skill-researcher by benbrastmckie

---
name: skill-researcher
description: Conduct general research using web search, documentation, and codebase exploration. Invoke for general research tasks.
allowed-tools: Task, Bash, Edit, Read, Write
# Original context (now loaded by subagent):
#   - .claude/context/core/formats/report-format.md
# Original tools (now used by subagent):
#   - Read, Write, Edit, Glob, Grep, WebSearch, WebFetch
---

# Researcher Skill

Thin wrapper that delegates general research to `general-research-agent` subagent.

**IMPORTANT**: This skill implements the skill-internal postflight pattern. After the subagent returns,
this skill handles all postflight operations (status update, artifact linking, git commit) before returning.
This eliminates the "continue" prompt issue between skill return and orchestrator.

## Context References

Reference (do not load eagerly):
- Path: `.claude/context/core/formats/return-metadata-file.md` - Metadata file schema
- Path: `.claude/context/core/patterns/postflight-control.md` - Marker file protocol
- Path: `.claude/context/core/patterns/file-metadata-exchange.md` - File I/O helpers
- Path: `.claude/context/core/patterns/jq-escaping-workarounds.md` - jq escaping patterns (Issue #1132)

Note: This skill is a thin wrapper with internal postflight. Context is loaded by the delegated agent.

## Trigger Conditions

This skill activates when:
- Task language is "general", "meta", "markdown", "latex", or "typst"
- Research is needed for implementation planning
- Documentation or external resources need to be gathered

---

## Execution Flow

### Stage 1: Input Validation

Validate required inputs:
- `task_number` - Must be provided and exist in state.json
- `focus_prompt` - Optional focus for research direction

```bash
# Lookup task
task_data=$(jq -r --argjson num "$task_number" \
  '.active_projects[] | select(.project_number == $num)' \
  specs/state.json)

# Validate exists
if [ -z "$task_data" ]; then
  return error "Task $task_number not found"
fi

# Extract fields
language=$(echo "$task_data" | jq -r '.language // "general"')
status=$(echo "$task_data" | jq -r '.status')
project_name=$(echo "$task_data" | jq -r '.project_name')
description=$(echo "$task_data" | jq -r '.description // ""')
```

---

### Stage 2: Preflight Status Update

Update task status to "researching" BEFORE invoking subagent.

**Update state.json**:
```bash
jq --arg ts "$(date -u +%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ)" \
   --arg status "researching" \
   --arg sid "$session_id" \
  '(.active_projects[] | select(.project_number == '$task_number')) |= . + {
    status: $status,
    last_updated: $ts,
    session_id: $sid
  }' specs/state.json > /tmp/state.json && mv /tmp/state.json specs/state.json
```

**Update TODO.md**: Use Edit tool to change status marker from `[NOT STARTED]` or `[RESEARCHED]` to `[RESEARCHING]`.

---

### Stage 3: Create Postflight Marker

Create the marker file to prevent premature termination:

```bash
# Ensure task directory exists
padded_num=$(printf "%03d" "$task_number")
mkdir -p "specs/${padded_num}_${project_name}"

cat > "specs/${padded_num}_${project_name}/.postflight-pending" << EOF
{
  "session_id": "${session_id}",
  "skill": "skill-researcher",
  "task_number": ${task_number},
  "operation": "research",
  "reason": "Postflight pending: status update, artifact linking, git commit",
  "created": "$(date -u +%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ)",
  "stop_hook_active": false
}
EOF
```

---

### Stage 4: Prepare Delegation Context

Prepare delegation context for the subagent:

```json
{
  "session_id": "sess_{timestamp}_{random}",
  "delegation_depth": 1,
  "delegation_path": ["orchestrator", "research", "skill-researcher"],
  "timeout": 3600,
  "task_context": {
    "task_number": N,
    "task_name": "{project_name}",
    "description": "{description}",
    "language": "{language}"
  },
  "focus_prompt": "{optional focus}",
  "metadata_file_path": "specs/{NNN}_{SLUG}/.return-meta.json"
}
```

---

### Stage 5: Invoke Subagent

**CRITICAL**: You MUST use the **Task** tool to spawn the subagent.

**Required Tool Invocation**:
```
Tool: Task (NOT Skill)
Parameters:
  - subagent_type: "general-research-agent"
  - prompt: [Include task_context, delegation_context, focus_prompt, metadata_file_path]
  - description: "Execute research for task {N}"
```

**DO NOT** use `Skill(general-research-agent)` - this will FAIL.

The subagent will:
- Search codebase for related patterns
- Search web for documentation and examples
- Analyze findings and synthesize recommendations
- Create research report in `specs/{NNN}_{SLUG}/reports/`
- Write metadata to `specs/{NNN}_{SLUG}/.return-meta.json`
- Return a brief text summary (NOT JSON)

---

### Stage 6: Parse Subagent Return (Read Metadata File)

After subagent returns, read the metadata file:

```bash
metadata_file="specs/${padded_num}_${project_name}/.return-meta.json"

if [ -f "$metadata_file" ] && jq empty "$metadata_file" 2>/dev/null; then
    status=$(jq -r '.status' "$metadata_file")
    artifact_path=$(jq -r '.artifacts[0].path // ""' "$metadata_file")
    artifact_type=$(jq -r '.artifacts[0].type // ""' "$metadata_file")
    artifact_summary=$(jq -r '.artifacts[0].summary // ""' "$metadata_file")
else
    echo "Error: Invalid or missing metadata file"
    status="failed"
fi
```

---

### Stage 7: Update Task Status (Postflight)

If status is "researched", update state.json and TODO.md:

**Update state.json**:
```bash
jq --arg ts "$(date -u +%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ)" \
   --arg status "researched" \
  '(.active_projects[] | select(.project_number == '$task_number')) |= . + {
    status: $status,
    last_updated: $ts,
    researched: $ts
  }' specs/state.json > /tmp/state.json && mv /tmp/state.json specs/state.json
```

**Update TODO.md**: Use Edit tool to change status marker from `[RESEARCHING]` to `[RESEARCHED]`.

**On partial/failed**: Keep status as "researching" for resume.

---

### Stage 8: Link Artifacts

Add artifact to state.json with summary.

**IMPORTANT**: Use two-step jq pattern to avoid Issue #1132 escaping bug. See `jq-escaping-workarounds.md`.

```bash
if [ -n "$artifact_path" ]; then
    # Step 1: Filter out existing research artifacts (use "| not" pattern to avoid != escaping - Issue #1132)
    jq '(.active_projects[] | select(.project_number == '$task_number')).artifacts =
        [(.active_projects[] | select(.project_number == '$task_number')).artifacts // [] | .[] | select(.type == "research" | not)]' \
      specs/state.json > /tmp/state.json && mv /tmp/state.json specs/state.json

    # Step 2: Add new research artifact
    jq --arg path "$artifact_path" \
       --arg type "$artifact_type" \
       --arg summary "$artifact_summary" \
      '(.active_projects[] | select(.project_number == '$task_number')).artifacts += [{"path": $path, "type": $type, "summary": $summary}]' \
      specs/state.json > /tmp/state.json && mv /tmp/state.json specs/state.json
fi
```

**Update TODO.md**: Add research artifact link:
```markdown
- **Research**: [research-{NNN}.md]({artifact_path})
```

---

### Stage 9: Git Commit

Commit changes with session ID:

```bash
git add -A
git commit -m "task ${task_number}: complete research

Session: ${session_id}

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.5 <[email protected]>"
```

---

### Stage 10: Cleanup

Remove marker and metadata files:

```bash
rm -f "specs/${padded_num}_${project_name}/.postflight-pending"
rm -f "specs/${padded_num}_${project_name}/.postflight-loop-guard"
rm -f "specs/${padded_num}_${project_name}/.return-meta.json"
```

---

### Stage 11: Return Brief Summary

Return a brief text summary (NOT JSON). Example:

```
Research completed for task {N}:
- Found {count} relevant patterns and resources
- Identified implementation approach: {approach}
- Created report at specs/{NNN}_{SLUG}/reports/research-{NNN}.md
- Status updated to [RESEARCHED]
- Changes committed
```

---

## Error Handling

### Input Validation Errors
Return immediately with error message if task not found.

### Metadata File Missing
If subagent didn't write metadata file:
1. Keep status as "researching"
2. Do not cleanup postflight marker
3. Report error to user

### Git Commit Failure
Non-blocking: Log failure but continue with success response.

### Subagent Timeout
Return partial status if subagent times out (default 3600s).
Keep status as "researching" for resume.

---

## Return Format

This skill returns a **brief text summary** (NOT JSON). The JSON metadata is written to the file and processed internally.

Example successful return:
```
Research completed for task 412:
- Found 8 relevant patterns for implementation
- Identified lazy context loading and skill-to-agent mapping patterns
- Created report at specs/412_general_research/reports/research-001.md
- Status updated to [RESEARCHED]
- Changes committed with session sess_1736700000_abc123
```

Example partial return:
```
Research partially completed for task 412:
- Found 4 codebase patterns
- Web search failed due to network error
- Partial report created at specs/412_general_research/reports/research-001.md
- Status remains [RESEARCHING] - run /research 412 to continue
```