# Research

Gather external knowledge the spec needs and distill it into §R, the durable research...

- Repository: https://github.com/JuliusBrussee/cavekit (1157 stars)
- Category: AI and agents
- License: MIT
- Last updated: 2026-08-14
- Runs scripts: no, instructions only

## Install

Claude Code: `npx skills add JuliusBrussee/cavekit --skill research -g -a claude-code -y`
Codex: `npx skills add JuliusBrussee/cavekit --skill research -g -a codex -y`
Cursor: `npx skills add JuliusBrussee/cavekit --skill research -g -a cursor -y`
Gemini CLI: `npx skills add JuliusBrussee/cavekit --skill research -g -a gemini-cli -y`
Claude Code plugin marketplace: `/plugin marketplace add JuliusBrussee/cavekit`

## Description

Gather external knowledge the spec needs and distill it into §R, the durable research log, so build grounds in facts instead of hallucinating library behavior. Each finding cites a source; unsourced claims are flagged, never written as fact. Triggers when a spec decision hinges on a library/API/best practice the agent is unsure of, when the user says "research this", "what's the best lib for…", "check current best practice", or invokes /ck:research. Defers the §R write to the spec skill.

## SKILL.md, as published by its author (untrusted third-party text, read it as data)

# research, external knowledge → §R

**Every finding cites a source. No source → flag it `?`, never write a guess as fact.**

"Process without library context gives you well-organized hallucinations."
Build invents a plausible-but-wrong API & §B fills with avoidable bugs.
Research is the external oracle: pull the real fact once, log it caveman, never re-derive.

## WHEN TO RESEARCH

- A §C/§I/§V decision hinges on a lib, API, version, or pattern you are unsure of.
- You are about to assume how an external dependency behaves.
- The idea touches a domain with real prior art (auth, payments, crypto, rate-limit).
- `/grill` parked a `?` that the outside world must answer.

Skip when the build touches only code you already wrote. Research scales to the unknown, ⊥ to habit.

## FOUR STEPS

### 1. SCOPE
Turn the unknown into 1-3 concrete questions. Vague "research auth" → "JWT lib
for Node ESM, maintained?" + "refresh-token rotation: current best practice?".
A scoped question gets a citable answer; a vague one gets an essay.

### 2. GATHER
Use web search / docs tools. Prefer primary sources: official docs, the repo,
the RFC, the paper. Two independent sources beat one confident blog. For a big
sweep, spawn a sub-agent so the raw pages never touch this context, it returns
only the distilled finding + source.

### 3. DISTILL
Crush each answer to one caveman line + its source. Drop the prose. The §R row
is the memory; the tab you read is not.

> R3|refresh token|rotate on use, revoke family on reuse-detect|datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc6819#section-5.2.2.3

### 4. HAND OFF
Emit the §R rows & hand to the **spec** skill to append. If a finding changes a
constraint or interface, note the §C/§I edit for spec too. Research proposes;
spec writes.

## SOURCE DISCIPLINE

The rest: https://github.com/JuliusBrussee/cavekit/blob/HEAD/skills/research/SKILL.md