gather

name	gather
description	Unified information acquisition that stabilizes context before reasoning: URL auto-detect (Google/Slack/Notion/GitHub/web), web search (Tavily/Exa), and local codebase exploration. Triggers: "cwf:gather", "gather <url>", "web search", "code search"

Gather Context (cwf:gather)

Convert scattered sources into local, reusable artifacts so later phases reason over stable context instead of transient links.

Quick Reference

cwf:gather <url>                  URL auto-detect → download to OUTPUT_DIR
cwf:gather <url1> <url2> ...      Multiple URLs
cwf:gather --search <query>       Web search (Tavily)
cwf:gather --search --news <q>    News search (Tavily)
cwf:gather --search --deep <q>    Advanced depth search (Tavily)
cwf:gather --search code <query>  Code/technical search (Exa)
cwf:gather --local <query>        Local codebase exploration
cwf:gather                        Usage guide
cwf:gather help                   Usage guide

Why this exists:

• Normalize heterogeneous sources into local markdown artifacts that downstream skills can cite and diff reliably.
• Enforce source-access constraints explicitly (for example, Google Docs/Notion exports require public or published sharing).

Workflow

1. Parse args → mode (URL | --search | --local | help)
2. No args or "help" → print usage message and stop
3. Execute the appropriate handler (see sections below)
4. Resolve + prepare OUTPUT_DIR before writes (URL and --local modes)
5. Suggest follow-up: after URL gathering, suggest --search for supplementary research if helpful

Before any file write, resolve output path in this order:

1. Explicit CLI output-dir argument
2. Service-specific output env var
3. CWF_GATHER_OUTPUT_DIR
4. .cwf/projects (when writable)
5. workspace-local gather-output fallback directory

Then run:

mkdir -p "$OUTPUT_DIR"

If directory creation fails, stop that target with an explicit error and ask whether to provide a different output directory.

---

URL Auto-Detect

Scan input for all URLs. Classify each by pattern table (most specific first):

URL Pattern	Handler	Script / Tool
docs.google.com/{document,presentation,spreadsheets}/d/*	Google Export	scripts/g-export.sh
*.slack.com/archives/*/p*	Slack to MD	scripts/slack-api.mjs + scripts/slack-to-md.sh
*.notion.site/*, www.notion.so/*	Notion to MD	scripts/notion-to-md.py
github.com/*	GitHub	gh CLI
Any other URL	Generic	scripts/extract.sh → WebFetch fallback

Google Export

{SKILL_DIR}/scripts/g-export.sh <url> [format] [output-dir]

Prerequisites and format caveats live in references/google-export.md. TOON behavior for Sheets is defined in references/TOON.md, implemented via scripts/csv-to-toon.sh through g-export.sh.

Slack Export

URL format: https://{workspace}.slack.com/archives/{channel_id}/p{timestamp}

Parse thread_ts: p{digits} → {first10}.{rest} (e.g., p1234567890123456 → 1234567890.123456)

node {SKILL_DIR}/scripts/slack-api.mjs <channel_id> <thread_ts> --attachments-dir OUTPUT_DIR/attachments | \
  {SKILL_DIR}/scripts/slack-to-md.sh <channel_id> <thread_ts> <workspace> OUTPUT_DIR/<output_file>.md [title]

After conversion, rename to a meaningful name from the first message (lowercase, hyphens, max 50 chars). Existing .md file: Extract Slack URL from > Source: line to re-fetch.

Prerequisites, token setup, and error recovery are defined in references/slack-export.md.

Notion Export

python3 {SKILL_DIR}/scripts/notion-to-md.py "$URL" "$OUTPUT_PATH"

Publication requirements and known limitations are defined in references/notion-export.md.

GitHub

For github.com URLs, use the gh CLI to extract content as markdown.

Prerequisite check: Verify command -v gh first. If gh is not available, fall through to Generic handler.

When gh is missing for a GitHub URL, do not silently downgrade only. Ask the user:

1. Install gh now (recommended) — run bash {SKILL_DIR}/../setup/scripts/install-tooling-deps.sh --install gh, then retry GitHub handler once.
2. Continue with Generic handler — proceed with reduced metadata extraction.
3. Skip this URL — do not process this GitHub URL in this run.

URL type	Command
PR (path pattern: /pull/N)	gh pr view <url> --json title,body,state,author,comments --template '...'
Issue (path pattern: /issues/N)	gh issue view <url> --json title,body,state,author,comments --template '...'
Repository (owner/repo)	gh repo view <url> --json name,description,readme
Other GitHub URL	Fall through to Generic handler

Save output to {OUTPUT_DIR}/{type}-{owner}-{repo}-{number}.md.

Template for PR/Issue (pass to --template):

# {{.title}}
State: {{.state}} | Author: {{.author.login}}

{{.body}}

{{range .comments}}---
**{{.author.login}}** ({{.createdAt}}):
{{.body}}
{{end}}

Generic URL

For URLs that don't match any known service, run this deterministic routine:

1. Resolve paths:

   • slug: sanitized title/url token (lowercase, spaces to hyphens, remove special characters, max 50 chars)
   • output_md: {OUTPUT_DIR}/{slug}.md
   • output_meta: {OUTPUT_DIR}/{slug}.meta.yaml

2. Mandatory URL safety precheck (before any fetch/extract):

   • Parse URL and derive: scheme, host, resolved_ips (A/AAAA when available).
   • Evaluate block rules in this fixed order and store the first match as blocked_reason_code:
     1. non_http_scheme — scheme is not http or https
     2. localhost_target — host is localhost or ends with .localhost
     3. loopback_target — host/IP in 127.0.0.0/8 or ::1/128
     4. link_local_target — host/IP in 169.254.0.0/16 or fe80::/10
     5. private_ipv4_target — host/IP in RFC1918 ranges (10/8, 172.16/12, 192.168/16)
     6. private_ipv6_target — host/IP in fc00::/7
   • Default behavior for blocked URLs: do not run extraction.
   • Required interactive override path:
     1. Override once for this URL and continue (explicit user confirmation required)
     2. Skip this URL (default)
   • If override is not explicitly confirmed, stop processing this URL and write failed metadata.

3. Try Tavily extract first:

   {SKILL_DIR}/scripts/extract.sh "<url>" > "{output_md}.tmp"
   

   • Success contract: exit code 0 and temp file has non-whitespace content.
   • On success: move temp file to {output_md} and set metadata method: tavily-extract.
   • If TAVILY_API_KEY is missing or extraction fails, continue to Step 4.

4. WebFetch fallback (single fixed procedure):

   • Run one Task call with this exact prompt contract:

     Fetch this URL with WebFetch: <url>
     Return markdown only (preserve headings, lists, and links).
     If content cannot be retrieved, return exactly: WEBFETCH_EMPTY
     

   • If the result is not WEBFETCH_EMPTY, save it to {output_md} and set metadata method: webfetch-fallback.

5. Empty-output handling:

   • Treat as failure when {output_md} is missing, whitespace-only, or the fallback response equals WEBFETCH_EMPTY.
   • On failure, do not keep partial markdown output.

6. Metadata capture (always required):

   • Write {output_meta} with at least:
     • source_url
     • retrieved_at_utc (ISO 8601 UTC)
     • handler: generic
     • safety_precheck:
       • status (passed, blocked, or overridden)
       • blocked_reason_code (empty when passed)
       • host
       • resolved_ips
     • method (tavily-extract, webfetch-fallback, or none)
     • status (success or failed)
     • output_file (empty when failed)
     • failure_reason (when failed)
   • For safety-blocked URLs without explicit override, set:
     • status: failed
     • method: none
     • output_file: ""
     • failure_reason: url_safety_blocked

---

--search Mode

Web and code search via external APIs.

Read references/query-intelligence.md before executing search — it contains the routing logic and parameter tables.

Subcommands

Command	Backend	Script
--search <query>	Tavily	scripts/search.sh
--search --news <query>	Tavily (topic: news)	scripts/search.sh --topic news
--search --deep <query>	Tavily (advanced)	scripts/search.sh --deep
--search code <query>	Exa	scripts/code-search.sh

Execution

1. Read query-intelligence.md for routing and parameter decisions
2. Route: code prefix or auto-detected code context → code-search.sh; otherwise → search.sh
3. Apply query intelligence (temporal, topic, token allocation) per reference
4. Call script via Bash:

   {SKILL_DIR}/scripts/search.sh [--topic news|finance] [--time-range day|week|month|year] [--deep] "<query>"
   {SKILL_DIR}/scripts/code-search.sh [--tokens NUM] "<query>"
   

5. Display results to user (scripts output formatted markdown)

Graceful degradation: If API key is missing, scripts print setup instructions to stderr. Do not stop at an error message only. Ask whether to configure now:

• Configure now (recommended) — set the missing API key (TAVILY_API_KEY or EXA_API_KEY) in shell profile/process env, run cwf:setup --tools if runtime dependencies are also missing, then retry the same search once. Do not rely on cwf:setup --env for API key provisioning.
• Skip search for now — continue without search results.
• Show setup commands only — print exact export/setup commands. See references/search-api-reference.md.

Data Privacy

Queries are sent to external search services. Do not include confidential code or sensitive information in search queries.

---

--local Mode

Explore the local codebase for a topic and save structured results.

Task Output Contract

Input mapping:

• query_raw: original --local argument
• query_slug: sanitized query token (lowercase, spaces to hyphens, remove special characters, max 50 chars)
• output_md: {OUTPUT_DIR}/local-{query_slug}.md
• output_meta: {OUTPUT_DIR}/local-{query_slug}.meta.yaml

Task prompt contract:

Explore this codebase for: <query_raw>.
Use Glob, Grep, and Read to find relevant code, patterns, and architecture.
Return a structured markdown summary with:
## Overview
## Key Files
## Code Patterns
## Notable Details
Include file paths and line references where possible.
Write your complete output to: <output_md>
The file MUST exist when you finish and must end with: <!-- AGENT_COMPLETE -->

Web Debug Trigger (Autonomous)

If query_raw indicates browser-runtime debugging (for example: console error, DOM interaction failure, CDP/DevTools reproduction, viewport/mobile regression), require the Task agent to follow Web Debug Loop Protocol in addition to normal codebase exploration.

In this branch, the Task output must also include:

• reproducible browser steps used
• evidence artifact paths under {OUTPUT_DIR}/debug/...
• suspected source files and patch hypotheses (no code edits in gather)

Execution and failure handling:

1. Run Task once using the prompt contract above.
2. Validate output contract (output_md exists, has non-whitespace content, and ends with <!-- AGENT_COMPLETE -->).
3. If invalid or Task fails, retry once with the same input and explicit correction.
4. If retry still fails, stop local gather for this query and report failure clearly.

Provenance metadata guidance:

• Always write output_meta with: mode: local, query_raw, query_slug, subagent_type, attempts, status, output_md (if any), generated_at_utc.
• When failed, include failure_reason and preserve diagnostics from the last Task run.

---

Configuration

Variable	Default	Description
CWF_GATHER_OUTPUT_DIR	.cwf/projects	Unified default output directory
CWF_GATHER_GOOGLE_OUTPUT_DIR	(falls back to unified)	Google-specific override
CWF_GATHER_NOTION_OUTPUT_DIR	(falls back to unified)	Notion-specific override
TAVILY_API_KEY	—	Required for --search and generic URL extract
EXA_API_KEY	—	Required for --search code

Output dir priority: CLI argument > service-specific env var > CWF_GATHER_OUTPUT_DIR > .cwf/projects (if writable) > gather-output fallback directory

When a service-specific env var is not set, pass the unified output dir as a CLI argument to the handler script.

---

Supplementary Research

After gathering URL content, if best practices, reference documentation, or supplementary context would help the user, use the search scripts directly via Bash (not the WebSearch tool):

{SKILL_DIR}/scripts/search.sh "<query>"

Examples:

• Gathered a Google Doc describing a migration plan → search for best practices
• Gathered a Slack thread about an unfamiliar library → search for official docs
• Gathered a Notion page with a technical spec → search for implementation examples

---

Usage Message

Print when no args or "help":

Gather Context — Unified Information Acquisition

Usage:
  cwf:gather <url>                  Gather content from URL (auto-detect service)
  cwf:gather --search <query>       Web search (Tavily)
  cwf:gather --search --news <q>    News search
  cwf:gather --search --deep <q>    Deep search
  cwf:gather --search code <query>  Code/technical search (Exa)
  cwf:gather --local <query>        Explore local codebase

Supported URL services:
  Google Docs/Slides/Sheets, Slack threads, Notion pages, GitHub PRs/issues, generic web

Environment variables:
  TAVILY_API_KEY    Web search and URL extraction (https://app.tavily.com)
  EXA_API_KEY       Code search (https://dashboard.exa.ai)

---

Rules

1. URL auto-detect priority: Match most specific pattern first (Google > Slack > Notion > GitHub > Generic)
2. Graceful degradation: Missing API keys print setup instructions, don't crash
3. Output dir hierarchy: CLI argument > service-specific env var > unified env var > .cwf/projects (if writable) > gather-output fallback directory
4. Data privacy: Do not include confidential code or sensitive information in search queries
5. Sub-agent for --local: Always use Task tool, never inline exploration
6. All code fences must have language specifier: Never use bare fences
7. Missing dependency interaction: For missing required tools/keys, ask to install/configure now; do not only report unavailability.
8. Web debug queries use shared protocol: Browser-runtime debugging requests in --local mode must follow Web Debug Loop Protocol and persist evidence paths.

References

• references/google-export.md — Google Docs/Slides/Sheets export details
• references/slack-export.md — Slack thread export details
• references/notion-export.md — Notion page export details
• references/TOON.md — TOON format for spreadsheets
• references/search-api-reference.md — Tavily/Exa API parameters
• references/query-intelligence.md — Search routing and query enrichment
• agent-patterns.md — Shared Web Research and Web Debug protocols