Research Application Toolkit plugin
Plugin for Claude Code and Codex with nine skills for preparing a graduate application: CV, supervisor search, emails, statements and interviews
- 144 ★ on the repository
- Last commit
- MIT
Extended access
Why this level
- The skills read your CV and personal documents, and the content goes to the agent's model
- The `ratk` installer writes plugin files into Claude Code and Codex directories in your home folder
- Applicant state is stored in plain files `.ra/memory.md` and `codex/memory.md`
Install
- Works in
Manual install
npm install -g @xujingchen1996/research-app-toolkitAfter installing the package run `ratk install`, which installs the plugin into the agents it finds.
Access and checks
How we reviewExtended accessThe tool runs code or makes network calls and only reads external data.
- The skills read your CV and personal documents, and the content goes to the agent's model
- The `ratk` installer writes plugin files into Claude Code and Codex directories in your home folder
- Applicant state is stored in plain files `.ra/memory.md` and `codex/memory.md`
This is third-party code. Review the repository files before installing.
What it does
Research Application Toolkit guides preparing an application for a PhD, MRes or MPhil and installs into Claude Code and Codex with one command. It ships nine skills: turning a CV into an applicant profile (`cv-analyze`), tailoring the CV to a program (`cv-polish`), supervisor search (`professor-match`), school selection (`school-select`), emails to professors and follow-ups (`cold-email`), application texts such as SOP, personal statement and research proposal (`document-assist`), finding gaps in a research topic (`gap-analysis`), interview preparation (`interview-prep`) and a deck for a professor meeting (`interview-ppt`). In Claude Code the skills run as slash commands with the `/ra:` prefix, for example `/ra:cv-analyze` or `/ra:cold-email`. In Codex you start them with plain phrases in chat. For Codex the project keeps shared state in `codex/memory.md` and supports output in Chinese, English or both languages. Claude Code and Codex use separate skill sets so that one host's prompts do not interfere with the other's.
Who it is for. Master's and doctoral applicants abroad who prepare a CV, emails to supervisors and motivation texts together with an agent.
Good fit when
- A CV has to become an applicant profile from which all the other documents follow
- Before mailing you need a list of suitable professors and schools for your research topic
- The first email to a professor and a follow-up get written in two languages
- An interview invitation has arrived, and you need practice questions and a deck for the meeting
- The dissertation topic is set, but it is unclear how it differs from published work
Not a fit when
- Undergraduate or job applications: the skills are tuned for research programs
- You want automatic contact search and mailing: the plugin prepares drafts and does not send them
- An environment without Node.js: the `ratk` installer is an npm package
- You need admission guarantees: the README makes no such promises
Example request
/ra:professor-match find five supervisors for my computer vision topic and say why each one fitsLimitations
The README is in English and Chinese. The `ratk` installer needs Node.js and detects Claude Code and Codex on the machine by itself; there is no set for other agents. The Claude Code and Codex skills are maintained separately, so their behavior can differ. Zotero, image generation and PPTX export are optional extras that the package does not install. The extra layer for DeepSeek Harness is described as verified on version 0.2.0-rc.2 and is not needed without that shell.
How to disable. Remove the plugin with the agent's own tools, then run `npm uninstall -g @xujingchen1996/research-app-toolkit`. The applicant profile sits in `.ra/memory.md` in your workspace, so delete it by hand.
FAQ
How do I install Research Application Toolkit in Claude Code?
Run `npm install -g @xujingchen1996/research-app-toolkit`, then `ratk install --claude`. Without arguments `ratk install` installs the plugin into every agent found on the machine.
Which commands are there in Claude Code?
Nine: `/ra:cv-analyze`, `/ra:cv-polish`, `/ra:professor-match`, `/ra:cold-email`, `/ra:doc-assist`, `/ra:school-select`, `/ra:interview-prep`, `/ra:interview-ppt` and `/ra:gap-analysis`.
Can I install without a global package?
Yes, `npx @xujingchen1996/research-app-toolkit install` runs the installer directly. The `--claude`, `--codex` and `--all` flags pick the agent, as with `ratk install`.
Where does the plugin keep applicant data?
In Codex the shared state sits in `codex/memory.md`. In DeepSeek Harness mode the profile is written to `.ra/memory.md` in the session workspace, and the template does not overwrite existing materials.
Does the plugin work without DeepSeek Harness?
Yes. DSH is declared an optional dependency, and ordinary installation and tests do not need it. The shell is only needed for the RA research application mode and the four interface tabs.
Discussion
No questions or reviews yet.
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Comparison with similar tools
Cards that share the main search query, and how they differ.
| Tool | Official | Repository stars | Main difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Research Application Toolkit (this card) | no | 144 | |
| Academic Skills for Claude Code & Codex | no | 5,921 | three skills for writing papers, Word and PowerPoint documents and calculations, with no application workflow |
| Claude Scholar | no | 6,036 | a plugin for the research itself: literature review, experiments and papers |
README in short
The README lists what the toolkit covers: CV analysis, supervisor and school search, emails, application texts, interview preparation and gap finding. It then gives installation through npm and `npx`, commands for Claude Code, sample phrases for Codex and the repository directory layout. A separate section describes the optional DeepSeek Harness shell with its preset and interface tabs.