research-goal-curator

Research Goal Curator

Trigger

• Use when a workspace already contains AGENT_GOAL.md and the user wants to refine, clarify, or save a research goal.
• Use when the user has a research brief, chat history, or tentative wording that should be turned into an internally consistent goal file.
• Do not use this skill to scaffold AGENT files. If AGENT_GOAL.md does not exist, route to the appropriate scaffolder: agent-files for generic workspaces or manuscript-writing-agent-files for LaTeX IEEE manuscript writing.
• Do not use this skill to rewrite AGENT.md, AGENT_HARNESS.md, or AGENT_PROGRESS.md; its write surface is only AGENT_GOAL.md.

Inputs

• target_dir: workspace directory expected to contain AGENT_GOAL.md
• research_brief: concise statement of the research intent to preserve and refine into durable goal-file content
• chat_context: optional conversation excerpts, notes, or prior wording; supporting context only, not persistent scope unless explicitly approved as goal-file content
• dry_run: when true, return a structured preview without writing

Workflow

1. Verify that target_dir/AGENT_GOAL.md exists. If it does not, stop and tell the caller to scaffold the workspace first with the appropriate scaffolder (agent-files for generic workspaces or manuscript-writing-agent-files for LaTeX IEEE manuscript writing).
2. Read the existing AGENT_GOAL.md and identify its current sections: statement, scope, non-goals, success criteria, and constraints.
3. Read research_brief and any chat_context, then interact with the user until the research intention is explicit enough to save. Treat chat context as evidence for wording and intent; do not turn it into persistent scope, non-goals, success criteria, or constraints unless the user explicitly approves that content for AGENT_GOAL.md.
4. When the user has already approved exact wording, preserve that wording unless the user explicitly asks for a revision.
5. Curate the whole AGENT_GOAL.md so the sections are mutually consistent and reflect the same research intention. Preserve neutral scaffold entries such as "Not yet specified by user" only when the user has not approved durable content for that section; replace them deliberately when the user approves concrete section content.
6. If dry_run is true, return the proposed update summary without writing. Otherwise update AGENT_GOAL.md and return a concise report of what changed.