gco-research
Web research using GitHub Copilot CLI. Use when: (1) User says 'gco research', 'copilot research', or 'copilot look up', (2) Researching libraries, APIs, best practices, or technical topics, (3) Gathering information from the web. Copilot performs research, Claude Code synthesizes. Falls back to Claude Code researcher subagent if Copilot unavailable.
Best use case
gco-research is best used when you need a repeatable AI agent workflow instead of a one-off prompt.
Web research using GitHub Copilot CLI. Use when: (1) User says 'gco research', 'copilot research', or 'copilot look up', (2) Researching libraries, APIs, best practices, or technical topics, (3) Gathering information from the web. Copilot performs research, Claude Code synthesizes. Falls back to Claude Code researcher subagent if Copilot unavailable.
Teams using gco-research should expect a more consistent output, faster repeated execution, less prompt rewriting.
When to use this skill
- You want a reusable workflow that can be run more than once with consistent structure.
When not to use this skill
- You only need a quick one-off answer and do not need a reusable workflow.
- You cannot install or maintain the underlying files, dependencies, or repository context.
Installation
Claude Code / Cursor / Codex
Manual Installation
- Download SKILL.md from GitHub
- Place it in
.claude/skills/gco-research/SKILL.mdinside your project - Restart your AI agent — it will auto-discover the skill
How gco-research Compares
| Feature / Agent | gco-research | Standard Approach |
|---|---|---|
| Platform Support | Not specified | Limited / Varies |
| Context Awareness | High | Baseline |
| Installation Complexity | Unknown | N/A |
Frequently Asked Questions
What does this skill do?
Web research using GitHub Copilot CLI. Use when: (1) User says 'gco research', 'copilot research', or 'copilot look up', (2) Researching libraries, APIs, best practices, or technical topics, (3) Gathering information from the web. Copilot performs research, Claude Code synthesizes. Falls back to Claude Code researcher subagent if Copilot unavailable.
Where can I find the source code?
You can find the source code on GitHub using the link provided at the top of the page.
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SKILL.md Source
# GCO Research
Web research via GitHub Copilot CLI, synthesized by Claude Code.
## Process
### Step 0: Pre-flight Rate Limit Check
Before doing anything, check if Copilot is currently in degraded mode:
```bash
RATE_CHECK=$(node $HOME/.claude/scripts/gco-rate-limit.js check 2>&1)
```
If the output starts with `degraded:`, **notify the user** that Copilot is in low-cost mode (auto-downgraded model) but **proceed with Copilot anyway** — it is still usable. Do NOT skip or fall back.
### Step 1: Understand the Research Topic
Clarify what needs to be researched:
- Specific question or topic
- Scope and depth needed
- How findings will be used
### Step 2: Build Research Prompt
```
Research the following topic: <topic>
Specific questions to answer:
1. <question 1>
2. <question 2>
3. <question 3>
Provide:
- Key findings with sources/URLs where possible
- Comparison of alternatives if applicable
- Concrete recommendations based on findings
- Code examples if relevant
Be thorough but concise. Cite sources.
```
### Step 3: Run Copilot
```bash
LOGDIR=$(node $HOME/.claude/scripts/get-logdir.js)
mkdir -p "$LOGDIR"
DATETIME=$(date +%Y%m%d_%H%M%S)
SLUG="<short-topic-slug>"
bash $HOME/.claude/skills/gco/scripts/gco-run.sh \
"<research prompt>" \
"$LOGDIR/${DATETIME}-gco-research-${SLUG}.md" \
"$LOGDIR/${DATETIME}-gco-research-${SLUG}-stderr.log"
```
**Timeout: 15 minutes.**
### Step 4: Collect Results
After Copilot completes (or times out):
1. Read the output file
2. If empty or missing, check stderr log for errors (a 402 no-quota error means Copilot Premium is exhausted — treat it as a failure)
3. If Copilot timed out or failed, jump to **Fallback**
### Step 5: Fallback
If Copilot timed out, produced **no usable output**, hit **no-quota (402)**, or is **not installed**:
- **Notify the user** about the fallback
- Spawn a `researcher` subagent to perform the research via Claude Code tools (WebSearch, WebFetch, etc.)
- Continue as if the researcher subagent was the original plan
- Note: Rate limiting alone is NOT a fallback trigger — Copilot may auto-downgrade to a cheaper model and the output is still usable
### Step 6: Synthesize
1. Read Copilot output from the log file
2. Verify key claims where possible
3. Organize findings into a clear structure
4. Present to the user with source references
### Step 7: Save Research Log
Save the final synthesized findings:
```bash
node $HOME/.claude/scripts/save-file.js "{logdir}/{timestamp}-research-{topic}.md" "<content>"
```
Then format:
```bash
pnpm dlx @takazudo/mdx-formatter --write <file>
```
## Important Notes
- Copilot can do web research natively
- All file writing done by Claude Code, never by Copilot
- Falls back to `researcher` subagent if Copilot fails
- NEVER use `~` in paths — use `$HOME`Related Skills
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zudoesa-apply-voice
Apply Takazudo's esa writing voice and vocabulary rules to text. Use when: (1) User wants to write/rewrite text in Takazudo's esa style, (2) User says 'apply voice', 'esa voice', 'esa文体で', 'esa風に書いて', '文体を適用', (3) User provides text to transform to esa style. Reads writing-style.md and vocabulary-rule.md from takazudo-esa-writing repo and applies the rules.
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zudocg-apply-voice
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zpaper-apply-voice
Apply Takazudo's zpaper blog writing voice and vocabulary rules to text. Use when: (1) User wants to write/rewrite text in Takazudo's zpaper style, (2) User says 'apply voice', 'zpaper voice', 'zpaper文体で', 'zpaper風に書いて', 'ブログ文体を適用', (3) User provides text to transform to zpaper style. Reads writing-style.md and vocabulary-rule.md from the zpaper repo and applies the rules.
xlsx
Spreadsheet creation, editing, and analysis. Use when working with .xlsx, .xlsm, .csv, .tsv files for: (1) Creating spreadsheets with formulas and formatting, (2) Reading or analyzing data, (3) Modifying existing spreadsheets while preserving formulas, (4) Data analysis and visualization, (5) Recalculating formulas.
x
Facade for development workflows. Routes on two axes: plan-first vs implement-now (escalates to /big-plan -a when the request needs research / decomposition / has unclear scope — the appended -a makes the plan chain into implementation in-session), then single vs multi on the ready-to-build fast paths (/x-as-pr single-topic, /x-wt-teams multi-topic parallel). Use when: (1) User says '/x' followed by dev instructions, (2) User wants to start development without choosing the workflow skill, (3) User says 'dev', 'implement', or 'build' with a task. Default option: -v (verify-ui). Review-loop (-l) is opt-in — without -l the downstream skill runs a single /deep-review pass. Forwards -a (autonomy/auto-chain) and -m (merge at the end + cleanup + CI watch) through every route; auto-fix of raised findings (-f) and issue-raising (-ri) are downstream defaults, with -nf/--no-fix and -nori/--no-raise-issues as the forwarded opt-outs. -a and -m are orthogonal — full hands-off end-to-end is -a -m.
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Parallel multi-topic development using git worktrees, base branches, and Claude Code agent teams. Use when: (1) User wants to work on multiple related features in parallel, (2) User mentions 'worktree', 'base branch', 'parallel development', 'split into topics', or 'multi-topic'. FULLY AUTONOMOUS — creates worktrees, spawns teams, coordinates everything. Also supports Super-Epic child mode for [Epic] issues from /big-plan with '**Super-epic:** #N' markers (targets the super-epic base branch instead of main).
x-as-pr
Start a development workflow as a draft PR. Creates a NEW branch from the current branch, empty start commit, draft PR targeting the current branch, then implements. ALWAYS creates a new branch by default — produces a nested PR-on-PR when the current branch already has one. Use when: (1) User says 'dev as pr', (2) User wants a PR-first workflow before coding, (3) User passes -s/--stay to reuse the current branch instead of nesting, (4) User passes a GitHub issue URL to implement, (5) User passes --make-issue/--issue to create an issue first. Logs progress via issue comments when an issue is linked.
watch-ci
Watch GitHub PR CI checks in the background and notify on completion. Use when: (1) User wants to monitor CI/CD status, (2) User says 'watch CI', 'check CI', 'monitor checks', or 'wait for CI', (3) User wants to know when checks pass or fail. Runs a background gh polling shell loop (NOT a subagent — near-zero token cost), sends macOS notification on completion. Also handles merged PRs by watching the target branch CI.