Web: after: (e.g., after:2026-03-21)
X.com: since:
GitHub: filter by pushed:>= on repo search; for issues/PRs use updated:>=

What to collect per item

For every skill / rule / plugin / use case you plan to include, capture:

Canonical name and author/org
Canonical URL (prefer the GitHub repo or the vendor's doc page — not a random blog)
One-sentence "what it does" description
Last-update date (for validity rating)
Install count / stars / endorsements if available
Persona fit (from personas.md)

Minimum coverage bar

A single-tool run should surface:

≥ 10 new or updated skills / rules / plugins since since_date
≥ 6 new real-world use-case stories (X threads, case studies, blog posts)
≥ 1 officially announced product/feature change (release notes / changelog)
≥ 3 community discussions (Reddit / HN / Discord)

If you can't hit this bar, state so explicitly in the final file and lower the confidence claims.

Step 4 — Rating phase

Apply the rating system from rating-system.md to every skill / rule / plugin entry.

Quick version (details in the reference file):

Validity = is it real + maintained?

✅ Verified — Official, OR GitHub push in last ~90 days AND ⭐ > 500 or installs > 1k
🟢 Likely-valid — confirmed repo, moderate traction, recent activity
🟡 Early / Niche — real but new, low traction
🔴 Unverified — mentioned but canonical source couldn't be confirmed

Usefulness = editorial 1–5 stars based on breadth, docs, persona fit, time-to-value.

★★★★★ must-install
★★★★ weekly use
★★★ niche but excellent
★★ narrow fit
★ experimental / novelty

Be honest. If something is hyped but you couldn't confirm maintenance, rate it 🔴 and say so. Do not give sympathy stars.

Step 5 — Compose the Productivity Playbook

Use the exact section structure in playbook-template.md. Do not renumber or rename sections — this is what makes month-over-month diffs useful.

Personas: always cover all eight from personas.md in the same order (PhD/research, solopreneur, marketer, designer, video/creator, developer, PKM/student, sales/finance/ops). If a persona has nothing meaningful for this tool, write one honest paragraph explaining why and move on.

Tone rules:

Third person, not "you can…"
Concrete verbs, no marketing fluff
Every claim cites a link
No emojis (except ratings badges)
Prefer tables over prose for comparisons

Length: 300–600 lines is the healthy range. Longer than 700 = you're padding.

Step 6 — Compose the Skills Catalog

Use the exact section structure in catalog-template.md.

Mandatory sections (skipping any breaks month-over-month consistency):

Primer — what are the tool's extensibility primitives
Install commands — copy-pasteable
Rating legend (link to or copy from rating-system.md)
Built-in / official foundation skills
Marketplaces / meta-collections
Skills by persona (all eight)
Cross-tool skills (agentskills.io-compatible, works in ≥ 2 ecosystems)
Starter kits (one per persona, copy-paste-able)
How to create your own skill — minimum viable SKILL.md
Safety / vetting protocol
Tier-1 must-installs (5–8 items)
Cross-catalog navigation (links to sibling catalogs)
Master source index

Ratings appendix at the end is encouraged but not required if ratings are already inline.

Step 7 — Verify

Before writing files, run these checks:

[ ] Every skill has a name + URL + one-line description + both ratings
[ ] Every URL resolves (when a WebFetch-type tool is available, sample-test a handful)
[ ] Last updated: line exists near the top of each file
[ ] since_date and today_date are both printed
[ ] Sibling catalog links use correct relative paths (./Claude-Skills-Catalog.md, etc.)
[ ] No invented repo URLs or fake GitHub orgs
[ ] Persona order matches personas.md
[ ] Rating badges render correctly in Markdown (no broken emojis)

If any check fails, fix before proceeding to Step 8.

Step 8 — Write files

Write to /-Productivity-Playbook.md and /-Skills-Catalog.md.

File-naming rules:

capitalization: Claude, Cursor, Codex, Gemini, OpenClaw
For Claude specifically, the playbook is historically Claude-Desktop-Productivity-Playbook.md (note the "Desktop"). Preserve that exact name when updating — the skill catalog drops "Desktop" and is just Claude-Skills-Catalog.md.

If existing_file_mode = append-appendix, append to the existing files instead of overwriting.

Step 9 — Append run log

Append a row to /research-log.md (create it if missing):

# AI Tool Research — Run Log

| Date run | Tool | since_date | Mode | New skills found | New use cases | Notable changes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-04-21 | cursor | 2026-03-21 | rewrite | 14 | 9 | Composer 2 GA; 3 new MCP servers |

This is the source of truth for "when did I last run this" on future invocations.

Output contract (what the user sees in chat)

When finished, reply with:

One-line summary: "Generated -Productivity-Playbook.md (N lines) and -Skills-Catalog.md (M lines), covering → ."
Top 5 what's-new bullets — what the user should actually care about this month.
Any sources where you hit rate-limits or had to downgrade confidence.
Run-log row that was appended.

Do NOT dump the full file contents into chat. The file exists — let the user open it.

Usage across runtimes

Cursor

Put this whole folder in .cursor/skills/ai-tool-research/ (project-local) or ~/.cursor/skills/ai-tool-research/ (personal).
Ensure Skills are enabled in Cursor settings.
Ask: "Run the AI tool research skill for Cursor this month."

Claude Desktop / Claude Code

Put this folder in ~/.claude/skills/ai-tool-research/ (or the Anthropic Skills path on your OS).
In Claude Desktop, enable the skill under Settings → Skills.
Ask: "Use the ai-tool-research skill to update the Codex playbook."

ChatGPT (web — no file system)

Start a new conversation.
Paste this SKILL.md as the first message, preceded by: You are an agent following this skill definition. Apply it to my next request.
Also paste the five supporting files (playbook-template.md, catalog-template.md, personas.md, rating-system.md, research-queries.md) in subsequent turns — ChatGPT will keep them in context.
Then say: "Run it for Gemini this month."
ChatGPT will return the two Markdown files as assistant messages; copy them into .md files locally.

Gemini CLI

Put this folder in ~/.gemini/skills/ai-tool-research/ (or whichever Skills path your Gemini CLI is configured with — see GEMINI.md).
Ask: "Use ai-tool-research to update the OpenClaw skills catalog."

OpenAI Codex (CLI / IDE / Cloud)

Put this folder in ~/.codex/skills/ai-tool-research/.
Reference in AGENTS.md if you want it auto-loaded per project.
Ask: "Run ai-tool-research for Claude this month."

OpenClaw

Put this folder in ~/.openclaw/workspace/skills/ai-tool-research/.
Restart the gateway if needed.
Message the agent (on WhatsApp / Telegram / Slack): "Run the ai-tool-research skill for all five tools and DM me a summary."

Reference files (read only when needed — progressive disclosure)

playbook-template.md — exact section structure + tone guide for the Productivity Playbook
catalog-template.md — exact section structure for the Skills Catalog
personas.md — the 8 consistent personas, use-case angles, and what "good coverage" looks like per persona
rating-system.md — the full validity + usefulness rubric with decision flowcharts
research-queries.md — reusable search-query templates per tool, per source type

Read these only when the step requires it — they're progressive disclosure to keep this top-level SKILL.md lean.

Examples of past output

If available, the user's own previous files in output_dir are the best examples:

Claude-Desktop-Productivity-Playbook.md + Claude-Skills-Catalog.md
Cursor-Productivity-Playbook.md + Cursor-Skills-Catalog.md
Codex-Productivity-Playbook.md + Codex-Skills-Catalog.md
Gemini-Productivity-Playbook.md + Gemini-Skills-Catalog.md
OpenClaw-Productivity-Playbook.md + OpenClaw-Skills-Catalog.md

Match their voice, section numbering, and level of detail. If the user's versions differ from the templates in this skill, prefer the user's version — their file is the source of truth for their stylistic preferences.

Anti-patterns to avoid

❌ Inventing repos or URLs. If you can't confirm it, rate 🔴 or drop it.
❌ Copying the previous month's file and changing the date. Always verify what actually changed.
❌ Giving five stars to everything. The rating system is useless if everything is ★★★★★.
❌ Marketing-speak ("revolutionary", "game-changing", "unlock"). Use concrete verbs.
❌ Long prose where a table would communicate faster.
❌ Skipping persona sections because "nothing new this month" — write one honest paragraph instead.
❌ Mentioning the skill file internals to the user. They just want the output files.

This skill is intentionally portable — no hard-coded paths, no runtime-specific features. It works because Claude, Cursor, Codex, Gemini, and OpenClaw all honor the agentskills.io open spec.

ai-tool-research

概述