name: massive-report-writing description: | Context-efficient report synthesis for large research corpora using evidence ledgering and harness-based iteration.
USE WHEN:
- Corpus has ≥8 files OR ≥100K characters
finalize_researchreturnsrecommended_mode: EVIDENCE_LEDGER- Prior runs show Write tool failures or truncation warnings
- Report scope is "comprehensive" or "deep dive"
THIS SKILL PROVIDES:
- Evidence ledger extraction (compresses corpus 70-85%)
- Harness handoff patterns for multi-iteration synthesis
- Chunked write sequences for large outputs
Massive Report Writing
Overview
Use evidence ledgering to compress large research corpora into structured, quotable material. For very large corpora, harness iteration handles multi-pass synthesis automatically.
When to Use
| Condition | Threshold | Action |
|---|---|---|
| Medium corpus | 100-150K chars, 8-15 files | Build evidence ledger, write in one pass |
| Large corpus (harness mode) | >150K chars, >15 files | Ledger → harness restart → write from ledger |
| Large corpus (non-harness) | >150K chars | Suggest user enable harness mode |
Workflow: Evidence Ledger Mode
1. Build Evidence Ledger
Call build_evidence_ledger(session_dir, topic, task_name) after finalize_research.
The tool extracts from each source:
- Direct quotes with attribution
- Specific numbers (percentages, counts, costs)
- Key dates and timelines
- Claims and findings
Output: tasks/{task_name}/evidence_ledger.md with EVID-XXX entries.
2. Read Only the Ledger
After ledger is built:
- ✅ Read
evidence_ledger.mdfor synthesis - ❌ Do NOT re-read raw corpus files
- ❌ Do NOT use
read_research_filesagain
This is how you avoid context exhaustion.
3. Write Report from Ledger
Use EVID-XXX references when citing:
According to ISW (EVID-003), Russian forces gained 74 square miles...
Harness Integration
When corpus exceeds safe limits AND harness mode is active:
- Iteration 1: finalize → build ledger → ledger saved to disk → context exhaustion
- Harness restart: Context cleared, handoff.json injected
- Iteration 2: Read ledger from disk → write report
The harness handles multi-pass automatically. You don't need map-reduce orchestration.
Chunked Write Sequence
Use when single Write calls fail or output is >30KB:
1) Write header + CSS + title block
2) Append executive summary
3) Append Section 1 (cite EVID-XXX)
4) Append Section 2
... repeat ...
N) Append references
Use append_to_file for sections 2-N.
Templates
See references/massive_report_templates.md for:
- Evidence ledger entry format
- Section outline template
- Chunked write sequence
Anti-Summary-of-Summary Rule
- Every claim in the final report must trace to an EVID-XXX
- If a point cannot be traced to a ledger item, drop it or re-read the source
- Batch summaries (if used) are navigation only, not source material