Research

Research

Use this skill when external evidence or current documentation materially affects a decision. For questions answerable from the local codebase alone, inspect the code directly.

For a build-versus-reuse decision, gather and verify external evidence here while dont-reinvent-the-wheel owns the recommendation.

Use apple-docs for authoritative Apple development documentation, deep-docs for precise version-aware software documentation, and context7 when an indexed snippet of a library's current API settles the point. This skill retains broader external investigation, comparisons, current events, product questions, academic evidence, and questions spanning multiple source types.

Workflow

1. Define the question, decision it informs, and any version, platform, or date constraints.
2. Search primary sources first: official documentation, specifications, standards, source code, release notes, first-party APIs, and original research.
3. Verify information that may have changed. Record source dates and applicable versions when they matter.
4. Cross-check consequential claims against a second authoritative source or the referenced implementation when practical.
5. Separate the result into:
   • confirmed facts supported by sources;
   • reasonable inferences, labeled as such;
   • uncertainty, conflicts, or missing evidence.
6. Return a concise answer with citations or precise source references.

Persistence

Return findings in the conversation by default. Persist them only when they are likely to be reused or the user requests a durable artifact. Follow an existing repository convention; otherwise use docs/research/<descriptive-topic>.md. Create the directory only when writing the document.

Completion

Research is complete when the decision-relevant claims are cited, current where necessary, and explicit about remaining uncertainty. Do not modify production code as part of research.