| name | ito-research |
| description | Conduct structured research for feature development, technology evaluation, or problem investigation. Use when the user needs to explore options, analyze trade-offs, or investigate technical approaches. |
Ito Research
Use this skill for technology evaluation, feature research, proposal review, and recommendation synthesis.
Template Map
| Goal | Template |
|---|
| Stack / library choice | @research-stack.md |
| Feature landscape / competitor scan | @research-features.md |
| Architecture / pattern design | @research-architecture.md |
| Pitfalls / anti-patterns | @research-pitfalls.md |
| Final recommendation | @research-synthesize.md |
| Security review | @review-security.md |
| Scale / performance review | @review-scale.md |
| Edge-case review | @review-edge.md |
Workflow
- For new features/tech: stack → features → architecture → pitfalls → synthesis.
- For proposal review: security and/or scale and/or edge-case review, depending on risk.
Output Location
Save research outputs under the Ito directory.
Research source artifacts and wiki synthesis have different jobs:
$ITO_ROOT/research/{{topic}}/ and $ITO_ROOT/changes/{{change_id}}/reviews/ store the original investigation or review output.$ITO_ROOT/wiki/ stores durable synthesis, topic links, query artifacts, and freshness notes that help future proposal, research, and archive sessions.- Do not replace the source research file with a wiki page; cite the source artifact from the wiki page instead.
If you need absolute paths at runtime:
ITO_ROOT="$(ito path ito-root)"
Then save to:
$ITO_ROOT/research/{{topic}}/ for feature/technology research$ITO_ROOT/changes/{{change_id}}/reviews/ for change reviews
If $ITO_ROOT/wiki/index.md exists, read it before starting to find prior topic pages and known gaps. If coverage is stale, missing, or contradictory, call that out and continue from source research or raw Ito artifacts.
After completing research, update the wiki only when the finding is durable enough to help future sessions:
- Add lasting recommendations, decisions, and cross-cutting findings to relevant topic pages.
- Add one-off investigations or prompt-specific answers under
$ITO_ROOT/wiki/queries/ when they are useful but not topic-page material.
- Update
index.md, log.md, and _meta/status.md when wiki coverage changes meaningfully.
Example Usage
Technology Research
User: Research options for implementing real-time notifications
Agent: I'll use the ito-research skill to evaluate options.
1. First, I'll use @research-stack.md to compare:
- WebSockets vs SSE vs Polling
- Library options (socket.io, ws, etc.)
2. Then @research-architecture.md for:
- Pub/sub patterns
- Scaling considerations
3. Finally @research-synthesize.md to recommend an approach.
Change Review
User: Review the auth refactor change for security issues
Agent: I'll use @review-security.md to audit the change:
- Map attack surface
- Check for auth bypasses
- Verify input validation
- Review cryptographic usage
Integration with Ito Workflow
Research outputs can feed into change proposals:
- Complete research using templates above
- Save findings to
$ITO_ROOT/research/{{topic}}/
- Reference research in
proposal.md or design.md
- Update relevant
.ito/wiki/ topic pages or query artifacts when findings have durable reuse value
- Use research to inform
tasks.md prioritization
