anthropics / anthropics/knowledge-work-plugins
Bug: ~~placeholder strings shown verbatim to users in bio-research, enterprise-search, and sales commands
- Dominant language
- Python
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Description
## Problem
Several plugin command and skill files contain `~~category` placeholder strings that are displayed verbatim to users instead of being resolved to actual tool names. This affects the user experience by showing meaningless placeholders like `~~literature database` instead of "PubMed" or "bioRxiv".
## Affected Files
### `bio-research/commands/start.md` — 12+ instances
The welcome message shown when a user runs the bio-research start command contains:
```
- ~~literature database — biomedical literature search
- ~~literature database — preprint access (biology and medicine)
- ~~journal access — academic publications
- ~~chemical database — compound and bioactivity data
...
1. "Search ~~literature database for recent papers on [topic]"
3. "Search ~~chemical database for compounds targeting [protein]"
```
The actual MCP servers configured in `bio-research/.mcp.json` are `pubmed`, `biorxiv`, `wiley`, `chembl`, etc. — but the start command never maps these to the `~~` placeholders. Users see literal `~~literature database` in their welcome text.
### `enterprise-search/commands/search.md` — User-visible error message
When no connectors are configured, users see:
```
Check your MCP settings to add ~~chat, ~~email, ~~cloud storage, or other tools.
Supported sources: ~~chat, ~~email, ~~cloud storage, ~~project tracker, ~~CRM, ~~knowledge base
```
Instead of helpful text like "Slack, Gmail, Google Drive, Jira, Salesforce, Confluence".
### `sales/skills/draft-outreach/SKILL.md` — Lines 103 and 439
```
Draft created - check ~~email
```
Users completing a draft see `check ~~email` instead of "check Gmail" or "check Outlook".
## Root Cause
The `~~category` convention (documented in each plugin's `CONNECTORS.md`) is designed so that skills reference tool *categories* rather than specific products. However, there appears to be no runtime resolution mechanism that maps `~~category` to the user's actual connected tool name. The placeholders pass through to the user interface as-is.
## Expected Behavior
One of:
1. **Runtime resolution**: `~~literature database` resolves to "PubMed" (or whatever the user has connected) before being shown
2. **Static fallback**: Command files use the specific tool names from `.mcp.json` as defaults (e.g., "PubMed/bioRxiv" instead of `~~literature database`)
3. **Generic but readable**: Replace `~~category` with human-readable generic terms (e.g., "your literature search tool" instead of `~~literature database`)
## Impact
- New users see cryptic `~~` prefixed strings in their first interaction with these plugins
- The bio-research plugin is particularly affected — 12+ placeholder instances in the welcome message make the entire onboarding experience feel broken
- Enterprise-search error messages are unhelpful when they reference placeholder categories instead of actual tool names
Happy to submit a PR with Option 2 (static fallback names from `.mcp.json`) if the team prefers that approach.
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