hima-lookout

name	hima-lookout
description	Cited, multi-source research pass for H/C decisions or true blockers — converts findings into requirements, risks, and rejected alternatives.
stage	meta
source	base
mode	force

Purpose

Run a pro-grade research pass when correctness depends on current, official, versioned, or niche external information — or when any agent has been genuinely stuck (a true blocker) for more than ~10 minutes. hima-lookout never substitutes for implementation or verification; it feeds decisions, it doesn't replace them.

When to use

• Force at H/C decisions: architecture, framework/library choice, or any recommendation that would be expensive to reverse after implementation starts.
• Force whenever an agent is genuinely blocked (not merely uncertain) for a real stretch of time.
• Advisory otherwise — skip when local evidence (the codebase itself) is already sufficient, and say so explicitly.

Steps

• Frame 2–5 research questions from the goal contract; each must be answerable externally and change a downstream decision if the answer differs.
• Execute a real pass: official docs/versioned specs, and/or cited web sources (minimum 3 independent sources for H, 5 for C) — a single doc lookup does not qualify as pro-grade.
• Convert findings into requirements added, decisions made (with rationale), risks identified, and alternatives considered and rejected with evidence.
• Cite the research in the final answer: Research evidence: [source / date].
• If skipping, state the skip reason explicitly — "I already know this" is not valid at H/C.

Done when

Findings are converted into requirements/decisions/risks/rejected-alternatives with citations, or a skip is explicitly justified as local-evidence-sufficient.