lavey/4th-devs-dotnet48/product-compare

Use this skill when the user asks for structured product research with a final overview.

Goal

Produce a topic research workspace with this strict flow:

1. Research each product into its own markdown file.
2. Execute the merge script to generate a topic overview file.

Maximum products: 3.

If the user gives more than 3 products, ask them to reduce the scope.

Required Workflow

1. Parse arguments with deterministic rules:

• Preferred form: <topic> | <product-a> | <product-b> | [product-c]
• If topic is omitted and only products are present, derive topic as joined product slugs:
• notion-airtable-clickup
• products must be 2-3

1. Use topic folder:

• vault/research/<topic>/
• do not create placeholder files (.keep.md)
• writing first product file should create missing directories automatically

1. For each product, run web research and write:

• vault/research/<topic>/<product-slug>.md

1. Use web_search to gather evidence for each product:

• official product page/docs
• official pricing page (if available)
• at least one independent source per product
• target at least 3 source URLs per product note whenever available

1. Write each product file using the required structure below.
2. Run code_mode using the runtime script:

• script_path: "vault/system/skills/product-compare/scripts/merge-overview.js"
• input: { "topic": "<topic>" }

1. Verify output file:

• vault/research/<topic>/overview.md

1. Confirm what was created.

Required Product File Structure

Each product file (vault/research/<topic>/<product-slug>.md) MUST contain:

1. # <Product Name>
2. ## Positioning
3. ## Pricing
4. ## Key Features
5. ## Integrations
6. ## Strengths
7. ## Risks
8. ## Best Fit
9. ## Sources (bullet list of URLs; include at least one real URL)

Use this normalized schema in the content:

• positioning
• key features (3-6)
• pricing model
• deployment model
• integrations/ecosystem
• strengths
• risks/tradeoffs
• best fit

Missing Information Rule (required)

If information is not found, do NOT skip the section. Write one explicit line in that section:

Not found in reviewed sources as of <YYYY-MM-DD>.

If sources conflict, write:

Conflicting information across sources; verification required.

Deterministic tool usage for this skill

• Use terminal for folder/file checks and content writes.
• In code_mode, do not attempt web/network retrieval.
• Use code_mode only for deterministic merge of existing product notes into overview.
• Do not create or rely on placeholder files like .keep.md.

Output Paths

• Product files:
• vault/research/<topic>/<product-slug>.md
• Merged overview:
• vault/research/<topic>/overview.md

Code Mode Guidance

Use this exact code_mode call shape:

{
  "script_path": "vault/system/skills/product-compare/scripts/merge-overview.js",
  "input": {
    "topic": "ai-workspaces"
  }
}

Quality Rules

• Keep claims tied to sources.
• Do not fabricate pricing numbers.
• Prefer neutral language over hype.
• If evidence is weak/conflicting, state uncertainty explicitly in the product file.
• Missing information must be explicitly marked ("Not found..." rule above).