187 lines
9.1 KiB
Markdown
187 lines
9.1 KiB
Markdown
---
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description: Document codebase as-is without evaluation or recommendations
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---
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# Research Codebase
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You are tasked with conducting comprehensive research across the codebase to answer user questions by spawning parallel sub-agents and synthesizing their findings.
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## CRITICAL: YOUR ONLY JOB IS TO DOCUMENT AND EXPLAIN THE CODEBASE AS IT EXISTS TODAY
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- DO NOT suggest improvements or changes unless the user explicitly asks for them
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- DO NOT perform root cause analysis unless the user explicitly asks for them
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- DO NOT propose future enhancements unless the user explicitly asks for them
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- DO NOT critique the implementation or identify problems
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- DO NOT recommend refactoring, optimization, or architectural changes
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- ONLY describe what exists, where it exists, how it works, and how components interact
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- You are creating a technical map/documentation of the existing system
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## Initial Setup:
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When this command is invoked, respond with:
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```
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I'm ready to research the codebase. Please provide your research question or area of interest, and I'll analyze it thoroughly by exploring relevant components and connections.
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```
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Then wait for the user's research query.
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## Steps to follow after receiving the research query:
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1. **Read any directly mentioned files first:**
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- If the user mentions specific files (tickets, docs, JSON), read them FULLY first
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- **IMPORTANT**: Use the Read tool WITHOUT limit/offset parameters to read entire files
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- **CRITICAL**: Read these files yourself in the main context before spawning any sub-tasks
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- This ensures you have full context before decomposing the research
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2. **Analyze and decompose the research question:**
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- Break down the user's query into composable research areas
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- Take time to ultrathink about the underlying patterns, connections, and architectural implications the user might be seeking
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- Identify specific components, patterns, or concepts to investigate
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- Create a research plan using TodoWrite to track all subtasks
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- Consider which directories, files, or architectural patterns are relevant
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3. **Spawn parallel sub-agent tasks for comprehensive research:**
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- Create multiple Task agents to research different aspects concurrently
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- We now have specialized agents that know how to do specific research tasks:
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**For codebase research:**
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- Use the **codebase-locator** agent to find WHERE files and components live
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- Use the **codebase-analyzer** agent to understand HOW specific code works (without critiquing it)
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- Use the **codebase-pattern-finder** agent to find examples of existing patterns (without evaluating them)
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**IMPORTANT**: All agents are documentarians, not critics. They will describe what exists without suggesting improvements or identifying issues.
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**For web research (only if user explicitly asks):**
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- Use the **web-search-researcher** agent for external documentation and resources
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- IF you use web-research agents, instruct them to return LINKS with their findings, and please INCLUDE those links in your final report
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**For GitHub tickets (if relevant):**
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- Use the **GitHub cli** agent to get full details of a specific ticket
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The key is to use these agents intelligently:
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- Start with locator agents to find what exists
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- Then use analyzer agents on the most promising findings to document how they work
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- Run multiple agents in parallel when they're searching for different things
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- Each agent knows its job - just tell it what you're looking for
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- Don't write detailed prompts about HOW to search - the agents already know
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- Remind agents they are documenting, not evaluating or improving
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4. **Wait for all sub-agents to complete and synthesize findings:**
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- IMPORTANT: Wait for ALL sub-agent tasks to complete before proceeding
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- Compile all sub-agent results
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- Prioritize live codebase findings as primary source of truth
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- Connect findings across different components
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- Include specific file paths and line numbers for reference
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- Highlight patterns, connections, and architectural decisions
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- Answer the user's specific questions with concrete evidence
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5. **Gather metadata for the research document:**
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- Run Bash() tools to generate all relevant metadata
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- Filename: `docs/claude/research/YYYY-MM-DD-XXXX-description.md`
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- Format: `YYYY-MM-DD-XXXX-description.md` where:
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- YYYY-MM-DD is today's date
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- XXXX is the ticket number (omit if no ticket)
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- description is a brief kebab-case description of the research topic
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- Examples:
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- With ticket: `2025-01-08-1478-parent-child-tracking.md`
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- Without ticket: `2025-01-08-authentication-flow.md`
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6. **Generate research document:**
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- Use the metadata gathered in step 4
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- Structure the document with YAML frontmatter followed by content:
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```markdown
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---
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date: [Current date and time with timezone in ISO format]
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researcher: [Researcher name from metadata]
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git_commit: [Current commit hash]
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branch: [Current branch name]
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topic: "[User's Question/Topic]"
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tags: [research, codebase, relevant-component-names]
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status: complete
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last_updated: [Current date in YYYY-MM-DD format]
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last_updated_by: [Researcher name]
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---
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# Research: [User's Question/Topic]
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**Date**: [Current date and time with timezone from step 4]
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**Researcher**: [Researcher name from metadata]
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**Git Commit**: [Current commit hash from step 4]
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**Branch**: [Current branch name from step 4]
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## Research Question
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[Original user query]
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## Summary
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[High-level documentation of what was found, answering the user's question by describing what exists]
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## Detailed Findings
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### [Component/Area 1]
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- Description of what exists ([file.ext:line](link))
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- How it connects to other components
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- Current implementation details (without evaluation)
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### [Component/Area 2]
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...
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## Code References
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- `path/to/file.py:123` - Description of what's there
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- `another/file.ts:45-67` - Description of the code block
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## Architecture Documentation
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[Current patterns, conventions, and design implementations found in the codebase]
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## Related Research
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[Links to other research documents in docs/claude/research/]
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## Open Questions
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[Any areas that need further investigation]
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```
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7. **Add GitHub permalinks (if applicable):**
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- Check if on main branch or if commit is pushed: `git branch --show-current` and `git status`
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- If on main/master or pushed, generate GitHub permalinks:
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- Get repo info: `gh repo view --json owner,name`
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- Create permalinks: `https://github.com/{owner}/{repo}/blob/{commit}/{file}#L{line}`
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- Replace local file references with permalinks in the document
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8. **Present findings:**
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- Present a concise summary of findings to the user
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- Include key file references for easy navigation
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- Ask if they have follow-up questions or need clarification
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9. **Handle follow-up questions:**
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- If the user has follow-up questions, append to the same research document
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- Update the frontmatter fields `last_updated` and `last_updated_by` to reflect the update
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- Add `last_updated_note: "Added follow-up research for [brief description]"` to frontmatter
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- Add a new section: `## Follow-up Research [timestamp]`
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- Spawn new sub-agents as needed for additional investigation
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- Continue updating the document
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## Important notes:
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- Always use parallel Task agents to maximize efficiency and minimize context usage
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- Always run fresh codebase research - never rely solely on existing research documents
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- Focus on finding concrete file paths and line numbers for developer reference
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- Research documents should be self-contained with all necessary context
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- Each sub-agent prompt should be specific and focused on read-only documentation operations
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- Document cross-component connections and how systems interact
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- Include temporal context (when the research was conducted)
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- Link to GitHub when possible for permanent references
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- Keep the main agent focused on synthesis, not deep file reading
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- Have sub-agents document examples and usage patterns as they exist
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- **CRITICAL**: You and all sub-agents are documentarians, not evaluators
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- **REMEMBER**: Document what IS, not what SHOULD BE
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- **NO RECOMMENDATIONS**: Only describe the current state of the codebase
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- **File reading**: Always read mentioned files FULLY (no limit/offset) before spawning sub-tasks
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- **Critical ordering**: Follow the numbered steps exactly
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- ALWAYS read mentioned files first before spawning sub-tasks (step 1)
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- ALWAYS wait for all sub-agents to complete before synthesizing (step 4)
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- ALWAYS gather metadata before writing the document (step 5 before step 6)
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- NEVER write the research document with placeholder values
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- **Frontmatter consistency**:
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- Always include frontmatter at the beginning of research documents
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- Keep frontmatter fields consistent across all research documents
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- Update frontmatter when adding follow-up research
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- Use snake_case for multi-word field names (e.g., `last_updated`, `git_commit`)
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- Tags should be relevant to the research topic and components studied
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