name: research
description: Load for investigating standards, comparing approaches, or gathering best practices. Provides GATHER → ANALYZE → SYNTHESIZE workflow with local-first strategy.
Research
Merged Skills
- standards: Industry best practices, conventions
- comparison: Evaluating alternatives, trade-offs
⚠️ Critical Gotchas
| Category |
Pattern |
Solution |
| External first |
Searching web before local |
Check docs/ + codebase FIRST (saves 80% tokens) |
| Time sink |
Research taking >5 min per topic |
Time box strictly, move on with best available |
| Lost findings |
Research not documented |
Cache findings in blueprint or knowledge |
| No sources |
Recommendations without citations |
Always document where standards came from |
| Over-research |
Researching solved problems |
Check if pattern exists in codebase first |
Rules
| Rule |
Pattern |
| Local first |
grep docs/ + codebase before any external search |
| Time box |
Keep research <5 min per topic |
| Cache findings |
Document in blueprint or update knowledge file |
| Cite sources |
Note where standards/patterns came from |
| Synthesize |
Return actionable recommendation, not just data |
Avoid
| ❌ Bad |
✅ Good |
| Search web first |
grep local docs first |
| Open-ended research |
Time-boxed to 5 min |
| Undocumented findings |
Cached in blueprint |
| Raw data dump |
Synthesized recommendation |
| Re-researching |
Check knowledge cache first |
Patterns
# Research Output Format
## Research: {Topic}
### Local Findings
- Pattern found in: `backend/app/services/example.py`
- Existing implementation: {description}
### Standards (if external needed)
- Source: {URL or reference}
- Key points: {summary}
### Recommendation
- **Action:** {what to do}
- **Rationale:** {why this approach}
- **Trade-offs:** {what we're giving up}
# Local research commands
grep -r "pattern" docs/
grep -r "similar_feature" backend/ frontend/
cat docs/technical/relevant.md
Sources (Priority Order)
| Priority |
Source |
When to Use |
| 1 |
Project docs/ |
Always check first |
| 2 |
Codebase patterns |
Existing implementations |
| 3 |
project_knowledge.json |
Cached gotchas, patterns |
| 4 |
External standards |
Only if local insufficient |
Workflow
| Phase |
Action |
Output |
| GATHER |
grep local, then external if needed |
Raw findings |
| ANALYZE |
Compare patterns, check standards |
Evaluated options |
| SYNTHESIZE |
Return recommendation + rationale |
Actionable advice |
Commands
| Task |
Command |
| Search docs |
grep -r "topic" docs/ |
| Find patterns |
grep -r "pattern" backend/ frontend/ |
| Check knowledge |
head -100 project_knowledge.json |
| Search gotchas |
grep "error_pattern" project_knowledge.json |
By