Triggers research for existing libraries, tools, and patterns before coding new features. Searches npm, PyPI, MCP/skills, GitHub; evaluates matches and decides adopt/extend/build.
From atum-systemnpx claudepluginhub arnwaldn/atum-system --plugin atum-systemThis skill uses the workspace's default tool permissions.
Provides UI/UX resources: 50+ styles, color palettes, font pairings, guidelines, charts for web/mobile across React, Next.js, Vue, Svelte, Tailwind, React Native, Flutter. Aids planning, building, reviewing interfaces.
Fetches up-to-date documentation from Context7 for libraries and frameworks like React, Next.js, Prisma. Use for setup questions, API references, and code examples.
Integrates PayPal payments with express checkout, subscriptions, refunds, and IPN. Includes JS SDK for frontend buttons and Python REST API for backend capture.
Systematizes the "search for existing solutions before implementing" workflow.
Use this skill when:
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ 1. NEED ANALYSIS │
│ Define what functionality is needed │
│ Identify language/framework constraints │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ 2. PARALLEL SEARCH (researcher agent) │
│ ┌──────────┐ ┌──────────┐ ┌──────────┐ │
│ │ npm / │ │ MCP / │ │ GitHub / │ │
│ │ PyPI │ │ Skills │ │ Web │ │
│ └──────────┘ └──────────┘ └──────────┘ │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ 3. EVALUATE │
│ Score candidates (functionality, maint, │
│ community, docs, license, deps) │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ 4. DECIDE │
│ ┌─────────┐ ┌──────────┐ ┌─────────┐ │
│ │ Adopt │ │ Extend │ │ Build │ │
│ │ as-is │ │ /Wrap │ │ Custom │ │
│ └─────────┘ └──────────┘ └─────────┘ │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ 5. IMPLEMENT │
│ Install package / Configure MCP / │
│ Write minimal custom code │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────┘
| Signal | Action |
|---|---|
| Exact match, well-maintained, MIT/Apache | Adopt — install and use directly |
| Partial match, good foundation | Extend — install + write thin wrapper |
| Multiple weak matches | Compose — combine 2-3 small packages |
| Nothing suitable found | Build — write custom, but informed by research |
Before writing a utility or adding functionality, mentally run through:
rg through relevant modules/tests first~/.claude/settings.json and search~/.claude/skills/For non-trivial functionality, launch the researcher agent:
Task(subagent_type="general-purpose", prompt="
Research existing tools for: [DESCRIPTION]
Language/framework: [LANG]
Constraints: [ANY]
Search: npm/PyPI, MCP servers, Claude Code skills, GitHub
Return: Structured comparison with recommendation
")
eslint, ruff, textlint, markdownlintprettier, black, gofmtjest, pytest, go testhusky, lint-staged, pre-commitunstructured, pdfplumber, mammothhttpx (Python), ky/got (Node)zod (TS), pydantic (Python)remark, unified, markdown-itsharp, imageminThe planner should invoke researcher before Phase 1 (Architecture Review):
The architect should consult researcher for:
Combine for progressive discovery:
Need: Check markdown files for broken links
Search: npm "markdown dead link checker"
Found: textlint-rule-no-dead-link (score: 9/10)
Action: ADOPT — npm install textlint-rule-no-dead-link
Result: Zero custom code, battle-tested solution
Need: Resilient HTTP client with retries and timeout handling
Search: npm "http client retry", PyPI "httpx retry"
Found: got (Node) with retry plugin, httpx (Python) with built-in retry
Action: ADOPT — use got/httpx directly with retry config
Result: Zero custom code, production-proven libraries
Need: Validate project config files against a schema
Search: npm "config linter schema", "json schema validator cli"
Found: ajv-cli (score: 8/10)
Action: ADOPT + EXTEND — install ajv-cli, write project-specific schema
Result: 1 package + 1 schema file, no custom validation logic