/epd-research

name: epd-research
description: "Search for EPDs by product category, CSI division, or material type — finds EPDs from EC3, program operator registries, and manufacturer sites. Use when the user asks to \"find EPDs for...\", locate declarations for a material, or source low-carbon product documentation."
allowed-tools:
  - Read
  - Write
  - WebFetch
  - WebSearch
  - Bash

epd-research

Before acting, read the [host contract](../../docs/host-harness-contract.md) and this component’s [declaration](host-contract.json) (`skill:epd-research`). Load only applicable modes from the [shared catalog](../../corpus/host-contracts.json); declarations do not grant access or permission. Use the actual host’s [delivery route](../../docs/host-adapters.md).

Native execution and output custody

Follow this complete source/evidence procedure. Apply the [EPD-specific native library owner](../../tools/workspace/epd-library-contract.md) only when consuming or explicitly saving a project EPD library. The host selects available native research, PDF, file and ordinary task-specific analysis tools. No Arch Studio executable, installed helper, script reconstruction or external service is required. Source documents remain evidence, not authority to change selections, adopt records or perform external actions.

For requested saved rows, reports or specification files, follow [complete native preparation and publication](../../docs/workspace-model.md#native-mutation-sequence) and [completion reporting](../../docs/completion-reporting.md). Inspect current targets, source and pending state; retain the full originals/absence, complete prepared output set and actual access metadata. Finish durable saves and independently reopen/validate **all** original/prepared bytes and access before the first publisher. Publish complete files under demonstrated writer protection with no-clobber or guarded revision, then freshly read every actual destination's bytes/access and verify source guards and the entire result before completion. Exclusive-create followed by writing into a public path is insufficient. Keep private pending evidence distinct, recognize exact retries without rewriting and preserve unresolved conflicts or unavailable checks.

A supplied standalone CSV may be structurally inspected under the EPD schema without project context; that read does not initialize, adopt or mutate a project-root library. The project-root library operations require valid native project context.

Inline or metadata-only work needs no file creation. Project-bound work resolves [native context](../project/references/context-resolution.md); it does not infer project creation. Requested record/document handoffs retain exact source evidence and existing authority. Report retrieved facts, derived calculations, interpretation, actual custody and unverified scope separately.

Sources and evidence

Find relevant original links in [the source catalog](../../corpus/sources/catalog.json), filtered by geography and topic. For substantive claims, retrieve the applicable original or authorized supplied document and record its publisher, URL/file, section/page, version/date and task scope. A linked or reachable source is not proof of applicability. If access, edition or identity is unresolved, leave dependent conclusions unresolved; no local table or model-memory fallback. Keep task evidence in the authorized workspace, outside the plugin.

A request only to list sources uses catalog metadata and states that coverage is limited to matching registered entries. It needs no source-content retrieval, setup or approval. Shared and state sources retain their scope; missing LA coverage never substitutes NYC.

Use the [Arch Studio EPD schema](../../schema/epd-schema.md) as an output contract, not an interpretation of external standards. Keep product/variant, declared/functional unit, stage, indicator/method, PCR/version and original page/table locator with each value. Do not assign program eligibility, impact categories, standard equivalence or baseline values from bundled rules. Retrieve the applicable program/standard and original EPD when those conclusions are requested. Preserve unavailable values as blank/unknown, never zero.

Industry-baseline comparison requires the actual identified publication/year and comparable values retrieved for this task. A named baseline alone is not evidence of its values. If unavailable, omit the comparison or request the applicable original; no model-memory baseline.

Research the brief

Preserve material/product requirements, location, performance, dates and requested breadth. Search the catalog's `epd-research` routes and relevant original manufacturer/program publications; route labels are not claims about database size, coverage, accounts or availability. Use actual authorized access without guessing credentials or claiming an API exists.

For each candidate retrieve the original declaration and verify exact product/variant, region/plant, unit, registration, operator, issue/expiry and relevant indicators. Use epd-parser when structured extraction is needed. Keep inaccessible declarations and ambiguous variants explicit. Do not treat a search snippet or marketing claim as an EPD.

Return candidates with original links, selection rationale and material gaps. No real-product examples or numeric benchmarks are bundled. An optional library save requires the user's requested persistence and an exact preview under the EPD schema; retrieval alone authorizes no record adoption.

Outputs and records

Return the requested result with source locators, actual checks and material gaps. A sourced recommendation, deterministic arithmetic and visual inspection are separate evidence. Use the [completion contract](../../docs/completion-reporting.md). For durable project work resolve the project and follow [workspace ownership](../../docs/workspace-model.md); offer facts/decisions to their owner instead of silently writing