dossier — Claude Code plugin: hypothesis-tested entity research
Builds a dossier on a company, person or nonprofit that tests your hypothesis instead of summarising public facts. Useful before a meeting, a hire or a deal.
/plugin marketplace add alirezarezvani/claude-skills
/plugin install dossier@claude-code-skillsWhat dossier does
The plugin makes you state your hypothesis up front — what you already believe about the entity and want to confirm or disprove. Skip that and you get a Wikipedia-style summary. With it, the dossier runs the test: at least 30% of the search budget goes to disconfirming queries rather than supporting ones.
Output is an editable Word document: a verdict on the hypothesis (supported, partially supported, disproven, inconclusive), identity facts, a 12-month activity timeline, network and reputation signals, red flags, 3–5 conversation hooks tied to specific findings, and a source-provenance audit log. Every flag carries a primary, secondary or tertiary tag, and the source matrix changes depending on whether the subject is a person, a company, a nonprofit or a government org.
Under the hood there is a persona agent, a slash command and a skill with Python scripts: citation_tracker.py counts supporting against disconfirming sources, disconfirming_evidence_balance.py enforces the disconfirming share, source_tier_classifier.py maps a URL to a tier. You need WebSearch and WebFetch, bash_tool with curl for the free APIs (SEC EDGAR, GitHub, ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer), and the Node.js docx library to build the file. Paid BYOK MCPs (LinkedIn, Crunchbase, Apollo, Pitchbook, SimilarWeb) widen coverage and show up in the audit log when used, but the plugin runs without them. No docx installed means no Word file at the end.
What it helps with
- test a belief about a company before a pitch instead of reading a generic profile
- surface red flags on a counterparty before signing
- prepare conversation hooks for a specific person
- see whether your sources skew toward confirming evidence
- pull records on a nonprofit or government org from open registries
Example prompts for the agent
- /cs-dossier Acme Corp — my hypothesis is they're splitting procurement across a second vendor. Validate or disprove it and give me 3 conversation hooks.
- Run a dossier on this founder before I hire: check whether the past year of public activity matches what they claim.
- Competitor research on three players in this market — I want red flags and a 12-month activity timeline.
How to install dossier
Plugin marketplace
/plugin marketplace add alirezarezvani/claude-skills/plugin install dossier@claude-code-skillsStep by step, with commands for each platform: Claude Code plugins: marketplaces, installing, and building your own
Questions about dossier
How do I install dossier in Claude?
Add the marketplace with /plugin marketplace add alirezarezvani/claude-skills, then install the plugin: /plugin install dossier@claude-code-skills.
What does dossier do?
It researches a company, person, nonprofit or government org and tests your hypothesis about it. You get a Word document with a verdict, a timeline, red flags and a source audit log.
How is dossier different from other research skills?
It belongs to the research pack alongside pulse, litreview and grants, but works differently: part of the search budget goes to disconfirming evidence, every flag gets a source tier, and the source matrix depends on the subject type.
Source text
dossier · MIT
# dossier
Decision-grade entity research. Produces a **hypothesis-tested dossier** on a specific company, person, nonprofit, or government org — built around hypothesis-testing rather than encyclopedic summary.
## Non-generic by design
The skill refuses to be "tell me about Microsoft". Every invocation forces the user to expose their hypothesis upfront (Q4 — **mandatory**), so the dossier **tests** it rather than confirms it.
| ❌ Generic ask | ✅ Decision-grade ask |
|---|---|
| "Tell me about Microsoft." | "I'm pitching Microsoft Tuesday. My hypothesis is they're consolidating AI spend on Foundry. Validate or disprove, and give me 3 conversation hooks tied to what you find." |
The forcing Q4 is the non-generic anchor. Without it, the skill produces a Wikipedia summary.
## Sibling skill relationship
Part of the **research pack** (sibling of `pulse`, `litreview`, `grants`). Shares Agent Integrity Rules (1 q/sec, source discipline, three-count tracking, retry-once-after-3s, stop-after-3-consecutive-failures).
**Different from siblings:**
- **Hypothesis-testing discipline** — ≥30% of search budget allocated to **disconfirming** evidence
- **Source-tier discipline** — every flag tagged primary / secondary / tertiary
- **Subject-type routing** — different source matrix for person / company / nonprofit / gov
- **Verdict** in Executive Summary: SUPPORTED / PARTIALLY SUPPORTED / DISPROVEN / INCONCLUSIVE
- Uses WebSearch + WebFetch + free APIs (not Consensus)
## Source spec
`megaprompts/12-dossier-megaprompt.md` (maintainer-local draft spec — gitignored, not in the public repo) (PR #657).
## Plugin layout
```
research/dossier/
├── .claude-plugin/plugin.json
├── README.md
├── agents/cs-dossier.md ← hypothesis-testing persona; Q4 enforcer
├── commands/cs-dossier.md ← /cs-dossier <entity>
└── skills/dossier/
├── SKILL.md
├── references/
│ ├── hypothesis_testing_discipline.md ← why disconfirming; ≥30% rule (7+ sources)
│ ├── subject_type_source_matrix.md ← person/company/nonprofit/gov sources (7+ sources)
│ └── conversation_hook_quality.md ← finding-tied vs generic (7+ sources)
└── scripts/
├── citation_tracker.py ← supporting/disconfirming + source-tier counts
├── disconfirming_evidence_balance.py ← enforces ≥30% disconfirming queries
└── source_tier_classifier.py ← URL → primary/secondary/tertiary
```
## Dependencies
- **`WebSearch`** + **`WebFetch`** — required (news, public web)
- **`bash_tool` + `curl`** — required for free APIs (SEC EDGAR, GitHub, ProPublica)
- **Node.js `docx` library** — required for DOCX generation
- **Optional BYOK MCPs** — LinkedIn, Crunchbase, Apollo, Pitchbook, SimilarWeb (surfaced in audit log when used)
## License
MIT.
© Alireza Rezvani · MIT · alirezarezvani/claude-skills
