grip-first-retrieval

name	grip-first-retrieval
description	Check what you already know before searching externally
version	1.0.0
triggers	["information retrieval","uncertainty about facts","knowledge lookup"]

GRIP-First Retrieval

When unsure or retrieving information, check what you already know first.

Retrieval Tiers (escalate only when prior tier fails)

Tier	Method	Cost	When
0	Session context / mental model	~0 tokens	"Do I already know this?"
1	Memory files (project + global)	~200 tokens	Saved knowledge
2	Structured lookup (Read known paths)	~500 tokens	Known file locations
3	Filesystem search (Grep/Glob)	~1000 tokens	Unknown file locations
4	Explore agent	~88k tokens	ONLY after tiers 0-3 exhausted

Each escalation requires a documented reason. Return at the FIRST tier that resolves.

When to Skip

• Direct execution commands ("fix this bug")
• Pure creation tasks ("write a new component")
• User-requested web searches
• Conversational exchanges