oss-search

name	oss-search
description	Search GitHub and the web for reference repositories, code patterns, CI examples, and open-source best practices. No API keys required. Use when the user says "find similar repos", "search GitHub", "look up best practices", or when oss-audit / oss-refactor needs external reference material.
argument-hint	["query or topic"]
allowed-tools	WebFetch

OSS Search

Search GitHub and the web for reference material to support the hardening pipeline. All searches use direct URL construction — no API keys required.

Context: $ARGUMENTS

Input Contract

• Input: a search query, topic, technology name, or specific GitHub repo pattern.
• Common callers: /oss-audit (find reference repos), /oss-refactor (find patterns), /oss-ci (find CI examples).
• Default: search GitHub repositories relevant to the current project's stack.

Output Contract

Return a short annotated list of findings relevant to the caller's need:

• For repo search: repo name, star count if visible, brief description, and why it is relevant.
• For code/CI pattern search: the pattern or snippet, source URL, and how to apply it.
• For best practices: concise summary with source URL.

Do not return raw HTML or a wall of links. Summarize what is useful.

Search Recipes

Find similar open-source repositories

web_fetch("https://www.google.com/search?q=site:github.com+{topic}+{language}")
web_fetch("https://github.com/search?q={topic}&type=repositories&sort=stars")

Search GitHub for code patterns (CI, tests, configs)

# Find CI workflow examples for a specific stack
web_fetch("https://www.google.com/search?q=site:github.com+.github/workflows+{stack}+example")

# Find test patterns
web_fetch("https://www.google.com/search?q=site:github.com+{framework}+test+example")

# Find specific config files (pyproject.toml, Makefile, etc.)
web_fetch("https://www.google.com/search?q=site:github.com+{config-file}+{stack}")

Search GitHub issues and discussions for known problems

web_fetch("https://www.google.com/search?q=site:github.com+issues+{error-or-topic}")

Find documentation and best practices

# General best practices
web_fetch("https://duckduckgo.com/html/?q={topic}+best+practices+open+source")

# Stack Overflow for specific technical questions
web_fetch("https://www.google.com/search?q=site:stackoverflow.com+{question}")

# Official docs
web_fetch("https://duckduckgo.com/html/?q={tool}+documentation+site:{tool-domain}")

DuckDuckGo bang shortcuts (fast, no tracking)

# Search GitHub directly
web_fetch("https://duckduckgo.com/html/?q=!gh+{query}")

# Search Stack Overflow
web_fetch("https://duckduckgo.com/html/?q=!so+{question}")

# Search npm
web_fetch("https://duckduckgo.com/html/?q=!npm+{package}")

Workflow

Step 1: Identify what to search for

From the calling context, determine the type of search needed:

• Audit context: find repos with similar stacks to compare structure, docs, and CI.
• Refactor context: find idiomatic patterns for the repo's language and toolchain.
• CI context: find minimal working CI workflow examples for the stack.
• Docs context: find README and CONTRIBUTING templates for similar projects.

Step 2: Run 2–3 targeted searches

Start with the narrowest query. Broaden only if the first results are not useful.

Prefer:

• site:github.com for code/repo examples
• site:stackoverflow.com for technical how-to questions
• DuckDuckGo !gh bang for quick GitHub-scoped searches

Step 3: Summarize findings

Extract the actionable parts. For each result:

• State what it demonstrates that is relevant to the current hardening task.
• Note any patterns worth copying (file path, config structure, CI step).
• Skip results that are off-topic or low quality.

Anti-patterns

• Do not return raw HTML, scraped noise, or an unfiltered wall of links.
• Do not cite weak examples when a better official doc or high-signal repo is available.
• Do not stop after one marginal result; triangulate across at least 2 sources.

Self-check

Before declaring this stage complete, verify:

• The response contains at least 2 relevant references.
• Every reference includes a URL and a short note explaining why it matters.
• For code/CI references, the response identifies the specific pattern, file, or config worth copying.
• The output is summarized, not dumped raw.

Failure Handling

• If a search URL returns no useful results, try a broader query or a different engine.
• If web_fetch is rate-limited or blocked, wait briefly and retry once with DuckDuckGo instead of Google.
• If no relevant examples are found after 3 attempts, state that clearly and suggest the user check manually.

Done Criteria

• The response includes at least 2 relevant references, each with a URL and a relevance note.
• Any recommended pattern is described concretely enough to copy into the current task.
• If no strong examples were found after retries, that failure is stated explicitly.