hermes-skills/skills/research/api-integration-research/templates/vendor-comparison-report.md

{{PRODUCT_CATEGORY}} — Comparison Report

Researched: {{date}} Context: {{what the platform needs — portal, workflow, compliance, constraints}}

---

Comparison Matrix

When evaluating 5-10 candidates, use this matrix as the first-pass eliminator:

Tool	Self-Hosted	License/Cost	REST API	Raw SQL	{{DB1}}	{{DB2}}	{{DB3}}	MCP	Setup Time	Verdict
{{Tool A}}	✅	✅ MIT	✅	✅	✅	❌	✅	✅ Native	<1 min	🏆 Win
{{Tool B}}	✅	❌ paid	✅	🔶 limited	✅	✅	✅	❌	~30 min	❌ Ruled out

Required criteria: {{list must-haves — e.g. MySQL+SQLite+Postgres support, raw SQL API, free self-hosted}} Nice-to-haves: {{MCP support, single-binary, low resource requirements}}

---

Winner: {{TOOL NAME}}

• License: {{MIT/Apache/AGPL}} — free forever or has gating
• Summary: {{why it won — concisely}}
• Why not the others: {{specific disqualifiers for top alternatives}}

Hermes Integration

MCP Server Config (~/.hermes/config.yaml):

mcp_servers:
  {{tool}}:
    command: {{...}}
    args: [{{...}}]

Direct REST/CLI usage:

{{setup and first query commands}}

Key Features

• {{feature 1}}
• {{feature 2}}
• {{feature 3}}

Caveats

• {{gotchas, pitfalls, missing features}}

---

Runners-Up

{{Tool 2}}

• What's good: {{}}
• Why not #1: {{}}

{{Tool 3}}

• What's good: {{}}
• Why not #1: {{}}

---

Eliminated Candidates

Tool	Disqualifier
{{Tool A}}	{{e.g. PostgreSQL only, no MySQL}}
{{Tool B}}	{{e.g. API is enterprise-only, free edition has no API}}
{{Tool C}}	{{e.g. Unmaintained, last release 2014}}
{{Tool D}}	{{e.g. GUI only, no programmatic API}}

---

Research Methodology

1. Find candidates via web search (category keyword + alternatives)
2. First-pass batch — visit GitHub, pricing page, docs in parallel for each
3. Build matrix — use the comparison table to eliminate obvious rejects
4. Deep-dive remaining 2-3 — exact setup, API endpoints, MCP config
5. Verify claims — some advertise "API" but it's enterprise-only or docs-gated. Read the actual docs, not the marketing site
6. Save reference — write findings to a references/ file under the applicable skill

Data Sources

• GitHub API: /repos/{owner}/{repo} — stars, forks, open issues, license
• Docker Hub API: /v2/repositories/{owner}/{image}/ — pull count, size
• Pricing pages: web_extract + grep for $ amounts / plan keywords
• Documentation: check actual docs URL, not marketing page claims