/explore

name: explore
description: >-
  Search the marketplace, analyze competition, discover gaps, and find inspiration.
  Use when: 'explore', 'search marketplace', 'what exists for', 'competitors',
  'market gap', 'trending', or before browsing the marketplace. For domain research
  with build recommendations, use /scout instead.
argument-hint: "[query or category]"
allowed-tools:
  - Read
  - Glob
  - Grep
  - Bash(myclaude *)
  - AskUserQuestion

Explore — Marketplace Intelligence & Discovery

> Before you build, know the landscape. This skill is your window into the marketplace.

**When to use:** Before /create (market research). After /publish (competitive positioning). Anytime you want to understand what exists, what's missing, and where the opportunity is.

**When NOT to use:** For building products (use /create→/fill pipeline). For quality checks (use /validate).

---

Activation Protocol

0. **Shared preamble:** Load `references/quality/activation-preamble.md` — context assembly, persona adaptation, deterministic routing rules. 1. Read `creator.yaml` → adapt to profile.type, expertise domains, language 2. Check CLI: `myclaude --version 2>/dev/null` — if unavailable, explain install and offer offline alternatives 3. Parse `$ARGUMENTS` for query intent 4. Route to the appropriate exploration mode 5. **Load voice identity:** Load `references/quality/engine-voice-core.md`. Every user-facing line in this skill honors the ✦ signature, three tones, and six anti-patterns. 5b. **Load UX vocabulary:** Load `references/ux-vocabulary.md` — translate all internal terms before creator-facing output. 5c. **Load proactives:** Load `references/engine-proactive.md` — wire #1 (pipeline guidance: after explore, suggest /scout or /create), #14 (feedback loop on published products). 6. **CLI contract:** Load `references/cli-contract.md` for unified error handling. This skill is the heaviest CLI consumer (12+ invocations across 5 modes). Severity map:

• **Silent-skip:** `search`, `trending`, `workspace --recommend` — skip without user-visible warning on failure
• **Silent-skip:** `--version` check — degrade to offline mode
• **Interactive:** `install {slug}` — show manual install instructions on failure
• **All queries:** append `--json 2>/dev/null`, parse JSON, treat invalid JSON as CLI absent
• **Timeout:** 15s per command. On timeout, skip with offline alternatives

---

Exploration Modes

MODE 0: Project-Aware Recommendations (the smart default)

**Trigger:** `/explore` with no arguments, "what do I need", "recommend", "analyze my setup", "optimize"

This is the MODE that makes the Engine indispensable. Instead of generic search, it analyzes the creator's ACTUAL project and recommends products that would improve their specific workflow.

**Step 1 — Detect active project context (using Glob/Read/Grep, NOT Bash):**

# What tech stack? Use Glob to detect manifest files:
Glob("package.json")        → Node.js/JavaScript
Glob("Cargo.toml")          → Rust
Glob("requirements.txt")    → Python (pip)
Glob("pyproject.toml")      → Python (modern)
Glob("go.mod")              → Go
Glob("Gemfile")             → Ruby
Glob("pom.xml")             → Java (Maven)
Glob("build.gradle")        → Java/Kotlin (Gradle)

# What framework? If package.json found, Read it and check dependencies:
Read("package.json") → look for: react, next, vue, angular, svelte, express, fastapi in dependencies

# What's in their .claude/?
Glob(".claude/rules/*.md")          → count rule files
Glob(".claude/skills/*/SKILL.md")   → count installed skills

# Do they have hooks?
Read(".claude/settings.json") → check if "hooks" key exists

# CLAUDE.md size? Read first 5 lines to detect existence, check file metadata
Glob("CLAUDE.md") + Glob(".claude/CLAUDE.md") → if found, Read first 10 lines for size estimate

**IMPORTANT:** All detection uses Glob, Read, and Grep tools — NOT Bash. The only Bash allowed is `Bash(myclaude *)` for marketplace queries.

**Step 2 — Cross-reference with marketplace:** Based on detected tech stack, search for matching products:

myclaude search "{detected_framework}" --json 2>/dev/null
myclaude search "{detected_language} rules" --json 2>/dev/null

**Step 3 — Deliver personalized recommendations:**

Project Analysis: {project_name or cwd}

  Stack:    {language} + {framework}
  Rules:    {N} loaded ({M} without path scoping)
  Skills:   {N} installed
  Hooks:    {present/none}
  CLAUDE.md: {N} chars ({optimal/oversized})

Recommended products for THIS project:

  INSTALL NOW (free, immediate value):
  1. {name} — {why it matches this project}
     myclaude install {slug}

  CONSIDER (paid, high impact):
  2. {name} — {why it matches}
     myclaude install {slug}

  MISSING FROM YOUR SETUP:
  - No {type} for {detected_gap} — {N} options exist on marketplace
  - Your CLAUDE.md {has no path scoping / is oversized / could use @include}

  CREATE OPPORTUNITY:
  - No {type} exists for {framework + specific use case}
  - Your expertise in {domain} + this project's stack = potential product

**Anti-pattern guard:** Don't recommend more than 5 products total. Don't recommend paid products to beginners. Don't recommend products the creator already has installed. If CLI unavailable, show only the project analysis part (still valuable without marketplace).

**Why this is MODE 0 (default):** When a creator types `/explore` with no arguments, THIS is what runs. Not a generic "what do you want to search?" — a smart, project-aware consultation that gives immediate value. The creator didn't come to browse. They came because they want their setup to be better. Give them that.

---

MODE 1: Search (find specific products)

**Trigger:** "search for", "find", "is there a", specific query terms

myclaude search "{query}" --json 2>/dev/null

Display results as:

Found {N} products for "{query}":

  {name} [{type}] by @{author} — {downloads} dl — ${price}
    "{descripti