Research output scaffolding

Skill PlagueHO/plagueho.copilot/skills/research-output-scaffolding

**WORKFLOW SKILL** — Scaffold the .research/ output folder structure for a research topic, creating note directories per area, log files, and output section placeholders based on the research plan. WHEN: "scaffold research output", "create research folder", "initialize research directory", "set up research workspace", "research output structure", "scaffold .research folder". INVOKES: run_in_terminal for scaffolding scripts. FOR SINGLE OPERATIONS: Create directories manually.From its SKILL.md

Install

npx -y skills add PlagueHO/plagueho.copilot --skill research-output-scaffolding

Assembled from the repository path, not quoted from the project. Check it against their README if it does not work.

One thing to look at

4 stars4 stars. Stars are a popularity signal and not a quality one, but at this level it is likely that nobody has read this closely except its author, and you would be relying on your own review.

SKILL.md

4.0 KB, as published. Nobody here has run it

Research Output Scaffolding

Scaffold the complete .research/ folder structure for a research topic. Creates all directories, initializes log files, and generates output section placeholder files based on the research plan and purpose mapping.

Prerequisites

A confirmed research plan at .research/<topic-slug>/plan.md
The research purpose (determines which output sections to scaffold)

Process

Step 1 — Load Configuration

Read the plan at .research/<topic-slug>/plan.md to determine:

Topic slug (folder name)
Purpose (output section template selection)
Enabled research areas (note subdirectories)

Read section-area-mapping.md for output-section/note-area mappings.

Read writing-guidelines.md for output quality expectations.

Step 2 — Create Directory Structure

Create the folder tree:

.research/<topic-slug>/
├── plan.md                    # Already exists from plan skill
├── log.md                     # Research activity log
├── notes/
│   ├── docs/                  # Microsoft Learn documentation notes
│   ├── tech/                  # Technical documentation notes
│   ├── blogs/                 # Blog and article notes
│   ├── arch/                  # Architecture pattern notes
│   ├── samples/               # Code sample notes
│   ├── solutions/             # Solution accelerator notes
│   └── other/                 # Third-party and community notes
└── output/
    ├── 01-overview.md         # Output sections (from purpose mapping)
    ├── 02-architecture.md
    ├── ...
    └── README.md              # Combined output index

Only create notes/ subdirectories for areas enabled in the plan. Only create output/ section files matching the purpose mapping.

Step 3 — Initialize Log File

Create .research/<topic-slug>/log.md:

# Research Log: {{TOPIC}}

Research started: {{DATE}}
Purpose: {{PURPOSE}}

## Activity Log

- [{{TIMESTAMP}}] SCAFFOLD: Output structure created

Step 4 — Generate Section Placeholders

For each output section in the purpose mapping, create a placeholder file in output/ using the section template:

---
section: "{{SECTION_ID}}"
title: "{{SECTION_TITLE}}"
status: placeholder
primary_areas:
  - {{AREA_1}}
  - {{AREA_2}}
---

# {{SECTION_TITLE}}

> {{SECTION_DESCRIPTION}}

<!-- Content will be synthesized from notes in: {{PRIMARY_AREAS}} -->
<!-- Supporting content from: {{SECONDARY_AREAS}} -->

Step 5 — Generate Output README

Create .research/<topic-slug>/output/README.md as a combined index linking to all section files with their status.

Step 6 — Run Scaffolding Script (optional)

For script-based scaffolding:

PowerShell: scripts/New-ResearchOutput.ps1 -TopicSlug <slug> -Purpose <purpose>
Bash: scripts/new-research-output.sh <slug> <purpose>

Output

A scaffolded .research/<topic-slug>/ directory ready for research agents to populate with notes and synthesize into output sections.