research
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.
npx skills add JuliusBrussee/cavekit --skill research --agent claude-code
Same command for any agent — swap --agent for codex, cursor, copilot.
Weekly change comes from our own snapshots, not the repository page — it measures attention, not adoption.
# 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 s
- WHEN TO RESEARCH
- FOUR STEPS
- 1. SCOPE
- 2. GATHER
- 3. DISTILL
- 4. HAND OFF
- SOURCE DISCIPLINE
- WHEN TO STOP
- BOUNDARIES
What does the research skill do?
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.
How do I install it?
Run `npx skills add JuliusBrussee/cavekit --skill research --agent claude-code` — it drops the skill into your project so the agent can pick it up. Swap the --agent value for codex, cursor or copilot if you use one of those.
Where does this skill come from?
From JuliusBrussee/cavekit, a repository with 1,133 stars. We read it straight from the repository tree rather than a submitted listing, so what you see here is what is actually published.
Is a popular skill a good skill?
Not necessarily. Stars measure attention, not adoption — a repository can trend for a week and be abandoned. That is why we show the weekly change from our own snapshots next to the total, instead of a single flattering number.