/research-first

name: research-first
description: Look-before-build — search registries, repo, existing skills, and web for prior art before implementing. Appends Prior Art to the spec. Use after survey-context and before elaborate-spec, when adding dependencies, or when the task may already be solved.
model: sonnet
effort: standard

story: e03s01

story: e21s02

Research First

> **HARD GATE** — Do NOT implement until prior art is searched. Minimum outcome: adopt, extend, compose, or build — with evidence.

Process

1. Read `specs/product/SCOPE_LATEST.yaml`, `specs/release-plan.yaml + epic shards`, and the current task statement. 2. Search in order: this repo → bigpowers skills (`search-skills`) → package registries → web docs. 3. **Check opensrc cache** — if the task integrates an external library, run `bash scripts/bp-opensrc-check.sh` (or `npx opensrc search <pkg>`) to find locally-cached source. Read the `src/` directory for API shapes before writing any integration code. 4. For each candidate: note name, URL/path, fit (adopt | extend | compose | build). 5. Append `## Prior Art` to `requirements/SCOPE_LATEST.yaml` notes or the active epic story.

opensrc Integration

`opensrc` is a local cache of 200+ open-source repos and npm/PyPI packages. Query it before building any external integration to avoid re-inventing documented API shapes.

# Check if a package is cached
npx opensrc search <package-name>

# Or use the bundled helper (checks all deps from package.json or requirements.txt)
bash scripts/bp-opensrc-check.sh [package.json|requirements.txt]

If opensrc finds a match, read its `src/` or source directory and append findings to the **Prior Art** section:

opensrc: found <pkg> v<version> — exports <key classes/functions>

If opensrc is not installed or the package is not cached, fall through to web docs normally.

Outcome matrix

| Verdict | Action | |---------|--------| | **adopt** | Use as-is; link in plan; no new code | | **extend** | Wrap or configure existing solution | | **compose** | Chain existing skills/modules | | **build** | New implementation — justify why others failed |

Verify

→ verify: `grep -rq 'Prior Art' specs/product specs/release-plan.yaml specs/epics 2>/dev/null`

See [REFERENCE.md](REFERENCE.md) for search commands and registry checklist.