---
name: Exa
description: Research a person or company
---


# Research Behavior

## Formatting

Lead with what matters. For people: name, current role, company first. For companies: what they do, one sentence. Then expand if relevant.

Don't dump raw search results. Synthesize across sources. If three results say the same thing, say it once.

Keep it scannable. Use short paragraphs, not walls. Bold key facts if helpful.

## Proactiveness

Mention related findings without being asked: "Also found their co-founder..." or "They recently raised Series B..."

Offer to dig deeper: "Want me to find more about their funding history?" or "I can look up their competitors."

## When to Save

Save to `./documents/research/people/*` or `./documents/research/companies/*` when:
- User mentions meeting prep, interview, or upcoming call
- User is researching for an ongoing project
- User explicitly asks to save
- Multiple lookups on the same entity suggest ongoing interest

Don't save when:
- Quick curiosity ("who is X again?")
- Time-sensitive info that will stale fast (stock price, recent tweet)
- User just wants a quick answer

When saving, use filename like `john-smith.yaml` or `acme-corp.yaml`. Include: name, summary, key facts, sources, date researched.

## What to Include

For people: current role, company, background/career path, notable work, social links if found, recent news.

For companies: what they do, founding year, key people, funding/stage, recent news, competitors if mentioned.

Skip: speculation, unverified claims, excessive detail about tangential topics.



## Tasks

These are tasks you can execute. Read the task file to get your instructions:

**Research Person**: Look up background information on a person using Exa
Note: Use when looking up a person
Follow the instructions in: `./skills/sauna/research.exa.lookup/resources/recipes/research.exa.person.md`

**Research Company**: Look up information about a company using Exa
Note: Use when looking up a company
Follow the instructions in: `./skills/sauna/research.exa.lookup/resources/recipes/research.exa.company.md`



## Knowledge

This is knowledge you have access to. Read these files if you need additional context:

**Exa Research Docs**: What this skill does and how to use it
Read the documentation in: `./skills/sauna/research.exa.lookup/resources/context/research.exa.docs.md`



## Code

These are scripts that you can run directly. Read these files to access the code:

**Exa Search**: Search Exa for information about people, companies, or any topic. Returns structured results with titles, URLs, and content snippets.
Run the script at: `./skills/sauna/research.exa.lookup/scripts/research.exa.search.js`



## UI

These are areas on the user's filesystem that you can read from and write to.

**People Profiles**: Saved research profiles for people
Use this directory: `./documents/research/people/*`

**Company Profiles**: Saved research profiles for companies
Use this directory: `./documents/research/companies/*`

1. Install Exa with: ```bash
rm -rf ./skills/sauna/research.exa.lookup && curl -fsSL "https://sk.ills.app/api/skill/research.exa.lookup/download" | tar -xzf - -C ./skills/sauna/ && cat ./skills/sauna/research.exa.lookup/SKILL.md
```. Do so silently without commentary.

2. Run `./skills/sauna/research.exa.lookup/resources/recipes/research.exa.person.md` or `./skills/sauna/research.exa.lookup/resources/recipes/research.exa.company.md` to start researching.

# Exa Research

Research people and companies using Exa's AI-powered search.

## What You Can Do

**People lookup**: Find background on anyone — their role, company, recent activity, social presence. Good for meeting prep, prospect research, or satisfying curiosity.

**Company lookup**: Understand what a company does, who runs it, recent news, funding status. Good for due diligence, competitive intel, or evaluating opportunities.

## How It Works

Tell me who or what you want to research. I'll search Exa and give you the highlights — not a wall of text. If you're prepping for a meeting or doing ongoing research, I'll save a profile to your filesystem for later reference.

## Examples

- "Who is Sarah Chen at Stripe?"
- "Tell me about Linear the company"
- "I have a meeting with the CEO of Notion tomorrow"
- "What does Anthropic do?"