discovery-phase

name	discovery-phase
description	Execute discovery at the appropriate depth level. Produces DISCOVERY.md that informs PLAN.md creation. Supports quick verify, standard, and deep dive depths.

Execute discovery at the appropriate depth level. Produces DISCOVERY.md (for Level 2-3) that informs PLAN.md creation.

Called from plan-phase.md's mandatory_discovery step with a depth parameter.

NOTE: For comprehensive ecosystem research ("how do experts build this"), use /research-phase.md instead, which produces RESEARCH.md.

<depth_levels> This workflow supports three depth levels:

Level	Name	Time	Output	When
1	Quick Verify	2-5 min	No file, proceed with verified knowledge	Single library, confirming current syntax
2	Standard	15-30 min	DISCOVERY.md	Choosing between options, new integration
3	Deep Dive	1+ hour	Detailed DISCOVERY.md with validation gates	Architectural decisions, novel problems

Depth is determined by plan-phase.md before routing here. </depth_levels>

<source_hierarchy> MANDATORY: Context7 BEFORE Web Search

Copilot's training data is 6-18 months stale. Always verify.

Priority Order:

1. Context7 MCP FIRST - Use use_mcp_tool(context7, ...) for current library/framework docs
2. Copilot fetch (built-in) - Use for web search and fetching URLs (no MCP needed)
3. Exa / Brave Search MCP - Optional, for deep research when insufficient:

Check the depth parameter passed from plan-phase.md: - `depth=verify` → Level 1 (Quick Verification) - `depth=standard` → Level 2 (Standard Discovery) - `depth=deep` → Level 3 (Deep Dive) **Level 1: Quick Verification (2-5 minutes)** **Level 2: Standard Discovery (15-30 minutes)** **Level 3: Deep Dive (1+ hour)** **For Level 2-3:** Define what we need to learn. Use ~/.gsd/templates/discovery.md. Run the discovery: - Use web search for current info - Use Context7 MCP for library docs - Prefer current year sources - Structure findings per template Write `.gsd/phases/XX-name/DISCOVERY.md`: - Summary with recommendation - Key findings with sources - Code examples if applicable - Metadata (confidence, dependencies, open questions, assumptions) After creating DISCOVERY.md, check confidence level. If DISCOVERY.md has open_questions: ``` Discovery complete: .gsd/phases/XX-name/DISCOVERY.md Recommendation: [one-liner] Confidence: [level]