Web Research Documenter

Overview

This skill enables systematic web research with professional documentation output. It combines web search, content fetching, information synthesis, and structured file creation into a repeatable workflow that produces comprehensive, well-organized research documents.

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when users request any of the following:

• Technology trend research: "Research TypeScript trends and save to a file"
• Competitive analysis: "Look up competitors in the AI space and document findings"
• Market research: "Find information about electric vehicle market and write a report"
• Tool/product comparisons: "Compare project management tools and save the analysis"
• Best practices documentation: "Research React testing best practices and create a guide"
• Academic literature reviews: "Find recent papers on quantum computing and summarize"
• Industry analysis: "Research fintech trends and save to my reports folder"

Key indicators:

• User requests both information gathering AND file creation
• Request includes phrases like "research and save", "look up and document", "find and write"
• User specifies a file path or directory for saving results

Research Workflow

Follow this systematic four-step workflow for all research tasks:

Step 1: Execute Multiple Web Searches

Conduct comprehensive web searches to gather diverse perspectives and up-to-date information.

Search strategy:

• Start with a broad query covering the main topic
• Follow up with specific queries for recent updates, versions, or features
• Aim for 2-3 complementary searches to ensure comprehensive coverage

Example for "TypeScript trends":

Search 1: "TypeScript latest trends 2024 2025"
Search 2: "TypeScript 5.7 5.8 new features 2024"

Tool usage:

mcp-server-search__web_search(
  query="[main topic query]",
  max_results=10
)

Step 2: Fetch Detailed Content

When search results include authoritative sources (official blogs, documentation, reputable publications), fetch the full content for deeper insights.

Selection criteria:

• Official documentation or blogs (e.g., Microsoft TypeScript blog)
• Recent publication dates
• High-quality sources with detailed information
• Articles that directly address the research topic

Tool usage:

mcp-server-fetch__fetch(
  url="[authoritative source URL]",
  max_length=8000
)

Note: Use start_index parameter if content is truncated and more detail is needed.

Step 3: Synthesize Information

Create a well-structured summary that organizes findings into logical sections.

Documentation structure:

==============================================
[TOPIC] - Summary Report
Generated: [Date]
==============================================

1. [Main Category/Trend]
-----------------------------------------
• Key point 1
• Key point 2
• Key point 3

2. [Secondary Category]
-----------------------------------------
[Detailed information with sub-sections as needed]

3. [Additional Categories]
-----------------------------------------
[Continue organizing information logically]

==============================================
Sources:
- [List of primary sources]
==============================================

Synthesis guidelines:

• Use clear hierarchical headings (ASCII art dividers for main sections)
• Bullet points for scannable information
• Sub-sections for detailed features or updates
• Include specific version numbers, dates, statistics
• Credit sources at the end
• Maintain objective, informative tone

Step 4: Save to Specified Location

Write the synthesized report to the user-specified file path.

File writing approach:

• Use absolute paths for reliability
• Create content in chunks (25-30 lines per write operation)
• First chunk: Use mode='rewrite' to create/overwrite file
• Subsequent chunks: Use mode='append' to add content

Tool usage:

desktop-commander__write_file(
  path="[absolute path to file]",
  content="[first 25-30 lines]",
  mode="rewrite"
)

desktop-commander__write_file(
  path="[same absolute path]",
  content="[next 25-30 lines]",
  mode="append"
)

Path handling:

• If user provides relative path, resolve to absolute path first
• Create parent directories if they don't exist
• Confirm successful write with clear user message

Quality Standards

Ensure research output meets these quality criteria:

Comprehensiveness

• Cover multiple aspects of the topic
• Include recent developments and historical context
• Provide specific examples, statistics, and version numbers

Organization

• Clear section hierarchy with descriptive headings
• Logical flow from general to specific
• Scannable format with bullet points and whitespace

Credibility

• Cite authoritative sources (official blogs, documentation)
• Include publication dates and version numbers
• Distinguish between facts and projections

Usefulness

• Actionable insights where applicable
• Context for technical details
• Future outlook or roadmap information when available

Example Usage

User request: "Research the latest TypeScript trends and save them to results/typescript_trends.txt"

Execution:

1. Web searches:

   • "TypeScript latest trends 2024 2025" → 10 results
   • "TypeScript 5.7 5.8 new features 2024" → 10 results

2. Fetch details:

   • Identified official TypeScript blog post about 5.7 release
   • Fetched full content for comprehensive feature details

3. Synthesize:

   • Created structured report with sections:
     • GitHub popularity statistics
     • TypeScript 5.7 major features
     • Previous version highlights
     • Runtime integration improvements
     • Future roadmap (TypeScript 7.0)

4. Save:

   • Resolved relative path to absolute
   • Wrote 92-line comprehensive report
   • Confirmed successful save to user

Output characteristics:

• Professional formatting with ASCII dividers
• Hierarchical organization (7 main sections)
• Specific version numbers and dates
• Bullet points for scannable content
• Source citations at end