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Agent skill

Research Brief

by OpenHands in OpenHands/extensions

Create an automation that writes a recurring research brief.

MITAuto-check passedResearch & Science

Install Research Brief

skills CLI
$ npx skills add OpenHands/extensions --skill research-brief -a claude-code

Project install by default; add -g for ~/.claude/skills/.

GitHub CLI
$ gh skill install OpenHands/extensions research-brief --agent claude-code

Project scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).

Manual copy
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/OpenHands/extensions.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/research-brief .claude/skills/research-brief && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.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/

Facts

Skill name
research-brief
GitHub stars
157
Token cost
~831 tokens
SKILL.md length
330 words
Files
6
Skills in repo
78
Repo updated
First seen
Licence
MIT

At a glance

Create an automation that writes a recurring research brief.

  • Works in 5 steps: Verify MCP access → Configure the schedule → Build the research prompt → …
  • Tasks that involve Deep research
  • SKILL.md covers Prerequisites and Setup Workflow
  • Calls curl; needs OPENHANDS_API_KEY and OPENHANDS_AUTOMATION_API_KEY

What it does

Research Brief is an agent skill from OpenHands/extensions. Create an automation that writes a recurring research brief. Uses Tavily MCP for web research and Notion MCP to publish the final brief with executive summary, implications, and source citations.

Its SKILL.md is about 830 tokens, which your agent loads only when the skill is triggered. The skill folder holds 7 other files (for example `.plugin/plugin.json`, `README.md` and `commands/research-brief-setup.md`).

It sits in Research & Science, covering Deep research, Summarization and Web search. It works with Model Context Protocol, Notion and Tavily. The repository describes itself as: Public registry for OpenHands extensions. The licence is MIT.

When your agent uses it

  • Tasks that involve Deep research
  • Tasks that involve Summarization
  • Tasks that involve Web search

Example prompts

  • “/research-brief”

Requirements

  • A credential in OPENHANDS_API_KEY
  • A credential in OPENHANDS_AUTOMATION_API_KEY

Workflow steps

5 steps, taken from the step headings in SKILL.md.

  1. Verify MCP access
  2. Configure the schedule
  3. Build the research prompt
  4. Create the automation
  5. Confirm

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit d008b81. 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

    Shell commands in SKILL.md call:

    • curl

    From the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.

  • Network

    No URLs in SKILL.md. Its commands use curl, which can reach the network depending on how they are called.

    From URLs in SKILL.md, links to its own repository left out.

  • Credentials

    Names these keys or tokens, usually read from environment variables:

    • OPENHANDS_API_KEY
    • OPENHANDS_AUTOMATION_API_KEY

    From names ending in _API_KEY, _TOKEN, _SECRET, _KEY or _PASSWORD in SKILL.md.

Context cost

Research Brief loads about 831 tokens when it runs. Until then it costs about 53 tokens; SKILL.md has 330 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it
~53
When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches
~831

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

The full file from OpenHands/extensions at commit d008b81, republished under its MIT licence (© OpenHands). 330 words, ~831 tokens.

Download SKILL.mdSave it as .claude/skills/research-brief/SKILL.md (or your agent's skills folder). This skill also uses 5 other files; get the full folder from GitHub.
name
research-brief
description
Create an automation that writes a recurring research brief. Uses Tavily MCP for web research and Notion MCP to publish the final brief with executive summary, implications, and source citations.
triggers
/research-brief:setup

Research Brief Writer Automation

Set up a recurring automation that researches a topic and publishes a brief to Notion.

Prerequisites

Required integrations

Both MCP integrations must be installed in Settings → MCP:

  • Tavily MCP — for web research and source gathering
  • Notion MCP — to publish the research brief
Information to collect

Ask the user for:

  1. Topic — what should be researched (e.g. "AI code review tools", "competitor pricing changes")
  2. Keywords and competitors — specific terms, companies, or products to track
  3. Source quality rules — any preferences on source types (e.g. prefer academic papers, exclude social media)
  4. Cadence — how often should the brief run? (daily, weekly, bi-weekly)
  5. Notion destination — which Notion database or page should receive the brief
  6. Citation style — inline links, footnotes, or a references section
  7. Brief structure — default: Executive Summary, Key Findings, Implications, Recommended Actions, Sources

Setup Workflow

Step 1 — Verify MCP access

Test each integration:

Use the Tavily MCP to search for a sample topic.
Use the Notion MCP to search for the destination database.

If any fail, tell the user which integration needs to be installed first.

Step 2 — Configure the schedule

Based on the user's cadence preference, build a cron schedule:

  • Daily: 0 8 * * 1-5 (weekday mornings)
  • Weekly: 0 9 * * 1 (Monday morning)
  • Bi-weekly: 0 9 1,15 * * (1st and 15th)

Ask for timezone preference.

Step 3 — Build the research prompt

Construct a prompt that includes:

  • Research topic and keywords
  • Competitor/entity tracking list
  • Source quality preferences
  • Brief structure template
  • Notion destination details
  • Citation format
Step 4 — Create the automation

Set OPENHANDS_HOST and AUTH_HEADER for the request below:

  • OpenHands Cloud or Enterprise - a <HOST> value is in your system prompt: use it as OPENHANDS_HOST, with AUTH_HEADER="Authorization: Bearer $OPENHANDS_API_KEY"
  • Local Agent Canvas - an Automation backend is listed in <RUNTIME_SERVICES>: use its url_from_agent as OPENHANDS_HOST, with AUTH_HEADER="X-Session-API-Key: $OPENHANDS_AUTOMATION_API_KEY"

Use the prompt preset endpoint:

bash
curl -s -X POST "${OPENHANDS_HOST}/api/automation/v1/preset/prompt" \
  -H "$AUTH_HEADER" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "name": "Research Brief Writer",
    "prompt": "<constructed research prompt>",
    "trigger": {"type": "cron", "schedule": "<schedule>", "timezone": "<tz>"}
  }'

PowerShell note: use curl.exe for this exact flag syntax, and replace ${OPENHANDS_HOST} / $AUTH_HEADER with $env:OPENHANDS_HOST / $env:AUTH_HEADER if running it natively.

Step 5 — Confirm

Tell the user:

✅ Research Brief Writer is running!

  • Automation ID: {id}
  • Topic: {topic}
  • Schedule: {cron description}
  • Notion destination: {destination}
  • Citation style: {style}

© OpenHands, MIT. Rendered from Markdown: HTML in the file is shown as text, images as links, and headings moved down two levels. Raw file

Files

SKILL.md and 5 other files in skills/research-brief of OpenHands/extensions.

  • SKILL.md
  • .claude-plugin
  • .codex-plugin
  • .plugin/plugin.json
  • README.md
  • commands/research-brief-setup.md

Open the folder on GitHubat commit d008b81

Compare with similar skills

Research Brief 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.

Research Brief compared with similar skills
SkillStarsUsed inTokensAuto-checkLicenceRepo updated
Research Brief this skillOpenHands/extensions157—~831Automated safety check: PassMIT
Argo Search and Verificationtaxueseek/argo184—~1.2kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Exa Searchmajiayu000/claude-skill-registry6665 repos~856Automated safety check: PassMIT
Multi Source Searchsandbaseai/sandbase-skills201—~1.6kAutomated safety check: PassApache-2.0
Tavily Researchinitializ/forge223—~1.1kAutomated safety check: PassApache-2.0
Deep Research with Firecrawl and Exaaffaan-m/ECC274k—~150Automated safety check: PassMIT

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Works with

Categories

Questions about Research Brief

What does Research Brief do?

Create an automation that writes a recurring research brief. Research Brief is an agent skill from OpenHands/extensions. Create an automation that writes a recurring research brief.

When should I use Research Brief?

Research Brief fits situations like: tasks that involve Deep research; tasks that involve Summarization; tasks that involve Web search.

How do I install Research Brief in Claude Code?

Run `npx skills add OpenHands/extensions --skill research-brief -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/research-brief in OpenHands/extensions) into .claude/skills/research-brief in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.

How do I install Research Brief in Codex?

Run `npx skills add OpenHands/extensions --skill research-brief -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/research-brief in OpenHands/extensions) into .agents/skills/research-brief in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.

Can I use Research Brief 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 OpenHands/extensions --skill research-brief -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/research-brief, .gemini/skills/research-brief, .github/skills/research-brief and .opencode/skills/research-brief in your project.

What does Research Brief need to run?

Going by SKILL.md and its folder, Research Brief needs the command-line tools its instructions call (curl) and credentials named OPENHANDS_API_KEY and OPENHANDS_AUTOMATION_API_KEY. Our summary lists: A credential in OPENHANDS_API_KEY; A credential in OPENHANDS_AUTOMATION_API_KEY.

Does Research Brief access the network?

SKILL.md contains no URLs. Its commands use curl, which can reach the network depending on how they are called. This is read from the text; nothing was executed.

Is Research Brief 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 Research Brief use?

Research Brief is published under the MIT licence (the repository's licence). It allows redistribution, so the full SKILL.md is shown on this page.

How many tokens does Research Brief use?

About 831 tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 3.3k 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 Research Brief?

Skills that share tags, products or a category with Research Brief: Argo Search and Verification (taxueseek/argo, 184 stars), Exa Search (majiayu000/claude-skill-registry, 666 stars), Multi Source Search (sandbaseai/sandbase-skills, 201 stars) and Tavily Research (initializ/forge, 223 stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.

Who maintains Research Brief?

OpenHands (a GitHub organization) maintains it in OpenHands/extensions, which has 157 GitHub stars. The repository holds 78 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on October 6, 2026.

Source: OpenHands/extensions on GitHub. Facts on this page come from the repository at the commit we read; the author's words are quoted as theirs.