Download .skills/wiki-research/SKILL.md from the publisher, or copy the path and open the repository. PlugMCP lists the skill and does not host the file.
Where does wiki-research live?
The publisher keeps it at https://github.com/Ar9av/obsidian-wiki.
Which agents can use wiki-research?
Claude, Cursor, and Codex can read a SKILL.md you add from the publisher's repository.
>
name: wiki-research
description: >
Perform multi-round web research on a topic, synthesize the findings, and file structured results into the Obsidian wiki. Use for comprehensive web-sourced research intended to become wiki knowledge.
Wiki Research — Autonomous Multi-Round Research
You are running an autonomous research loop on a topic, synthesizing what you find, and filing the results into the Obsidian wiki as permanent knowledge.
Before You Start
Writing profile: Before drafting or rewriting natural-language Markdown, read and apply the Writing Profile Resolution section in llm-wiki/SKILL.md. Framework schema, provenance, safety, and operation-specific requirements take precedence.
WRITING.md preferences apply only to newly drafted or rewritten natural-language Markdown; preserve source content and structured records.
Resolve config — follow the Config Resolution Protocol in llm-wiki/SKILL.md (inline @name override → walk up CWD for .env → global config → prompt setup). This gives OBSIDIAN_VAULT_PATH and OBSIDIAN_LINK_FORMAT (default: wikilink).
Read $OBSIDIAN_VAULT_PATH/index.md to understand what's already in the wiki — don't re-research things the wiki covers well
Read $OBSIDIAN_VAULT_PATH/hot.md if it exists — it surfaces recent context
Check $OBSIDIAN_VAULT_PATH/references/research-config.md if it exists — it may define source preferences, domains to skip, or confidence rules for this vault
Check $OBSIDIAN_VAULT_PATH/references/research-backends.md if it exists — it registers optional CLI retrieval backends (social media, video transcripts, paid APIs, etc.). Load any available backends into your working state for this session.
When writing internal links in generated pages, apply the link format from llm-wiki/SKILL.md (Link Format section) using the OBSIDIAN_LINK_FORMAT value.
Confirm the research topic with the user if it's ambiguous. Then proceed.
Research Configuration (optional)
If references/research-config.md exists in the vault, read it and apply any rules it defines:
Source preferences (e.g., prefer academic sources, avoid certain domains)
Domains to skip
Confidence scoring adjustments
Topic-specific constraints
If the file doesn't exist, proceed with defaults.
Research Backends (optional)
If references/research-backends.md exists in the vault, load it before starting research. It defines zero or more CLI retrieval backends as a YAML list:
backends:
- name: yt-dlp-transcript # friendly label
binary: yt-dlp # CLI binary (checked with `command -v`)
invoke: "yt-dlp --skip-download --write-auto-sub --sub-lang en --sub-format json3 -o /tmp/ytvid '{url}'"
when_to_use: YouTube video URLs, video transcripts
cost_tier: free # free | paid
env_key: "" # required env var for paid tiers (empty = always enabled)
output: text # json | text | markdown
- name: perplexity-sonar
binary: perplexity
invoke: "perplexity search '{query}'"
when_to_use: deep synthesis queries needing multi-source aggregation
cost_tier: paid
env_key: PERPLEXITY_API_KEY # skipped if unset
output: text
Backend availability check (run once at session start):
For each backend: command -v <binary> 2>/dev/null — if not found, mark unavailable and note it in the run summary
For paid backends: also check that $env_key is non-empty — if unset, mark unavailable and note it
Build a list of active backends (available + key-gated checks pass) to use in Rounds 1–2
Invocation rules (per angle/URL during research):
Substitute {url} or {query} in the invoke template with the current URL or search query
Capture stdout; on non-zero exit code → skip this backend for this angle, note the short error, continue
Fold backend output into the same claims/concepts/entities/contradictions extraction, citing the source URL the backend returns (or the query string for query-mode backends)
A backend failure never aborts the research run — always fall back to WebSearch/WebFetch
Free-first ordering: Evaluate free backends before paid ones for each angle. If a free backend returns sufficient content, paid backends for the same angle can be skipped.
No research-backends.md → skip this section entirely; behavior is identical to today.
Starter registry template
If the user asks for an example registry, offer this file at $VAULT/references/research-backends.md:
# Optional CLI backends for wiki-research. Delete rows you don't need.
# Skill docs: .skills/wiki-research/SKILL.md — Research Backends section
backends:
# --- free / local ---
- name: defuddle-fetch
binary: defuddle
invoke: "defuddle '{url}'"
when_to_use: any URL — cleaner extraction than WebFetch alone
cost_tier: free
env_key: ""
output: markdown
- name: yt-dlp-transcript
binary: yt-dlp
invoke: "yt-dlp --skip-download --write-auto-sub --sub-lang en --sub-format json3 -o /tmp/ytvid '{url}'"
when_to_use: YouTube video URLs for transcript extraction
cost_tier: free
env_key: ""
output: text
# --- paid / gated (skipped when env key is unset) ---
- name: perplexity-sonar
binary: perplexity
invoke: "perplexity search '{query}'"
when_to_use: deep synthesis queries needing multi-source aggregation
cost_tier: paid
env_key: PERPLEXITY_API_KEY
output: text
Round 1 — Broad Survey
Goal: Get a wide map of the topic.
Decompose the topic into 3-5 distinct angles (e.g., for "vector databases": what they are, when to use them, leading implementations, trade-offs, production gotchas)
For each angle, run 2-3 WebSearch queries using varied phrasing
For the top 2-3 results per angle, use WebFetch (or defuddle <url> if available — cleaner extraction) to get content. For each URL, also invoke any active backends whose when_to_use matches (e.g., a YouTube URL triggers yt-dlp-transcript); fold their output into extraction alongside WebFetch results, citing the source URL the backend returns.
From each fetched page, extract:
Key claims — what the source explicitly states
Concepts — ideas, terms, frameworks introduced
Entities — tools, people, organizations mentioned
Contradictions — places where sources disagree with each other
Track what's covered and what's missing as you go.
Round 2 — Gap Fill
Goal: Close the holes left by Round 1.
Review what Round 1 produced:
What questions did sources raise but not answer?
Where do sources contradict each other?
Which angles got thin coverage?
Run up to 5 targeted searches specifically addressing these gaps. Prefer primary sources, official documentation, and authoritative analyses over link aggregators. For gap-fill queries, also invoke any active query-mode backends (e.g., perplexity-sonar) by substituting {query} in their invoke template — fold results into extraction with backend name as citation context.
Add findings to your working set. Update the contradiction list.
Round 3 — Synthesis Check
Goal: Resolve contradictions; confirm depth is sufficient.
If major contradictions remain unresolved:
Run one final targeted pass (2-3 searches) to find authoritative resolution
If resolution is impossible, flag the contradiction explicitly in the synthesis page
If contradictions are minor or the topic feels well-covered after Round 2, skip additional searching and proceed to filing.
Halt condition: Stop when depth is achieved or 3 rounds are complete — do not loop indefinitely.
Filing — Write Wiki Pages
Organize all findings into wiki pages across four output areas:
1. sources/ — One page per major reference
For each significant source (typically 4-8 pages total):
---
title: >-
<Source title>
category: references
tags: [<2-4 domain tags>]
sources:
- "<URL>"
source_url: "<URL>"
created: <ISO-8601 timestamp>
updated: <obsidian-wiki memory now>
summary: >-
<1-2 sentences describing what this source covers, ≤200 chars>
provenance:
extracted: 0.X
inferred: 0.X
ambiguous: 0.X
base_confidence: <0.17 + 0.5 × classify(url) for a single source>
lifecycle: draft
lifecycle_changed: <obsidian-wiki memory now --date>
---
Body: title, URL, what it covers, key claims (with provenance markers), limitations.
2. concepts/ — One page per substantive concept
For each significant concept surfaced across sources:
Standard concept frontmatter + body. Link concepts to each other and to source pages.
3. entities/ — Tools, organizations, people
For each significant entity encountered (tools, libraries, companies, key authors):
Standard entity frontmatter. Link back to concepts that use the entity and sources where it appears.
The primary output: a structured synthesis of everything found.
---
title: >-
Research: <Topic>
category: synthesis
tags: [<3-5 domain tags>, research]
sources: [<list of source URLs or page paths>]
created: <ISO-8601 timestamp>
updated: <obsidian-wiki memory now>
summary: >-
Synthesis of <N>-round research on <topic>. Covers <core findings in ≤200 chars>.
provenance:
extracted: 0.X
inferred: 0.X
ambiguous: 0.X
base_confidence: <min(N_unique_sources/3,1.0)×0.5 + avg_source_quality×0.5>
lifecycle: draft
lifecycle_changed: <obsidian-wiki memory now --date>
---
# Research: <Topic>
## Overview
<2-4 sentence executive summary of what the research found>
## Key Findings
<Bulleted list of the most important claims, each with a [[source page]] citation>
## Core Concepts
<Links to concept pages created, with one-line descriptions>
## Entities & Tools
<Links to entity pages, with one-line descriptions>
## Contradictions & Open Questions
<Where sources disagree or where the research hit limits>
## Sources Consulted
<Linked list of all source pages>
Cross-linking
After filing all pages:
Every concept page should link to at least 2 source pages
Every source page should link to the concept pages it informed
The synthesis page should link to all concept, entity, and source pages produced
Check index.md for existing pages on the same topics — merge into existing pages rather than creating duplicates.
One locked call updates the index, the log, and the hot cache:
obsidian-wiki memory sync WIKI_RESEARCH \
topic="<topic>" rounds=<N> sources_fetched=<N> \
pages_created=<M> backends_used="<name,...|none>" \
--takeaways "<the research topic and its core finding, in one line>"
Do not list every page you created in a log field — memory sync reconciles the index from disk, and a huge field only crowds the hot cache. If the research is ongoing, record it: obsidian-wiki memory todo add "<open question>" --origin synthesis/<page>.md.
Never hand-edit index.md, log.md, or hot.md — the command takes the lock that keeps a parallel writer from dropping your update.
See .skills/llm-wiki/references/MEMORY.md for the full procedure.
Quality Checklist
3 rounds completed (or halted at sufficient depth)
Synthesis page exists at synthesis/Research: [Topic].md
Source pages written for major references
Concept and entity pages written for significant items
Contradictions flagged in synthesis page
All pages cross-linked
index.md, log.md, hot.md, .manifest.json updated
Backend summary reported: which backends were active, which were skipped (unavailable binary / unset key / error), and why
QMD Refresh After Vault Writes
QMD is a search index, not the source of truth. If $QMD_WIKI_COLLECTION is empty or unset, skip this step. Run it only after this skill has written or rewritten vault markdown. If QMD refresh fails, do not roll back the vault changes; report the QMD status separately.
Use $QMD_CLI if set; otherwise use qmd.
${QMD_CLI:-qmd} update
If the output says vectors are needed or embeddings may be stale, run:
${QMD_CLI:-qmd} embed
Verify the collection with either:
${QMD_CLI:-qmd} ls "$QMD_WIKI_COLLECTION"
or, when a specific page path is known:
${QMD_CLI:-qmd} get "qmd://$QMD_WIKI_COLLECTION/<page>.md" -l 5
Record one of:
QMD refreshed: update + embed + verified
QMD refreshed: update only + verified
QMD skipped: QMD_WIKI_COLLECTION unset
QMD skipped: qmd CLI unavailable
QMD failed: <short error summary>
How do I install wiki-research?
Download .skills/wiki-research/SKILL.md from the publisher, or copy the path and open the repository. PlugMCP lists the skill and does not host the file.
Where does wiki-research live?
The publisher keeps it at https://github.com/Ar9av/obsidian-wiki.
Which agents can use wiki-research?
Claude, Cursor, and Codex can read a SKILL.md you add from the publisher's repository.