Research to Diagram

Conduct in-depth research on topics and automatically generate knowledge relationship graph PDFs. A one-stop tool from research to visualization.

Description

This Skill receives research topics provided by users, automatically performs in-depth web research, information collection, knowledge organization, structure design, and finally generates professional visualized relationship graph PDFs. Different from

structure-to-pdf

, this Skill focuses on active research and knowledge mining rather than passive data conversion.

Core Features

Automated Research: Conduct multi-round in-depth research using WebSearch
Intelligent Organization: Automatically extract, classify, and structure information
Professional Design: Select the optimal visualization scheme based on topic characteristics
Multiple Outputs: Support tools like Graphviz, PlantUML, Mermaid
High-Quality PDF: Generate vector graphics that can be infinitely scaled

Trigger Conditions

When users want to:

Research the knowledge structure of a complex topic (e.g., "A Dream of Red Mansions character relationships")
Generate character relationship diagrams, concept maps, knowledge graphs
Understand the organizational structure or technical architecture of a certain field
Visualize complex relationship networks
Need to research and visualize a topic from scratch

Keywords:

"Research...and diagram"
"Study the relationships of..."
"In-depth analysis...and visualization"
"Generate...knowledge graph"
"Draw...relationship diagram" (no existing data)

Workflow

1. Task Planning (TodoWrite)

- Conduct in-depth research on the topic and related knowledge
- Design the graph structure and hierarchy
- Create visual diagrams
- Generate PDF documents

2. In-Depth Research Phase

Multi-round WebSearch: Collect information from different perspectives
- Topic overview and background
- Core elements and characters/concepts
- Relationships and connections
- Hierarchies and classifications
Information Source Recording: Save links to all reference materials
Knowledge Extraction: Identify key entities and relationships

3. Structure Design Phase

Select the optimal structure based on topic type:

Character Relationship Diagrams:

Family pedigree: Multi-level tree structure
Social network: Network relationship diagram
Organizational structure: Hierarchical layout

Concept Maps:

Knowledge classification: Tree or mind map
Concept relationships: Directed graph
Flowchart: Linear or branching process

Technical Architecture:

System components: Modular layout
Dependency relationships: Hierarchical or network diagram
Data flow: Flowchart

4. Visualization Implementation

Priority use of Graphviz (DOT language):

dot

digraph G {
    // 全局样式
    graph [rankdir=TB bgcolor="#fdfdf5" fontname="Arial Unicode MS"]
    node [shape=box style="rounded,filled" fillcolor="#e8f4f8"]
    edge [fontname="Arial Unicode MS"]

    // 使用 subgraph cluster 分组
    subgraph cluster_group1 {
        label="分组名称"
        node1 [label="节点1"]
        node2 [label="节点2"]
    }

    // 定义关系
    node1 -> node2 [label="关系类型" color=red]
}

Alternative Tools:

PlantUML: UML diagrams, sequence diagrams
Mermaid: Simple flowcharts, sequence diagrams

5. PDF Generation

bash

dot -Tpdf diagram.dot -o output.pdf

6. Document Organization

Optionally generate explanatory documents including:

Research topic overview
Graph explanation
Reference sources (Sources)
Usage instructions

Design Principles

Visual Design

Color Coding: Use different colors to distinguish categories
Shape Differentiation: Use different shapes for different types of entities
Clear Hierarchy: Use subgraph cluster for grouping
Relationship Annotation: Use edge color, style, and labels to express relationship types
Chinese Support: Use "Arial Unicode MS" or system Chinese fonts

Information Hierarchy

Title Layer: Main title
Grouping Layer: Main categories/families
Entity Layer: Specific characters/concepts
Relationship Layer: Connections and annotations
Legend Layer: Explain symbol meanings

Layout Strategies

rankdir=TB: Top to bottom (family trees, organizational structures)
rankdir=LR: Left to right (flowcharts, timelines)
rankdir=BT: Bottom to top (dependency diagrams)
splines=ortho: Orthogonal edges (clear organizational diagrams)
splines=curved: Curved edges (aesthetic relationship networks)

Output Files

Default save location:

~/Downloads/

or user-specified directory

Generated files:

```
<topic>_relations.dot
```
- Graphviz source file
```
<topic>_relations.pdf
```
- Final PDF graph
```
<topic>_sources.md
```
- Reference materials (optional)

Usage Examples

Example 1: Literary Work Character Relationships

User: Conduct in-depth research on the relationships between characters in "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" and create a structure diagram PDF

Skill Execution:

Research main characters, camps, and relationships in the Three Kingdoms period
Design: Three major camps (Wei, Shu, Wu) + character hierarchy + alliance/opposition relationships
Create a multi-level relationship diagram using Graphviz
Generate PDF

Example 2: Technical Concept Map

User: Research Kubernetes architecture and generate a visualized graph

Skill Execution:

Research K8s core components and architecture hierarchy
Design: Control plane/data plane/plugin ecosystem
Generate technical architecture diagram
Output PDF

Example 3: Historical Event Relationships

User: Analyze the relationships between major countries and alliances in World War II and create a chart

Skill Execution:

Research participating countries, camps, and key time nodes
Design: Axis powers/Allied powers/neutral countries relationship network
Generate a relationship diagram with timeline
Output PDF

Differences from structure-to-pdf

Feature	research-to-diagram	structure-to-pdf
Input	Only topic/research question	Existing structured data
Research	✅ Automated in-depth research	❌ No research needed
Knowledge Organization	✅ Automatic extraction and structuring	❌ Directly use user data
Application Scenarios	Knowledge exploration, research visualization	Quick data conversion
Time	Longer (requires research)	Fast

When to Use This Skill:

✅ No existing data, need to research from scratch
✅ Want to deeply understand the knowledge structure of a topic
✅ Need visualization supported by authoritative sources

When to Use structure-to-pdf:

✅ Have existing structured data
✅ Need quick conversion to charts
✅ Data format is simple and clear

Dependent Tools

Required:

Graphviz:
```
brew install graphviz
```
(macOS)
WebSearch: Built into Claude Code

Optional:

PlantUML:
```
brew install plantuml
```
Mermaid CLI:
```
npm install -g @mermaid-js/mermaid-cli
```

Configuration Options

Users can customize via parameters:

```
--tool
```
: Specify visualization tool (graphviz/plantuml/mermaid)
```
--layout
```
: Specify layout direction (TB/LR/BT/RL)
```
--output
```
: Specify output directory
```
--depth
```
: Research depth (quick/medium/deep)
```
--sources
```
: Whether to generate reference materials document

Best Practices

Clear Topic Scope: The more specific the topic, the clearer the graph
Reasonable Grouping: Use clusters to group related entities
Control Complexity: No more than 50 nodes in a single graph
Progressive Refinement: Generate an overview first, then dive into details
Consistent Colors: Use the same color scheme for similar entities
Cite Sources: Label reference materials at the bottom of the PDF or in a separate document

Common Graph Type Templates

Character Relationship Diagram Template

dot

- Use cluster for family/organization grouping
- Use box/ellipse for characters, special shapes for important characters
- Use solid lines for blood relationships, red lines for marriage, dashed lines for others
- Add legends to explain symbol meanings

Concept Map Template

dot

- Top-level concepts at the top
- Sub-concepts expanded layer by layer
- Use solid lines for is-a relationships, dashed lines for has-a relationships
- Use colors to distinguish different categories

Technical Architecture Diagram Template

dot

- Use rankdir=TB for layered architecture
- Use rectangles for components, rounded rectangles for services
- Use arrows for dependency relationships
- Use thick lines or special colors for critical paths

Troubleshooting

Chinese Display Garbled Characters:

dot

graph [fontname="Arial Unicode MS"]
node [fontname="Arial Unicode MS"]
edge [fontname="Arial Unicode MS"]

Overly Complex Graph:

Use
```
concentrate=true
```
to merge identical edges
Split into multiple subgraphs
Use different rankdir settings

Ideal Layout Not Achieved:

Adjust
```
ranksep
```
and
```
nodesep
```
Use
```
rank=same
```
to force nodes to be on the same layer
Try different
```
splines
```
settings

Version History

v1.0 (2026-01-02): Initial version
- Summarized based on the "A Dream of Red Mansions" character relationship graph project
- Support automatic generation with Graphviz
- Integrated WebSearch for in-depth research
- TodoWrite for task management

research-to-diagram

NPX Install

Tags

SKILL.md Content (Chinese)

Research to Diagram

Description

Core Features

Trigger Conditions

Workflow

1. Task Planning (TodoWrite)

2. In-Depth Research Phase

3. Structure Design Phase

4. Visualization Implementation

5. PDF Generation

6. Document Organization

Design Principles

Visual Design

Information Hierarchy

Layout Strategies

Output Files

Usage Examples

Example 1: Literary Work Character Relationships

Example 2: Technical Concept Map

Example 3: Historical Event Relationships

Differences from structure-to-pdf

Dependent Tools

Configuration Options

Best Practices

Common Graph Type Templates

Character Relationship Diagram Template

Concept Map Template

Technical Architecture Diagram Template

Troubleshooting

Version History