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A research is searching around something.

v1.3.0

6-step structured research skill. Searches arXiv, reads 5 papers via markitdown, has Claude select the best 2, runs 4 targeted web searches (explanation, Git...

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byJay@goog
MIT-0
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LicenseMIT-0 · Free to use, modify, and redistribute. No attribution required.
Security Scan
Capability signals
Requires sensitive credentials
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Suspicious
medium confidence
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Purpose & Capability
The skill claims to run a 6-step research pipeline (arXiv + web + LLM). Requiring SERPER_API_KEY (web search) makes sense. Requiring OPENROUTER_API_KEY could be reasonable if it uses OpenRouter as the LLM proxy, but the shipped code explicitly interacts with Anthropic/Claude endpoints (GET /v1/models, x-api-key headers, CLI flag --anthropic-key). The declared env list omits ANTHROPIC_API_KEY while the code expects an Anthropic key — this mismatch is incoherent and should be clarified. The web_fetcher module supports proxy pools and browser-fingerprinting libraries (curl_cffi, fake-useragent), which are stronger capabilities than a minimal research tool needs.
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Instruction Scope
Runtime instructions (SKILL.md) match the stated pipeline (download PDFs, convert via markitdown, perform Serper searches, call an LLM to select and synthesize). However: (1) the SKILL.md and code reference Claude/Anthropic behavior but declared env vars don't include ANTHROPIC_API_KEY; (2) the tool fetches full web pages and sends them to remote LLM/search APIs — expected for this skill but important to note because fetched page contents (including private or paywalled snippets if URLs are provided) will be transmitted externally; (3) SKILL.md instructs installing packages and copying the script into /usr/local/bin, which writes to system locations rather than remaining instruction-only.
Install Mechanism
There is no formal registry install spec (instruction-only). SKILL.md contains explicit 'pip install ...' commands and 'cp scripts/owl.py /usr/local/bin' — these are manual steps that modify the system environment. The Python dependencies include markitdown, curl_cffi, BeautifulSoup, lxml and fake-useragent. Nothing is downloaded from obscure URLs, but the suggested installs create executable system-level tooling (potentially persistent) and install libraries used for stealthy scraping.
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Credentials
Registry requires OPENROUTER_API_KEY and SERPER_API_KEY which is plausible (LLM proxy + web search). The code, CLI flags, and SKILL.md also reference ANTHROPIC_API_KEY / Claude and provide a --anthropic-key flag; yet ANTHROPIC_API_KEY is not declared as required. That mismatch is the primary disproportion — you may need to supply additional LLM credentials not listed. No other unrelated secrets are requested, but the omission reduces transparency.
Persistence & Privilege
The skill is not force-included (always: false) and allows normal autonomous invocation. It does not request to change other skills' configs. The SKILL.md does tell users to copy the script to /usr/local/bin (system-wide executable) which creates persistence on the host if followed, but this is a manual instruction rather than an automatic install step from the registry.
What to consider before installing
This skill largely does what it says (download papers, convert, web-search, synthesize) but has a few red flags you should resolve before installing: - Confirm which LLM provider it will use: the code calls Anthropic/Claude endpoints and has a --anthropic-key flag, but the registry only lists OPENROUTER_API_KEY. Ask the author which key the tool needs and whether OpenRouter or Anthropic will be used. Do not provide unrelated credentials. - Review the code paths that send extracted PDF/text/web content to remote APIs (OpenRouter / Anthropic / Serper). If you plan to run on sensitive topics or internal URLs, be aware those contents will be transmitted externally. - The included web_fetcher supports proxy pools, stealth headers, and curl_cffi fingerprinting — useful for scraping but able to bypass rate-limits/blocks. If that worries you, run the tool in a sandbox, restrict networking, or remove/disable proxy features. - The SKILL.md tells you to pip-install packages and copy the script into /usr/local/bin. Prefer running inside a virtualenv or container instead of installing system-wide, and inspect the scripts' source before making them executable. If you cannot get clarification from the publisher, treat this skill as untrusted: run it in an isolated environment, avoid supplying extra credentials until clarified, and consider adding the missing ANTHROPIC_API_KEY to the declared metadata only after confirming its legitimate need.

Like a lobster shell, security has layers — review code before you run it.

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License

MIT-0
Free to use, modify, and redistribute. No attribution required.

Runtime requirements

Binspython
EnvOPENROUTER_API_KEY, SERPER_API_KEY

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