| name | kb-search |
| description | Search the REDCap knowledge base (kb/ in the REDCap_KB_RAG repo) to find and read relevant articles for any topic or question. Use this skill whenever you need to look something up in the REDCap KB, answer a question about REDCap functionality, find articles before writing new KB content, or check what the KB already says about a topic. Trigger on phrases like "what does the KB say about", "look up in the KB", "find articles about", "search the knowledgebase", "is there a KB article on", or any time another skill needs to pull in related REDCap documentation before doing its work. When in doubt, use this skill — it's the authoritative source for REDCap knowledge.
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REDCap KB Search
Use this skill to find and read the right articles from the REDCap knowledge base — a collection of markdown articles in kb/ inside the REDCap_KB_RAG repo.
Locating the KB
The KB lives at kb/ inside the REDCap_KB_RAG repo. In Cowork sessions it's typically mounted at a path like /sessions/<id>/mnt/REDCap_KB_RAG/kb/. If you're unsure of the exact path, use Glob with pattern **/REDCap_KB_RAG/kb/*.md or list the mnt/ directory to find it.
Article naming convention
Files follow the pattern RC-{DOMAIN}-{NN}_{Title}.md. Current domains:
| Code | Topic |
|---|
| AI | AI tools |
| ALERT | Alerts & notifications |
| AT | Action tags (standard: RC-AT-01 through RC-AT-11) |
| AT-EM | Action tags (external modules: RC-AT-EM-01, RC-AT-EM-02, etc.) |
| BL | Branching logic |
| DAG | Data Access Groups |
| DE | Data entry |
| EXPRT | Data export & reports |
| FD | Form design & data dictionary |
| IMP | Data import |
| LONG | Longitudinal project setup |
| NAV | Navigation (UI and record navigation) |
| PIPE | Piping & smart variables |
| RAND | Randomization |
| SURV | Surveys |
| USER | User rights |
Lower NN numbers are foundational (e.g., RC-BL-01 is the overview; RC-BL-03 is advanced syntax). Start with low numbers unless the question is clearly about something specific. | |
Special case — External Modules: For content from External Modules (third-party plugins), use the subdomain convention {DOMAIN}-EM instead of continuing the sequential numbering within that domain. For example:
RC-AT-EM-01 covers the HIDESUBMIT action tag moduleRC-BL-EM-01 would cover a branching logic external moduleRC-SURV-EM-01 would cover a survey-related external module
This convention reserves the standard sequential numbering (e.g., RC-AT-01 through RC-AT-11, RC-BL-01 through RC-BL-04) for core/standard REDCap features and creates a clear organizational boundary for module-specific content. When searching for articles in any domain, check both the standard RC-{DOMAIN}-* series and the RC-{DOMAIN}-EM-* subdomain for external module content.
Search process
Step 1 — Understand the topic
Before searching, identify: What REDCap feature or concept is this about? Which domain(s) does it touch? Are there secondary concepts involved (e.g., a question about branching logic on checkboxes touches both BL and FD)?
Step 2 — Consult the Article Index
Read meta/KB-INDEX.md. It contains the article index table — all articles with IDs, titles, and filenames.
Use this to:
- Confirm which articles exist for a domain
- Identify relevant articles by title and ID
- Check if a topic is covered (some articles are ⚠️ marked as not yet written)
Note: per-article cross-reference details (prerequisites, outbound/inbound links) are in meta/KB-CROSS-REFS.md — load that file only if you need to trace dependencies between articles.
Step 3 — Select articles to read
Pick up to 3 articles that best cover the topic. Guidance:
- For a broad question, read the domain overview first (
NN=01) before specifics
- For a narrow question, go directly to the specific article
- If an article's prerequisites are flagged, read those first to avoid gaps
- Prefer depth over breadth: 2 well-chosen articles beat 4 loosely related ones
Step 4 — Read the articles
Read each selected article in full using the Read tool. They're concise markdown files — usually 1–3 pages.
Step 5 — Return findings
Summarize what you found and cite the source articles by their ID and title (e.g., RC-BL-02 — Branching Logic: Syntax & Atomic Statements). If called from another skill, make the full article content available for that skill's next steps.
If no relevant article exists, say so clearly — don't guess or fill in from general REDCap knowledge when the KB should be the authority.
Example — broad question
Query: "How does branching logic work?"
- Domain: BL. Start with
RC-BL-01 (overview).
- Check REFERENCE-MAP — BL has 4 articles; RC-BL-01 links to RC-BL-02 for syntax details.
- Read RC-BL-01 and RC-BL-02.
- Return: summary of scope + syntax, citing both articles.
Example — narrow / cross-domain question
Query: "How do I use branching logic on a checkbox field?"
- Domain: BL, but also touches FD (field types).
- REFERENCE-MAP shows RC-BL-04 specifically covers structured fields and checkboxes.
- Read RC-BL-04 (and its prerequisite RC-BL-02 if context is needed).
- Return: specific answer from RC-BL-04, citing it.
Called from another skill
When another skill (e.g., kb-creation) asks you to find related articles before writing new content, follow this same process and return both the article IDs and their full markdown content so the calling skill can use them for context and cross-referencing.
