Root Cause Investigation
garrytan/gstack
Debugs in four phases (investigate, analyze, hypothesize, implement) under one rule: no fix is made until the root cause is found.
The protocol behind every investigation skill. An agent skill from deanpeters/Product-Manager-Skills.
Custom licenceAuto-check passed
Install Autonomous Investigation
$ npx skills add deanpeters/Product-Manager-Skills --skill autonomous-investigation -a claude-codeProject install by default; add -g for ~/.claude/skills/.
$ gh skill install deanpeters/Product-Manager-Skills autonomous-investigation --agent claude-codeProject scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/deanpeters/Product-Manager-Skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/autonomous-investigation .claude/skills/autonomous-investigation && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.claude/skills/ instead of .claude/skills for a personal install. The folder must contain SKILL.md.
Claude Code skills documentation · loads skills from .claude/skills/
Install the "autonomous-investigation" agent skill from https://github.com/deanpeters/Product-Manager-Skills/tree/main/skills/autonomous-investigation into .claude/skills/autonomous-investigation/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "autonomous-investigation", then confirm the skill loads.Claude Code copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
$skill-installer install https://github.com/deanpeters/Product-Manager-Skills/tree/main/skills/autonomous-investigationType this inside Codex. $skill-installer <name> installs a curated skill from openai/skills. The installer writes to $CODEX_HOME/skills (default ~/.codex/skills). Restart Codex if the skill does not show up.
$ npx skills add deanpeters/Product-Manager-Skills --skill autonomous-investigation -a codexProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.codex/skills/.
$ gh skill install deanpeters/Product-Manager-Skills autonomous-investigation --agent codexProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/deanpeters/Product-Manager-Skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .agents/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/autonomous-investigation .agents/skills/autonomous-investigation && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.agents/skills/ instead of .agents/skills for a personal install.
Codex skills documentation · loads skills from .agents/skills/
Install the "autonomous-investigation" agent skill from https://github.com/deanpeters/Product-Manager-Skills/tree/main/skills/autonomous-investigation into .agents/skills/autonomous-investigation/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "autonomous-investigation", then confirm the skill loads.Codex copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
$ npx skills add deanpeters/Product-Manager-Skills --skill autonomous-investigation -a cursorProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.cursor/skills/.
$ gh skill install deanpeters/Product-Manager-Skills autonomous-investigation --agent cursorProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/deanpeters/Product-Manager-Skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .cursor/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/autonomous-investigation .cursor/skills/autonomous-investigation && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.cursor/skills/ instead of .cursor/skills for a personal install.
Cursor skills documentation · loads skills from .cursor/skills/, .agents/skills/, .claude/skills/, .codex/skills/
Install the "autonomous-investigation" agent skill from https://github.com/deanpeters/Product-Manager-Skills/tree/main/skills/autonomous-investigation into .cursor/skills/autonomous-investigation/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "autonomous-investigation", then confirm the skill loads.Cursor copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
$ gemini skills install https://github.com/deanpeters/Product-Manager-Skills.git --path skills/autonomous-investigation--scope user (default) or --scope workspace; --path is the subfolder of the repo that holds the skill; --consent skips the security confirmation prompt.
$ npx skills add deanpeters/Product-Manager-Skills --skill autonomous-investigation -a gemini-cliProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.gemini/skills/.
$ gh skill install deanpeters/Product-Manager-Skills autonomous-investigation --agent gemini-cliProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/deanpeters/Product-Manager-Skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .gemini/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/autonomous-investigation .gemini/skills/autonomous-investigation && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.gemini/skills/ instead of .gemini/skills for a personal install, then run /skills reload.
Gemini CLI skills documentation · loads skills from .gemini/skills/, .agents/skills/
Install the "autonomous-investigation" agent skill from https://github.com/deanpeters/Product-Manager-Skills/tree/main/skills/autonomous-investigation into .gemini/skills/autonomous-investigation/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "autonomous-investigation", then confirm the skill loads.Gemini CLI copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
$ gh skill install deanpeters/Product-Manager-Skills autonomous-investigationInstalls for Copilot at project scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Preview a skill first with gh skill preview. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).
$ npx skills add deanpeters/Product-Manager-Skills --skill autonomous-investigation -a github-copilotProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.copilot/skills/.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/deanpeters/Product-Manager-Skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .github/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/autonomous-investigation .github/skills/autonomous-investigation && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.copilot/skills/ instead of .github/skills for a personal install. Commit .github/skills so cloud agent and code review can use it.
GitHub Copilot skills documentation · loads skills from .github/skills/, .claude/skills/, .agents/skills/
Install the "autonomous-investigation" agent skill from https://github.com/deanpeters/Product-Manager-Skills/tree/main/skills/autonomous-investigation into .github/skills/autonomous-investigation/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "autonomous-investigation", then confirm the skill loads.GitHub Copilot copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
$ npx skills add deanpeters/Product-Manager-Skills --skill autonomous-investigation -a opencodeOpenCode documents no install command of its own. Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.config/opencode/skills/.
$ gh skill install deanpeters/Product-Manager-Skills autonomous-investigation --agent opencodeProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/deanpeters/Product-Manager-Skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .opencode/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/autonomous-investigation .opencode/skills/autonomous-investigation && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.config/opencode/skills/ instead of .opencode/skills for a personal install.
OpenCode skills documentation · loads skills from .opencode/skills/, .claude/skills/, .agents/skills/
Install the "autonomous-investigation" agent skill from https://github.com/deanpeters/Product-Manager-Skills/tree/main/skills/autonomous-investigation into .opencode/skills/autonomous-investigation/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "autonomous-investigation", then confirm the skill loads.OpenCode copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
Facts
- Skill name
autonomous-investigation- GitHub stars
- 7.2k
- Token cost
- ~3.1k tokens
- SKILL.md length
- 1,493 words
- Files
- 4
- Skills in repo
- 75
- Repo updated
- First seen
- Licence
- Custom licence
At a glance
The protocol behind every investigation skill. An agent skill from deanpeters/Product-Manager-Skills.
- Works in 7 steps: Question budget — a hard cap (usually 3)… → Search-plan gate — before researching,… → Evidence labels — every key claim… → …
- AI research must proceed without you: search-plan gate
- SKILL.md covers Purpose, Input, Key Concepts and Application, plus 3 more sections
- Reaches github.com
What it does
Autonomous Investigation is an agent skill from deanpeters/Product-Manager-Skills. The protocol behind every investigation skill. Use when AI research must proceed without you: search-plan gate, Fact/Inference/Assumption labels, confidence stacking, diffable outputs.
Its SKILL.md is about 3.1k tokens, which your agent loads only when the skill is triggered. The skill folder holds 4 other files (for example `examples/protocol-in-action-industrial.md`, `examples/protocol-in-action.md` and `template.md`).
The repository describes itself as: Product Management skills framework built on battle-tested methods for Claude Code, Cowork, Codex, and AI agents.
When your agent uses it
- AI research must proceed without you: search-plan gate
- Fact/Inference/Assumption labels
- Confidence stacking
- Diffable outputs
Example prompts
- “/autonomous-investigation”
Workflow steps
7 steps, taken from the first numbered list in SKILL.md.
- Question budget — a hard cap (usually 3) on clarifying questions. When the budget is spent or
- Search-plan gate — before researching, show a 3-bullet plan: what you'll search, which source
- Evidence labels — every key claim carries exactly one label
- Do-not-invent list — each investigation skill names its domain's specific fabrication risks
- Just Enough Mode — default output is the strongest findings in short bullets, sized to the
- Stable output schema — section order and structure never drift between runs, so run N and
- Final Step block — end with exactly 4 numbered next options (artifacts to build, deeper passes
What it can do on your machine
Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit 1b5a524. It shows what the files ask for, not the result of running them.
Tool permissions
Pre-approves nothing: there is no allowed-tools line, so your agent's usual permission prompts apply.
From allowed-tools in the SKILL.md frontmatter.
Runs code
No scripts in the folder and no shell commands in SKILL.md.
From the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.
Network
Hosts in commands or code, which the agent is likely to contact:
github.com
From URLs in SKILL.md, links to its own repository left out.
Credentials
Names no API keys, tokens, secrets or passwords.
From names ending in _API_KEY, _TOKEN, _SECRET, _KEY or _PASSWORD in SKILL.md.
Context cost
Autonomous Investigation loads about 3.1k tokens when it runs. Until then it costs about 52 tokens; SKILL.md has 1,493 words of instructions outside code blocks.
Estimates: characters ÷ 4, the usual rule of thumb; real counts depend on the model's tokenizer. Scripts and assets cost tokens only if the agent reads them.
Safety
Auto-check passed
The automated check found no risky patterns in SKILL.md.
Automated static check — not a guarantee. Review scripts before installing. It scans the text of SKILL.md for risky patterns (piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files, hidden Unicode, destructive commands); files beside SKILL.md are not scanned.
SKILL.md
Its licence (Custom licence) doesn't allow us to republish the file, so here is its outline and opening line. It has 1,493 words (~3,078 tokens).
“Provide the canonical contract for investigation skills — research the AI performs in the world (web search, published data, public filings) while you review the evidence instead of feeding it context. Where workshop-facilitation governs skills that ask you questions one…”
- name
- autonomous-investigation
- intent
- Provide the canonical contract for autonomous research skills: a bounded question budget, a search-plan gate, three-level evidence labeling, do-not-invent…
- type
- workflow
- theme
- market-intelligence
- best_for
- Defining consistent behavior for research skills that run as agent tasks or on schedules, Keeping AI research honest: labeled evidence, real citations, no…
- scenarios
- Set up a competitive scan that can re-run quarterly without me babysitting it, I want research output where I can tell facts from the AI's guesses
- estimated_time
- protocol reference; investigations vary (15-45 min per run)
Files
SKILL.md and 3 other files in skills/autonomous-investigation of deanpeters/Product-Manager-Skills.
- SKILL.md
- examples/protocol-in-action-industrial.md
- examples/protocol-in-action.md
- template.md
Open the folder on GitHubat commit 1b5a524
Compare with similar skills
Autonomous Investigation next to the 5 skills that share the most tags, products or categories with it. Stars are the repository's; “used in” counts other GitHub owners with a copy.
| Skill | Stars | Used in | Tokens | Auto-check | Licence | Repo updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Autonomous Investigation this skilldeanpeters/Product-Manager-Skills | 7.2k | — | ~3.1k | Automated safety check: Pass | Custom licence | |
| Root Cause Investigationgarrytan/gstack | 136k | — | ~13k | Automated safety check: Notes | MIT | |
| Osint Investigationaffaan-m/ECC | 276k | — | ~5.7k | Automated safety check: Pass | CC-BY-SA-4.0 | |
| Investigate CIClickHouse/ClickHouse | 50k | — | ~11k | Automated safety check: Notes | Apache-2.0 | |
| Investigate Issuevideojs/video.js | 40k | — | ~318 | Automated safety check: Pass | Custom licence | |
| Investigating ReplayPostHog/posthog | 40k | — | ~2.4k | Automated safety check: Pass | Custom licence |
Similar skills
Osint Investigation
affaan-m/ECC
Sparse-clue OSINT investigation methodology for extracting overlooked leads, connecting fragmented evidence, and testing explanations across sources.
Investigate CI
ClickHouse/ClickHouse
Investigate a ClickHouse CI failure end-to-end from a PR or S3 report URL.
Investigate Issue
videojs/video.js
Investigate GitHub issues without changing code. An agent skill from videojs/video.js.
- Official
Investigating Replay
PostHog/posthog
Investigates a session recording by gathering metadata, person profile, same-session events, and linked error tracking issues in one pass.
- Official
Investigating Logs
PostHog/posthog
Investigate logs in a PostHog project: verify a service or deployment is healthy, explain an error spike, triage an incident, or understand what a log stream is saying.
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Questions about Autonomous Investigation
What does Autonomous Investigation do?
The protocol behind every investigation skill. An agent skill from deanpeters/Product-Manager-Skills. Autonomous Investigation is an agent skill from deanpeters/Product-Manager-Skills. The protocol behind every investigation skill.
When should I use Autonomous Investigation?
Autonomous Investigation fits situations like: AI research must proceed without you: search-plan gate; fact/Inference/Assumption labels; confidence stacking; diffable outputs.
How do I install Autonomous Investigation in Claude Code?
Run `npx skills add deanpeters/Product-Manager-Skills --skill autonomous-investigation -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/autonomous-investigation in deanpeters/Product-Manager-Skills) into .claude/skills/autonomous-investigation in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.
How do I install Autonomous Investigation in Codex?
Run `npx skills add deanpeters/Product-Manager-Skills --skill autonomous-investigation -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/autonomous-investigation in deanpeters/Product-Manager-Skills) into .agents/skills/autonomous-investigation in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.
Can I use Autonomous Investigation in Cursor, Gemini CLI or GitHub Copilot?
Cursor, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot and OpenCode also load SKILL.md folders. With the skills CLI, run `npx skills add deanpeters/Product-Manager-Skills --skill autonomous-investigation -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/autonomous-investigation, .gemini/skills/autonomous-investigation, .github/skills/autonomous-investigation and .opencode/skills/autonomous-investigation in your project.
What does Autonomous Investigation need to run?
SKILL.md names no scripts, command-line tools or credentials: Autonomous Investigation is instructions for the agent only.
Does Autonomous Investigation access the network?
SKILL.md names 1 domain. In commands or code: github.com; the agent is likely to contact it when it follows the instructions. This is read from the text; nothing was executed.
Is Autonomous Investigation safe to install?
Our automated static check of SKILL.md found no risky patterns, such as piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files or hidden Unicode. It is not a guarantee. Review the folder before installing.
What licence does Autonomous Investigation use?
Autonomous Investigation has a licence file (the repository's licence) that doesn't match a standard licence. Read it on GitHub before reusing the skill.
How many tokens does Autonomous Investigation use?
About 3.1k tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 12k characters). Agents keep only the skill's name and description in context until a task matches; then they load SKILL.md in full.
What are the alternatives to Autonomous Investigation?
Skills that share tags, products or a category with Autonomous Investigation: Root Cause Investigation (garrytan/gstack, 136k stars), Osint Investigation (affaan-m/ECC, 276k stars), Investigate CI (ClickHouse/ClickHouse, 50k stars) and Investigate Issue (videojs/video.js, 40k stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.
Who maintains Autonomous Investigation?
deanpeters (a GitHub user) maintains it in deanpeters/Product-Manager-Skills, which has 7,224 GitHub stars. The repository holds 75 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on September 1, 2026.
Source: deanpeters/Product-Manager-Skills on GitHub. Facts on this page come from the repository at the commit we read; the author's words are quoted as theirs.