Getting started with AI research

Before you start

What you need

These steps cover Claude. Using another AI app? See other tools.

Have these ready

Your five .skill files from the NLRB Research email.
An active NLRB Research trial or subscription.
For Claude: an account with Skills and code execution enabled.

Need help with access? See account updates and contact information.

01 / Install

Add your skills to Claude.

Save the emailed .skill files. Upload them as-is—don’t unzip them.

Sign in at claude.ai (opens in a new tab)↗, then follow this path:

In Claude

Open Settings

Open your account menu in Claude and choose Settings.

Choose Skills

Open Skills to see the skills available to your account.

Select Add

Click Add to open the options for adding a skill.

Choose Upload Skill

Select one of the .skill files you saved. Repeat for the other files, and make sure each installed skill is enabled.

Claude’s layout can vary by account. If Skills appears under Customize, open it there and look for the upload option. Claude’s own skills help (opens in a new tab)↗

02 / Connect

Allow access to the databases.

The skills search NLRB Research over the internet. In Claude, open Settings → Capabilities and make sure Code execution and file creation is enabled.

Under Additional allowed domains, add:

nlrbresearch.com

Use the domain alone, without https:// or a path. If your workspace manages network permissions centrally, ask your administrator to allow it.

03 / Research

Start with a real question.

Open a new conversation and ask the AI to use the relevant research skill. You can name it in plain language:

Try this prompt

Use the NLRB Research skill to research employer surveillance of union activity. Does the analysis differ when cameras were installed before organizing began? Prepare a memo with links to the relevant Board decisions and court opinions.

The AI should search the database, read the sources, and produce a downloadable HTML memo. Open it in your browser and follow the citations. CBA Research compares contract language.

Read a sample CBA research memo ↗

Check the sources and the current status of the authorities before relying on a result. The output depends on your question, the available documents, and the model you use.

Find the right starting point

Five skills. Five research areas.

Choose a skill below for an example you can copy and adapt.

Private-sector labor law

NLRB Research

Board and ALJ decisions, federal court opinions, advice and General Counsel memos, statutes, and manuals.

File: nlrb-research.skill

Try this prompt

Use the NLRB Research skill to research employer surveillance of union activity. Does the analysis differ when cameras were installed before organizing began? Prepare a memo with links to the relevant Board decisions and court opinions.

Union governance

LMRDA Research

Case law, statutes, and DOL guidance on union elections, member rights, reporting, and fiduciary duties.

File: lmrda-research.skill

Try this prompt

Use the LMRDA Research skill to research union members’ rights to inspect financial records. Explain the statutory requirements and how courts have applied them, with links to the sources.

Federal employment

MSPB Research

MSPB decisions, federal court opinions, statutes, and guidance on federal employee rights and discipline.

File: mspb-research.skill

Try this prompt

Use the MSPB Research skill to research how the Board applies the Douglas factors when reviewing a removal penalty. Find decisions reducing the penalty and explain the facts that mattered, with linked citations.

Collective bargaining agreements

CBA Research

Contract language across industries: grievance procedures, scheduling, pay, management rights, and more.

File: cba-research.skill

Try this prompt

Use the CBA Research skill to find contract provisions governing workplace surveillance. Make a table comparing notice requirements, access to recordings, and limits on disciplinary use. Link to each source contract.

California public-sector labor law

CA PERB Research

PERB decisions, California court opinions, and statutes governing public-sector labor relations.

File: caperb-research.skill

Try this prompt

Use the CA PERB Research skill to research a public employer’s duty to give notice and an opportunity to bargain before changing a workplace policy under the MMBA. Explain the relevant decisions and link to each source.

Case filings are available separately through the website’s NLRB Dockets search.

Make the research more useful

Give the AI a focused assignment.

Be specific: include the relevant facts, jurisdiction, and dates.
Test the answer: ask for contrary authority and factual distinctions.
Follow up: ask for closer cases, later decisions, or comparable contract language.
Add context: attach a brief or proposed provision for review.

Beyond Claude

Use another model or harness.

Your AI app or environment needs file access, Python 3, and HTTPS access to nlrbresearch.com. A chat-only interface cannot run the skills.

Import the complete skill. Use your harness’s skill installer if it has one. If it expects a folder, extract the .skill file as a ZIP archive and keep SKILL.md with all its accompanying files.
Make the instructions available. Install the folder in the location your harness uses for skills, or tell the agent to read that folder’s SKILL.md. Give it the actual folder path so it can locate the tools.
Enable the tools and connection. Allow Python execution and access to nlrbresearch.com. References to Bash in the instructions mean your harness’s shell or terminal tool; you may need to adapt those tool names and paths.
Try a research question. Name the skill and confirm that the AI actually runs its database tools, reads the returned sources, and produces the memo.

Keep the whole package together.

The emailed files include your access credentials. Uploading only SKILL.md leaves out the tools the skill needs. Keep your personalized files private.

Keep your setup current

Replace a skill when an update arrives.

Save the new file from your email. In Claude’s Skills list, open the old skill and use its menu to remove or uninstall it, then upload the new file through Settings → Skills → Add → Upload Skill. Make sure the replacement is enabled and start a new conversation.

Your allowed-domain setting does not need to be re-added. In another harness, replace the installed skill folder with the updated package.

When something gets in the way

A few quick fixes.

I haven’t received my skill files.

Check your spam folder and the email address you used to sign up. If the files are missing, email [email protected] from that address and ask us to check your request or resend the files.

I can’t find Skills or the upload option.

Use Claude in your browser and check Settings → Skills. Some layouts put Skills under Customize. Make sure code execution is enabled; a managed workspace may also need an administrator to enable Skills. See Claude’s skills help for account-specific guidance.

The skill can’t connect to nlrbresearch.com.

Check code execution and domain permissions. In a managed workspace, ask your administrator about network restrictions. If access is allowed and the error continues, try again later or email us the error message.

It says my API key is invalid, missing, or expired.

Your access key is included in the files we send. Use the latest personalized files from your email. If you upgraded using the same email address, your existing trial files still work—no reinstall is needed. For an expired trial or an ongoing error, contact [email protected].

The AI answered without searching the database.

Check that the skill is installed and enabled, then start a new chat. Explicitly ask it to use the named research skill and run its database tools. A general answer without a database search is not a completed research run.

I received an answer, but no memo file.

Ask the AI to finish the skill’s workflow and provide the downloadable HTML memo with linked citations. Check that file creation is enabled. If the conversation hit a usage limit, resume when your AI account allows it.

Still stuck? Get in touch.

Tell us which AI app you’re using, which skill you installed, and the error message you see.

[email protected]