/research

Research a topic and create comprehensive documentation for planning, understanding, and working with the subject.

Document Creation:

• Directory Structure: Creates research/<category>/<topic>/
• File Generation: Produces overview.md, troubleshooting.md, and optional guides
• Planning Focus: Helps understand topics before implementation
• Reference Material: Creates searchable knowledge base

Features:

• Automatic Complexity Assessment: Evaluates topic complexity (1-10 scale)
• Thinking Mode Selection: Standard/Extended/Deep based on complexity
• Manual Override: Use --complexity=<level> to force thinking depth
• Structured Content: Consistent templates for reliability
• Authoritative Sources: Links to official docs and best practices
• Practical Examples: Real-world usage patterns and code samples

Examples:

/research development docker-compose
# Creates: research/development/docker-compose/
#          - overview.md
#          - troubleshooting.md

/research infrastructure kubernetes-networking --complexity=high
# Creates: research/infrastructure/kubernetes-networking/
#          - overview.md (with deep analysis)
#          - troubleshooting.md
#          - best-practices.md

/research frontend react-state-management --complexity=medium
# Creates: research/frontend/react-state-management/
#          - overview.md
#          - troubleshooting.md
#          - comparison.md (Redux vs Context vs Zustand)

Document Structure:

overview.md

• Purpose & Use Cases: When and why to use this technology
• Core Concepts: Fundamental principles and architecture
• Implementation Patterns: Common approaches and best practices
• Code Examples: Practical, runnable examples
• Integration Guidelines: How it fits into larger systems
• Performance Considerations: Optimization and scaling
• Security: Common vulnerabilities and protections
• Resources: Official docs, tutorials, community resources

troubleshooting.md

• Common Issues: Frequently encountered problems
• Error Messages: Interpretation and solutions
• Diagnostic Tools: How to investigate problems
• Solutions: Step-by-step fixes
• Prevention: How to avoid issues
• Escalation: When and where to get help

Additional Files (generated as needed)

• best-practices.md: Detailed guidelines and patterns
• comparison.md: Technology alternatives and trade-offs
• migration.md: Upgrade paths and migration strategies
• quick-start.md: Fast setup and basic usage

Quality Standards:

• Use authoritative sources (official docs, RFCs, reputable blogs)
• Include version information where relevant
• Provide working code examples
• Link to external resources
• Note common pitfalls and gotchas
• Include date of research for freshness tracking

Task Instructions: Use Task tool with subagent_type: "general-purpose" to:

1. Research Phase:

   • Search authoritative sources and documentation
   • Gather best practices and common patterns
   • Identify common issues and solutions
   • Collect practical examples

2. Structure Phase:

   • Create research/<category>/<topic>/ directory
   • Determine which documents are needed based on topic
   • Plan document organization

3. Content Generation:

   • Write comprehensive overview.md with:
     • Clear purpose and use cases
     • Core concepts and architecture
     • Implementation patterns
     • Practical examples
     • Integration guidance
   • Write practical troubleshooting.md with:
     • Common issues and solutions
     • Error message interpretations
     • Diagnostic approaches
     • Prevention strategies
   • Generate additional guides as needed

4. Quality Assurance:

   • Verify all sources are authoritative
   • Ensure examples are practical and correct
   • Check for completeness and clarity
   • Add timestamps and version info

The agent should produce comprehensive, actionable documentation that helps users understand and work with the topic effectively.