CBO Research MCP Plugin

Deep market research and business analysis plugin for Claude Code and Claude Desktop. Runs under your existing Pro subscription — no API credits required.

What It Does

Gives Claude 8 specialized tools for business concept research, analysis, and strategy. Claude calls these tools autonomously when you ask it to analyze a concept, suggest ideas, or stress-test a business.

Tools

Tool	What It Does
run_cbo_analysis	Full pipeline: research → model → report saved to disk
run_market_research	Deep research brief only (12 searches, structured JSON output)
generate_cbo_report	Full report from existing brief (skips research)
suggest_concepts	3–5 researched concept suggestions based on founder profile
enhance_concept	Enhancements, adjacencies, pivots for an existing concept
voice_of_reason	Standalone reality check — 6 hard investor questions
list_research_outputs	See all saved briefs and reports
compare_concepts	Side-by-side scoring of 2–4 concepts

Installation

Step 1 — Run setup

chmod +x setup.sh
./setup.sh

The setup script will:

• Create a Python virtual environment
• Install the mcp dependency
• Print the exact config to add to Claude

Step 2 — Add to Claude Code (plugin mode, recommended)

claude --plugin-dir /path/to/cbo-research

Or add the MCP server directly:

claude mcp add cbo-research /path/to/cbo-research/.venv/bin/python /path/to/cbo-research/server.py

Step 3 — Add to Claude Desktop (optional)

Edit ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "cbo-research": {
      "command": "/path/to/cbo-research/.venv/bin/python",
      "args": ["/path/to/cbo-research/server.py"]
    }
  }
}

Restart Claude Desktop after saving.

Step 4 — Verify

In Claude Code:

claude
> /mcp

You should see cbo-research listed with all 8 tools.

Usage Examples

Full analysis

Run a full CBO analysis on [concept]. I'm a serial founder with SaaS and physical 
business experience, based in Seattle, ~$200K available capital.

Research only

Research the collectibles storage market — I want the brief but not the full report yet.

Concept suggestions

Suggest 5 business concepts for someone with my background — SaaS, physical businesses, 
marketplaces. Interested in collectibles, real estate, and service businesses. 
Seattle-based, $150K capital, can run lean.

Reality check

Run voice of reason on the Stayfront concept. Brief is at output/briefs/[filename].json

Enhancement

Enhance the Collector's Vault concept. Known weakness: slow ramp to breakeven, 
single-location revenue ceiling.

Compare

Compare Stayfront vs Collector's Vault vs [new concept] side by side.

Output Files

All outputs save to:

output/
├── briefs/          ← JSON research briefs (timestamped)
│   └── 20260328-143022-collectors-vault.json
└── reports/         ← Full .md reports (timestamped)
    └── 20260328-143155-collectors-vault.md

Briefs are reusable — run list_research_outputs before re-researching a concept.

File Structure

cbo-research/
├── .claude-plugin/
│   └── plugin.json        ← Plugin manifest
├── .mcp.json              ← MCP server declaration
├── skills/
│   └── market-research-cbo/
│       └── SKILL.md       ← Skill definition + trigger rules
├── server.py              ← MCP server (entry point)
├── requirements.txt       ← Python dependencies (just mcp)
├── setup.sh               ← One-time setup script
├── CLAUDE.md              ← Claude Code operating instructions
├── README.md              ← This file
├── prompts/
│   ├── cbo_system.md      ← Master CBO persona + principles
│   ├── research_agent.md  ← Research layer instructions
│   └── voice_of_reason.md ← Skeptic/reality-check prompt
└── output/
    ├── briefs/            ← Auto-created on first run
    └── reports/           ← Auto-created on first run

Customizing

• Edit prompts/cbo_system.md to change the CBO persona or core principles
• Edit prompts/research_agent.md to modify research layers or output format
• Edit prompts/voice_of_reason.md to adjust the skeptic questions
• Add tools to server.py by following the existing pattern

Plugin Components

This plugin provides both an MCP server (8 tools) and a skill (/market-research-cbo) that triggers automatically when business analysis is discussed. The skill routes to the MCP tools — they work together as a single plugin.