By name: network-mapper description: "Use when mapping relationships between entities in a journalism-investigation KB. Discovers ownership chains, board memberships, funding flows, and other connections. Creates structured connection entries with sources and identifies multi-hop relationships."
Network Mapper Skill
Relationship discovery and network mapping for journalism-investigation knowledge bases. Traces ownership chains, board memberships, and funding flows to reveal hidden connections between entities.
Announce at start: "I'm using the network-mapper skill."
Methodology: Scope -> Discover -> Connect -> Trace -> Analyze
The non-negotiable rule: Every connection must have a source document logged before the connection entry is created. No exceptions. If no source exists, log one first with pyrite investigation log-source or investigation_log_source.
Phase 1: Define Network Scope
Establish the focal entity and the boundaries of the mapping exercise.
NETWORK SCOPE:
- Focal entity: [[entity-id]]
- KB: <kb-name>
- Relationship types: ownership / membership / funding / all
- Depth: <number of hops from focal entity>
- Time window: <start date> to <end date> (or "current")
Check the existing network state before doing any new work:
# What connections already exist?
pyrite investigation network <entity-id> -k <kb>
# What entries reference this entity?
pyrite backlinks <entity-id> -k <kb>
# Existing ownership chains
pyrite investigation ownership <entity-id> -k <kb>
# Existing money flows
pyrite investigation money-flow <entity-id> -k <kb>
Scope checklist:
- [ ] Focal entity confirmed to exist in KB (create if not)
- [ ] Existing connections reviewed — no duplicate work
- [ ] Relationship types and depth agreed with user
- [ ] Time window established
Phase 2: Discover Relationships
For each entity in scope, systematically find connections.
Discovery order:
- Search the KB for known connections
- Use web search for corporate registries, SEC filings, board listings
- For each relationship found, log the source before anything else
# KB searches
pyrite search "<entity name>" -k <kb> --limit 50
pyrite search "<entity name>" -k <kb> --mode semantic --limit 20
# Find related entities by tag
pyrite tags -k <kb>
pyrite search "<entity>" -k <kb> --tag=<relevant-tag>
# List known entities
pyrite investigation entities -k <kb>
# Check for duplicates before creating new entities
pyrite investigation dedup -k <kb>
For each relationship discovered:
| Step | Action | Why |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Log source document | pyrite investigation log-source -k <kb> --url "<url>" --title "<title>" |
| 2 | Determine type | ownership, membership, or funding |
| 3 | Note direction | Who owns/funds/is-member-of whom |
| 4 | Record specifics | Percentage, role, amount, currency |
| 5 | Record dates | Start date, end date (or "current") |
Discovery checklist per entity:
- [ ] KB searched (keyword + semantic)
- [ ] Backlinks checked
- [ ] Web sources searched (corporate registries, filings, news)
- [ ] All sources logged before connection creation
- [ ] Duplicate entities checked
Phase 3: Create Connection Entries
Ensure both endpoint entities exist before creating any connection.
Create missing entities:
pyrite investigation create-entity -k <kb> --type person --title "<Name>" \
--field role="<role>"
pyrite investigation create-entity -k <kb> --type organization --title "<Org Name>"
Create individual connections:
# Ownership
pyrite create -k <kb> -t ownership --title "A owns B" \
-f owner="[[entity-a]]" -f asset="[[entity-b]]" \
-f percentage="51" -f beneficial=true
# Membership
pyrite create -k <kb> -t membership --title "Person is Director of Org" \
-f person="[[person-id]]" -f organization="[[org-id]]" \
-f role="Director" -f start_date="2019-01-15"
# Funding
pyrite create -k <kb> -t funding --title "Funder funds Recipient" \
-f funder="[[funder-id]]" -f recipient="[[recipient-id]]" \
-f amount="500000" -f currency="USD" -f mechanism="grant"
Batch creation (many connections at once):
pyrite investigation bulk-edges --file edges.json -k <kb>
Or via MCP: investigation_bulk_edges
The edges.json format should contain an array of connection objects, each with type, endpoints, and fields.
Connection creation rules:
- Both endpoint entities must exist before creating the connection
- Source document must be logged before creating the connection
- Check for existing connections to avoid duplicates
- Always include direction — ownership and funding are directional
- Include temporal data when known (start_date, end_date)
Phase 4: Trace Multi-Hop Relationships
Use Pyrite's chain analysis tools to follow connections through intermediaries.
# Ownership chains up to 5 hops
pyrite investigation ownership <entity-id> -k <kb> --depth 5
# Money flow paths up to 3 hops
pyrite investigation money-flow <entity-id> -k <kb> --hops 3
# Full network view
pyrite investigation network <entity-id> -k <kb>
Patterns to flag:
| Pattern | What it means | Detection |
|---|---|---|
| Circular ownership | Shell company structure, potential money laundering | Entity appears as both owner and asset in chain |
| Hub entity | Central controller or key intermediary | Entity with many connections across chains |
| Long chains (5+ hops) | Intentional obscuring of beneficial ownership | Deep ownership chains with intermediary entities |
| Concentrated control | One entity controls many through intermediaries | Fan-out from single owner through multiple shells |
| Missing links | Gap in ownership or funding chain | Chain ends at entity with no further connections |
For each chain found:
- Calculate effective ownership (multiply percentages along chain)
- Count shell company indicators for each intermediary
- Note the chain depth
- Flag any patterns from the table above
Phase 5: Analyze and Report
Build the network mapping report using the output format below.
Analysis steps:
- Count total entities and connections mapped
- Rank entities by connection count to find key hubs
- Identify clusters (groups of closely connected entities)
- Evaluate each intermediary for shell company indicators
- Trace beneficial ownership through chains
- List gaps requiring further research
Gap identification:
- Entities with only inbound connections (outbound unknown)
- Entities with only outbound connections (inbound unknown)
- Ownership chains that end at unresearched entities
- Entities with few connections relative to their apparent importance
- Missing intermediaries (ownership gap between known entities)
Connection Type Reference
| Type | Required fields | Key optional fields |
|---|---|---|
| ownership | owner, asset | percentage, beneficial, legal_basis, start_date, end_date |
| membership | person, organization | role, start_date, end_date |
| funding | funder, recipient | amount, currency, mechanism, purpose, date_range |
Shell Company Indicators
An entity may be a shell company if it meets multiple criteria:
- It appears as an intermediary (is both owner and asset in different ownership entries)
- It has no membership entries (no people linked to it)
- It is registered in a secrecy jurisdiction
- It has a generic name or P.O. box address
- Multiple unrelated ownership chains pass through it
Flag entities with 2+ indicators. Entities with 3+ indicators are strong shell company candidates.
Key CLI Commands
| Command | Purpose |
|---|---|
pyrite investigation network <id> -k <kb> |
Get entity connection network |
pyrite investigation ownership <id> -k <kb> --depth 5 |
Trace ownership chains |
pyrite investigation money-flow <id> -k <kb> --hops 3 |
Trace money flows |
pyrite investigation entities -k <kb> |
List entities |
pyrite investigation dedup -k <kb> |
Check for duplicate entities |
pyrite investigation bulk-edges --file edges.json -k <kb> |
Batch create connections |
pyrite backlinks <id> -k <kb> |
Find entries referencing an entity |
Key MCP Tools
| Tool | Tier | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
investigation_network |
read | Get entity connection network |
investigation_ownership_chain |
read | Trace ownership chains |
investigation_money_flow |
read | Trace money flows |
investigation_entities |
read | List entities |
investigation_find_duplicates |
read | Check for duplicate entities |
investigation_bulk_edges |
write | Batch create connections |
investigation_create_entity |
write | Create new entities |
investigation_log_source |
write | Log sources |
Anti-Patterns
| Trap | Fix |
|---|---|
| Creating connections without source documents | Log the source first. Always. investigation_log_source before any connection. |
| Not checking for existing connections | Search existing network and backlinks before creating. Duplicates corrupt analysis. |
| Mapping only one direction | Ownership and funding are directional. If A owns B, also check what B owns. |
| Ignoring temporal data | Connections have start and end dates. A 2015 ownership may not be current. |
| Not flagging circular structures | Circular ownership is a key investigative finding. Always check for it. |
| Over-connecting | Co-occurrence is not a relationship. Two entities in the same article does not mean they are connected. Require evidence of a specific relationship type. |
| Skipping duplicate checks | Run pyrite investigation dedup before creating entities. Duplicate entities fragment the network. |
| Ignoring effective ownership | 100% of 50% is 50%. Multiply percentages along chains to get true control. |
Output Format
Network mapping report:
## Network Map: <focal entity>
KB: <kb-name>
Depth: <hops mapped>
Date: <mapping date>
### Network Statistics
- Entities mapped: N
- Connections created: N
- Ownership chains: N (max depth: X)
- Funding flows: N
### Key Hubs (most connected)
1. [[entity-1]] — N connections (person, importance: 9)
2. [[entity-2]] — N connections (organization, importance: 8)
### Ownership Chains
- [[entity-a]] → [[shell-1]] (100%) → [[shell-2]] (100%) → [[entity-b]] (51%)
Effective ownership: 51% | Shell indicators: 2
### Shell Company Indicators
- [[shell-1]] — intermediary, no memberships, secrecy jurisdiction
- [[shell-2]] — intermediary, no memberships
### Funding Flows
- [[funder-1]] → [[recipient-1]] ($500K via grant)
- [[funder-1]] → [[recipient-2]] ($200K via contract)
### Gaps Identified
- [[entity-x]] has only inbound connections — outbound relationships unknown
- Ownership chain for [[entity-y]] ends at [[unknown-entity]] — needs research
### Sources Used
- [[source-1]] — <title> (Tier 1)
- [[source-2]] — <title> (Tier 2)