web-research
Searches multiple web sources, synthesizes findings, and produces cited research reports using delegated subagents. Use when the user asks to research a topic online, search the web, look something up, find current information, compare options, or produce a research report.
Profile →npx skills add brycewang-stanford/Auto-Empirical-Research-Skills --skill web-research --agent claude-code
Same command for any agent — swap --agent for codex, cursor, copilot.
Weekly change comes from our own snapshots, not the repository page — it measures attention, not adoption.
# Web Research Skill ## Research Process ### Step 1: Create and Save Research Plan Before delegating to subagents, you MUST: 1. **Create a research folder** - Organize all research files in a dedicated folder relative to the current working directory: ``` mkdir research_[topic_name] ``` This keeps files organized and prevents clutter in the working directory. 2. **Analyze the research question** - Break it down into distinct, non-overlapping subtopics 3. **Write a research plan file** - Use the `write_file` tool to create `research_[topic_name]/research_plan.md` containing: - The main research question - 2-5 specific subtopics to investigate - Expected information from each subtopic - How results will be synthesized **Planning Guidelines:** - **Simple fact-finding**: 1-2 subtopics - **Comparative analysis**: 1 subtopic per comparison element (max 3) - **Complex investigations**: 3-5 subtopics ### Step 2: Delegate to Research Subagents For each subtopic in your plan: 1. **Use the `task` tool** to spawn a research subagent with: - Clear, specific research question (no acronyms) - Instructions to write findings to a file: `research_[topic_name]/findings_[subtopic].md` - Budget: 3-5 we
- Research Process
- Step 1: Create and Save Research Plan
- Step 2: Delegate to Research Subagents
- Step 3: Synthesize Findings
- Best Practices
What does the web-research skill do?
Searches multiple web sources, synthesizes findings, and produces cited research reports using delegated subagents. Use when the user asks to research a topic online, search the web, look something up, find current information, compare options, or produce a research report.
How do I install it?
Run `npx skills add brycewang-stanford/Auto-Empirical-Research-Skills --skill web-research --agent claude-code` — it drops the skill into your project so the agent can pick it up. Swap the --agent value for codex, cursor or copilot if you use one of those.
Where does this skill come from?
From brycewang-stanford/Auto-Empirical-Research-Skills, a repository with 3,244 stars. We read it straight from the repository tree rather than a submitted listing, so what you see here is what is actually published.
Is a popular skill a good skill?
Not necessarily. Stars measure attention, not adoption — a repository can trend for a week and be abandoned. That is why we show the weekly change from our own snapshots next to the total, instead of a single flattering number.