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A free guide by Mariah Brunner ↗ INSTAGRAM ↗ TIKTOK

Turn Claude Into A
Research Weapon

There’s a free skill called Last 30 Days that makes Claude read only the last month of posts, videos and threads before it answers, so you get what people are saying right now instead of facts that are a year old.

AI models learn from data that stops on a certain date. Ask about something newer, like a product that just launched or what’s trending this week, and it can hand you old info like it’s the truth. Turning on web search helps, but regular search mostly finds articles and blog posts, not what real people are saying in the comments.

Last 30 Days fixes that. Give it any topic and it searches a pile of sources for only the last 30 days, scores the results by upvotes, likes and views, then has Claude write you a report from that. It’s a free, open-source skill by Matt Van Horn (mvanhorn on GitHub), and you run it by typing /last30days.

What It Searches

Some sources work the second you install it, with no account or key.

  1. Free right away. Reddit works with no key and shows top comments with real upvote counts. Hacker News, Polymarket prediction-market odds and GitHub are free too. The first-run setup also adds arXiv research papers and Techmeme tech news.
  2. Free with a little setup. YouTube, including full transcripts, once the free yt-dlp tool is installed. Bluesky works with a free app password.
  3. Needs an API key. TikTok, Instagram Reels, Threads, Pinterest and LinkedIn run through ScrapeCreators, which has a free starting allowance. Perplexity (or OpenRouter) and extra web search like Brave, which has a free tier, each need their own key. X works with an X API key, or for free if you’re logged into x.com in your browser.

The setup wizard walks you through the keys when you first run it. Full details are in the configuration guide.

Install It

01

Claude Code

This is the one the creator recommends, and it updates itself. Open Claude Code and run these two lines, one at a time.

Copy These Commands
/plugin marketplace add mvanhorn/last30days-skill /plugin install last30days

02

Claude on the web

Download the last30days.skill file. In Claude, go to Settings, then Capabilities, and turn on Code execution and file creation (called Create and edit files in the newer layout). Then go to Customize (it’s being renamed Plugins), open Skills, click +, then Create skill, then Upload a skill, and pick the file.

03

Codex, Cursor, Gemini CLI and other tools

This works in 50+ AI tools. Paste it into your terminal. The -g installs it for every project, not just one.

Copy This Command
npx skills add mvanhorn/last30days-skill -g

Using the Claude Desktop app instead? The latest release has a one-click bundle you drag into Settings, then Extensions. Pick one install method per app, or /last30days shows up twice.

How To Use It

Type /last30days and then your topic. The more specific the topic, the sharper the results.

Copy This Command
/last30days best budget laptop for students

Swap in anything you care about. A few more to try.

  1. /last30days is anyone actually canceling Netflix
  2. /last30days new AI tools people are loving
  3. /last30days what small businesses are posting on TikTok

When the report comes back, paste this in the same chat to turn it into a decision.

Turn It Into A Decision
Now turn that research into a decision for me. My situation: [what you're deciding, your budget or limits, and what matters most to you] 1. Summarize what people agree on this month, and where they disagree. Note how strong each signal is (upvotes, views, number of people saying it). 2. List any red flags that showed up more than once, like complaints, recalls, price changes, or "it broke after a few weeks" posts. 3. Separate real user experiences from ads, sponsored posts, and hype. 4. Give me your recommendation for my situation, with the top 2 reasons and the biggest risk. 5. Tell me what this research couldn't answer and what I should check myself before I commit. Only use what the research found. Link the posts you're relying on, and don't fill gaps with old knowledge without telling me.
When I Reach For It

01

Before I buy something

I see what real people said this month, not a glowing review from two years ago. I catch the "it broke after 3 weeks" posts before I buy, not after.

02

Before a big decision

Picking a tool, a platform or a direction for the business? Fresh Reddit threads and prediction-market odds show where things stand right now.

03

Before I post

Trends move fast. I run it on my niche to see what people are talking about this week, then post into a conversation that’s already happening.

04

Before a meeting

The creator uses it to read someone’s recent posts and podcast transcripts before he meets them. Run it on a person or a company and walk in knowing what they’ve been up to this month.

Honest Note

Start with the free sources. Reddit, Hacker News, Polymarket and GitHub already cover a lot. Add a key later only if you want TikTok or Reels. And it’s still a report built from posts, so open the links on anything you’re about to spend money on.