outline-builder_skill

Overview

This skill converts a taxonomy (outline/taxonomy.yml) into a bullets-only, checkable outline (outline/outline.yml) suitable for mapping evidence and driving writing. It produces paper-like sections and subsections where every subsection contains verifiable Stage A bullets (Intent, RQ, Evidence needs, Expected cites) plus concrete, topic-specific coverage items. The output enforces guardrails: bullets-only, no TODOs, and at least three non-template bullets per subsection.

How this skill works

The tool reads outline/taxonomy.yml, translates nodes into H2/H3 headings, and emits a bullets-only outline with Section and Subsection bullets. For each H3 it writes the Stage A contract bullets and 2–6 subsection-specific bullets that encode comparisons, evaluation anchors, failure modes, and scope boundaries. It also supports optional style calibration from ref/agent-surveys to keep section counts paper-like and appends global Discussion/Conclusion later in the pipeline.

When to use it

• You have a taxonomy and need a mappable chapter/subsection skeleton (no prose).
• You want each subsection to state explicit coverage requirements and evidence needs.
• Preparing to assign papers or experiments to outline axes for evidence-first drafting.
• Replacing generic scaffold bullets with topic-specific, checkable items.
• Avoid running when an approved, mappable outline already exists.

Best practices

• Keep final ToC compact (target ~5–6 H2 including Intro/Related) to remain paper-like.
• Ensure every H3 includes Stage A bullets: Intent, RQ, Evidence needs, Expected cites.
• Replace template language with domain terms, datasets, benchmarks, and failure modes.
• Enforce scope cues in bullets (in-scope vs out-of-scope) to prevent silent drift.
• Remove all TODO/TBD/FIXME markers before marking outline refined.

Example use cases

• Generate an evidence-mapping outline from a taxonomy for a survey paper.
• Create a writer-friendly subsection skeleton that a downstream author can draft to without guessing.
• Prepare a mapping sheet where each bullet corresponds to a paper or experiment to collect.
• Run a check to find missing Stage A fields or placeholder bullets before research synthesis.
• Refine a baseline scaffold into a vetted outline and signal completion with outline.refined.ok.