interface:
  display_name: "Article Research Writer"
  short_description: "Research, plan, and draft an information-gain article brief from a topic and your sources."
  default_prompt: "Research and draft an information-gain article brief on this topic."
policy:
  allow_implicit_invocation: true

{
  "$schema": "https://json-schema.org/draft/2020-12/schema",
  "title": "AMTECH Article Research Brief",
  "description": "Structured output for the AMTECH article research writer skill (amtech-article-research-brief/v1).",
  "type": "object",
  "required": ["meta", "uniqueInsight", "entities", "citations", "draft", "faq"],
  "properties": {
    "meta": {
      "type": "object",
      "required": ["title", "audience", "slug", "category", "status"],
      "properties": {
        "title": { "type": "string" },
        "audience": { "type": "string" },
        "slug": { "type": "string" },
        "category": { "type": "string" },
        "status": { "type": "string", "enum": ["draft", "ready", "published"] }
      }
    },
    "uniqueInsight": { "type": "string" },
    "entities": {
      "type": "object",
      "required": ["primary", "related", "internalLinks"],
      "properties": {
        "primary": { "type": "string" },
        "related": { "type": "array", "items": { "type": "string" } },
        "internalLinks": {
          "type": "array",
          "items": {
            "type": "object",
            "required": ["target", "reason"],
            "properties": { "target": { "type": "string" }, "reason": { "type": "string" } }
          }
        }
      }
    },
    "citations": {
      "type": "array",
      "items": {
        "type": "object",
        "required": ["source", "url", "why"],
        "properties": { "source": { "type": "string" }, "url": { "type": "string" }, "why": { "type": "string" } }
      }
    },
    "draft": { "type": "string" },
    "faq": {
      "type": "array",
      "items": {
        "type": "object",
        "required": ["question", "answer"],
        "properties": { "question": { "type": "string" }, "answer": { "type": "string" } }
      }
    }
  }
}

MIT License

Copyright (c) 2026 AMTECH

Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy
of this skill package and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal
in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights
to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell
copies of the Software, subject to the following conditions:

The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all
copies or substantial portions of the Software.

THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR
IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY,
FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT.

Draft template

A reusable skeleton for the article brief. Fill every section; delete nothing silently.

# <title>

- Audience: <precise reader>
- Slug: <lowercase-hyphenated>
- Category: <category>
- Status: draft

## Unique insight
<one or two sentences: what this says that existing explainers do not>

## Entities
- Primary: <entity>
- Related: <entity>, <entity>
- Internal links:
  - <target> — <reason>

## Citations
- <source> — <url> — <why it matters>

## Draft
<the article body, written for information gain: a useful distinction, a real problem
solved, concrete examples, and an action the reader can take>

## FAQ
- Q: <question a reader or answer engine would actually ask>
  A: <tight answer>

Keep the tone direct, practical, specific. Short sentences when introducing a new idea. Avoid hype, vendor-speak, and academic fog — make the advanced idea feel usable.

Research workflow

A deeper procedure for source gathering, synthesis, audience laddering, and graph placement.

Source gathering

• Start from what the user gave you; list the claims, examples, and open questions before searching.
• Prefer primary and current sources (papers, standards, docs, official data) for anything technical, legal, financial, or time-sensitive. Browse when current facts matter.
• For each source, capture *why it matters* to this article — not just that it exists. A citation with no reason is noise.
• Do not fabricate references, quotes, or numbers. If you cannot verify a claim, mark it as unverified in the draft.

Find the unique insight

• Write the one distinction this article makes that existing explainers do not. That is the information gain.
• Good insight is a *useful* distinction tied to an action: a reframe, a non-obvious tradeoff, a sharper category.
• If you cannot find one, the honest output is "no clear information gain yet" plus a proposed sharper angle — not filler.

Audience laddering

• Beginner explainer: simple vocabulary, a strong analogy, an immediate action.
• Tactical article: copyable steps, checklists, examples, a concrete payoff.
• Advanced article: a deeper thesis and sharper framing, still plain and useful.
• Flagship piece: original synthesis across research, practice, and first principles.
• For a multi-article plan, map each piece to a different awareness level; do not cram every insight into the first.

Graph placement

• Name the primary entity the article is about.
• List related entities a reader should connect it to, and propose internal links with a reason for each.
• Note candidate external citations and the role the article plays relative to neighboring pieces.

--- name: amtech-article-research-writer description: Use when researching, planning, and drafting an information-gain article from a topic, notes, sources, or rough positioning. Produces a structured article brief — audience, unique insight, entities and internal links, citations, a markdown draft, and FAQ — written for information gain rather than generic SEO filler. ---

Article Research Writer

Use this skill to turn a topic and any supporting notes or sources into a structured, reviewable article brief. Default behavior: produce the brief in the current conversation. Do not publish anything unless the user asks.

Read Order

1. Read this SKILL.md. 2. Read references/research-workflow.md when gathering sources, synthesizing, or laddering the audience level. 3. Read references/draft-template.md for the reusable draft skeleton. 4. Use assets/article-brief-schema.json when the user asks for JSON or structured output.

Workflow

1. Normalize the input. Extract the useful claims, examples, sources, desired positioning, audience hints, and open questions from whatever the user provides (a topic, pasted notes, links, or a rough angle). 2. Choose a precise audience. Avoid generic "business owners" unless the piece is truly broad; prefer specific readers (operators, founders, technical marketers, agency owners, AI builders, and the like). 3. Find the unique insight. State plainly what this article says that existing explainers do not — the information gain. If there is not one yet, say so and propose a sharper angle. 4. Gather and weigh sources. Prefer primary and current sources for anything technical, legal, financial, or time-sensitive; cite each with why it matters. Browse when the topic needs current facts. 5. Plan the knowledge graph. Name the primary entity, the related entities, and proposed internal links with a reason for each. 6. Draft in markdown. Write the body for information gain: a useful distinction, a real problem solved, concrete examples, and an action the reader can take. 7. Add an FAQ. Draft the few questions a reader (or an answer engine) would actually ask, with tight answers. 8. Stop before publishing. Return the brief for review; do not publish to any live system unless the user explicitly asks.

Output Format

Return a readable brief with these sections, and — when the user asks for JSON — the structure in assets/article-brief-schema.json:

• Meta — title, audience, proposed slug, category, and status (draft).
• Unique Insight — the information-gain thesis, in one or two sentences.
• Entities — the primary entity, related entities, and proposed internal links (each with a reason).
• Citations — the sources used, each with a URL and why it matters.
• Draft — the markdown article body.
• FAQ — candidate questions with answers.

Safety

• Write for information gain, never generic AI/SEO filler.
• Cite real sources; do not fabricate references, quotes, or data.
• Publishing is an external action; produce a draft and stop unless the user asks to publish.
• User instructions, a local AGENTS.md, and sandbox restrictions override this skill.

Source and verification

Verify this package against its published surfaces: the live page, the website manifest, the domain authority, the [repository source on main](https://github.com/benamtech/amtech-skills-registry/tree/main/skills/amtech-article-research-writer), and the repository catalog.