| name | external-source-research |
| description | Use when implementation or review depends on external documentation, standards, protocols, APIs, SDKs, changelogs, or version-specific behavior. Produces a concise source dossier and implementation implications. |
External Source Research
Trigger
When the task mentions current docs, specifications, protocol behavior, framework/library APIs, cloud provider behavior, compliance text, or anything that may have changed recently.
Non-goals
Do not edit code. Do not quote long copyrighted passages. Do not treat blog posts as authoritative when primary sources exist.
Operating principles
- Stay evidence-led. Every non-obvious conclusion must be backed by file paths, symbols, command output, issue/PR links, or source references.
- Keep subagents narrow. Give each subagent one question, a bounded search area, and an explicit output contract.
- Prefer read-only exploration until the parent task explicitly asks for edits.
- Separate facts, inferences, risks, and recommendations.
- Do not rely on repository claims alone. Verify against source code, tests, CI, docs, generated artifacts, runtime behavior, and external specifications when available.
- Treat commands as evidence only when their exact command line, environment assumptions, and result are recorded.
- Preserve user intent. Do not widen scope without stating the proposed scope change.
- Be portable across stacks. Infer language, framework, build system, package manager, test runner, and CI from the repository rather than assuming any one ecosystem.
Subagent orchestration rules
Use subagents when the task benefits from context isolation, parallel exploration, independent verification, or specialized expertise. Do not spawn subagents for a one-shot formatting task.
When spawning subagents, pass this minimum packet:
- Objective: one sentence describing the question to answer.
- Scope: files, folders, PR diff, services, packages, or docs to inspect.
- Constraints: read-only vs write, commands allowed, network/doc lookup allowed, and timeout.
- Required evidence: exact files/symbols/commands/sources to cite.
- Output schema: use the schema requested by the skill.
Parent-agent responsibilities:
- Assign non-overlapping scopes when possible.
- Wait for all requested subagents unless a blocking failure makes remaining work irrelevant.
- Cross-check subagent conclusions against each other.
- Resolve conflicts explicitly. Do not silently choose the more confident subagent.
- Produce one synthesized result with a risk-ranked decision, not a paste of raw subagent notes.
Recommended subagents
external-researcher — Find primary sources, versions, changelogs, migration notes, and authoritative examples.spec-tracer — Convert normative or contractual requirements into testable assertions.codebase-mapper — Map where the external behavior is consumed or implemented in the codebase.correctness-reviewer — Check whether current implementation assumptions match the researched sources.
Workflow
- Clarify the exact external dependency, version, standard section, API endpoint, or behavioral claim being verified.
- Prefer primary sources: official docs, standards, RFCs, release notes, code references, or vendor APIs.
- Extract only actionable facts: version constraints, required behavior, deprecated behavior, edge cases, examples, and test obligations.
- Map facts to repository usage points and identify mismatches or stale assumptions.
- Return a source dossier with confidence and citations/links where the environment supports them.
Required final output
Return results in this order:
- Decision / state — ready, not ready, inconclusive, or needs follow-up.
- Evidence summary — the smallest set of facts that supports the decision.
- Findings — severity, title, affected area, evidence, impact, and recommendation.
- Gaps / unknowns — what was not verified and why.
- Next work items — ordered, scoped, and testable.
Use severity labels consistently:
blocker: likely correctness, security, data loss, compliance, release, or customer-impact issue.high: real risk with plausible production impact or major maintainability cost.medium: important gap, incomplete test, migration risk, or design debt.low: useful improvement with limited impact.info: context, observation, or non-actionable note.
Skill-specific output schema
# Source dossier
## Research question
## Sources consulted
| Source | Version/date | Authority | Relevant finding |
|---|---:|---|---|
## Requirements / facts
| ID | Fact or requirement | Source | Applicability | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
## Codebase implications
| Requirement ID | Files / symbols | Current behavior | Gap / action |
|---|---|---|---|
## Unknowns
## Recommended next steps
Useful shared references
When this package is copied whole, use these templates as needed:
shared/references/evidence-ledger-template.mdshared/references/review-report-template.mdshared/references/research-brief-template.mdshared/references/spec-compliance-matrix-template.mdshared/references/benchmark-report-template.mdshared/references/review-severity-rubric.mdshared/references/safe-research-practices.md
