research

name	research
description	Search and read the web (via the web_search tool) when stuck or learning something new
tools	["bash"]
core	true
origin	creator

Research

You have real web access. Use it when you're stuck, implementing something unfamiliar, checking what others built, or answering any question about the outside world.

Hard rule: never answer from memory

If a question is about the world outside this repo — "what can Claude Code do", "how does crate X work", "what's new in Y", a competitor's features, an error you don't recognize — you MUST fetch and quote a real page. Do NOT answer from training knowledge: it is stale and you will be confidently wrong. Search or fetch first, then answer only from what you actually read. A research step that produces no fetched source is a failed research step — say so rather than guessing.

How to search and read

• Discover + read → the web_search tool. Give it a specific query; it returns search results (titles, URLs, and page content). This is your default for "find pages about X" and for reading what they say. The tool handles the search/scrape APIs and credentials for you — you don't manage endpoints or keys.
• A specific known URL → fetch it directly with bash, e.g. curl -sSL "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ORG/REPO/main/src/lib.rs" | head -200 or curl -sSL "https://docs.rs/CRATE/latest/CRATE/" | sed 's/<[^>]*>//g' | head -120.

Rules

• Have a specific question before you search. No aimless browsing.
• Prefer official docs / changelogs / source over random blogs.
• Quote what you actually read; never paraphrase from memory.
• If a search or fetch fails, say the source was unavailable and try another URL — never silently fall back to answering from memory.

When to research

• Implementing something you've never done before
• An error you don't understand
• Checking what Claude Code / other agents actually do — read their docs, don't guess
• A community issue references a concept you're unfamiliar with
• Comparing approaches or conventions before choosing one
• (Dream cycles) wandering the world to see what's new