Research Guide

Overview

Research and document best practices, guides, and library recommendations for any development topic. Leverages /sc:research for deep web research and synthesizes findings into detailed reports tailored to the project context.

Instructions

Step 1: Analyze Context

Before researching, understand the project context:

• Check package.json , Cargo.toml , go.mod , etc. for existing dependencies

• Review project structure to understand tech stack

• Identify constraints (language, framework, existing patterns)

Step 2: Formulate Research Query

Build a focused research query based on:

• The specific topic or problem

• Project's tech stack and constraints

• Current year for up-to-date results

Step 3: Execute Research

Use the /sc:research slash command:

/sc:research "[topic] best practices [tech-stack] [current-year]" --depth standard

For complex topics, use deeper research:

/sc:research "[topic]" --depth deep

Step 4: Synthesize Report

Create a detailed report with structure:

Research Report: [Topic]

Summary

Brief overview of findings (2-3 sentences)

Recommended Libraries

Best Practices

Practice 1: [Name]

• What: Description
• Why: Rationale
• How: Implementation guidance

Practice 2: [Name]

...

Implementation Guide

Step-by-step guidance for the specific project context.

References

• Source 1
• Source 2

Compatibility Notes

Project-specific considerations based on existing stack.

Step 5: Save Report

Save to claudedocs/research_[topic]_[timestamp].md

Examples

Example: Research Authentication

Input: "Research best practices for authentication in our TypeScript backend"

Process:

• Check project: TypeScript, Bun, Hono framework

• Query: /sc:research "authentication best practices TypeScript Hono 2025" --depth standard

• Synthesize findings into report

Output: Detailed report covering:

• JWT vs session comparison

• Recommended libraries (jose, arctic, lucia)

• Implementation patterns for Hono

• Security best practices

Example: Research State Management

Input: "What's the best state management for React in 2025?"

Process:

• Check project: React 18, TypeScript

• Query: /sc:research "React state management comparison 2025" --depth deep

• Compare options in project context

Output: Report with:

• Zustand vs Jotai vs Redux Toolkit comparison

• Bundle size analysis

• Recommended choice for project scale

• Migration guide if switching

Example: Research Testing Strategy

Input: "Research testing best practices for our API"

Process:

• Check project: Bun runtime, REST API

• Query: /sc:research "API testing best practices Bun TypeScript 2025"

• Tailor to existing test setup

Output: Report covering:

• Unit vs integration vs e2e strategy

• Recommended test runners (bun:test, vitest)

• Mocking strategies

• CI/CD integration

Guidelines

• Always check project context before researching

• Include current year in queries for fresh results

• Prioritize libraries actively maintained (updated within 6 months)

• Consider bundle size and dependency count

• Note breaking changes between major versions

• Provide migration paths when recommending changes

• Save all reports to claudedocs/ directory

Report Quality Checklist

Before finalizing a report:

• Summary is concise and actionable

• Libraries include maintenance status

• Best practices have clear rationale

• Implementation guide matches project stack

• All sources are cited

• Compatibility with existing deps checked