lookup

name	lookup
description	Look up idiomatic approaches, best practices, and common patterns for a given scenario using Exa web search and GitHub code search. Use when user wants to know what's idiomatic, recommended, or common for a bug, architecture decision, library usage, or design pattern.
argument-hint	<question or scenario to lookup>
allowed-tools	Bash(gh search *), Bash(gh api *), Agent, mcp__exa__web_search_exa, mcp__exa__crawling_exa, mcp__github__search_code, mcp__github__search_repositories, mcp__github__search_issues, mcp__github__get_file_contents

Research

Find idiomatic, recommended, and common approaches for a given scenario by searching the web and real-world codebases.

Context

• Working directory: !pwd
• Languages/frameworks in use: !ls package.json go.mod Cargo.toml pyproject.toml requirements.txt Gemfile mix.exs build.gradle pom.xml 2>/dev/null | head -5

Your Task

Research the scenario described in $ARGUMENTS. Your goal is to find what real projects actually do — not just what docs say.

Workflow

Step 1: Understand the Question

Parse the user's query to identify:

• The specific technology/library/framework involved
• The problem or decision (bug fix, architecture, pattern choice, config)
• Any constraints mentioned

Step 2: Search in Parallel

Launch parallel searches across multiple sources:

Exa Web Search

Use mcp__exa__web_search_exa to find:

• Blog posts, guides, and discussions about the approach
• Official documentation and recommendations
• Stack Overflow / GitHub Discussions with high-quality answers

Search with 2-3 varied queries to cover different angles (e.g. "idiomatic X pattern", "X best practice", "X vs Y tradeoffs").

GitHub Code Search

Use gh search code or mcp__github__search_code to find:

• How popular/well-maintained repos solve this problem
• Common patterns in production codebases
• Real usage examples (not toy demos)

Target repos with stars/activity. Use language filters.

# Example searches
gh search code "pattern query" --language=go --sort=indexed -- -test -example
gh search code "pattern query" --language=go -- -test -vendor

GitHub Issues/Discussions (if relevant)

Search for related issues or discussions:

gh search issues "query" --sort=comments --limit=5

Step 3: Crawl Key Sources

If Exa search surfaces particularly relevant pages, use mcp__exa__crawling_exa to read the full content of the top 2-3 results.

Step 4: Synthesize

Present findings as:

Research: [Topic]

Consensus

What most sources agree on — the dominant/idiomatic approach.

Approaches Found

Approach	Used By	Pros	Cons
...	[real repos/authors]	...	...

Key Examples

Show 2-3 concrete code snippets from real repos (with attribution).

Recommendation

Your recommendation for the user's specific context, considering their codebase and constraints.

Sources

Bulleted list of the most useful links found.

Principles

• Real code over theory — prioritize what production repos actually do
• Recency matters — prefer recent sources, note if patterns are dated
• Attribution — always cite where you found things
• Multiple angles — search from different perspectives to avoid confirmation bias
• Be honest about uncertainty — if there's no clear consensus, say so