research

name	research
description	Use when the student has a task, project, or goal and needs a structured learning plan — researches prerequisites, finds authoritative resources (docs, articles, RFCs, tutorials), and saves a checklist-style study plan to a file. The student follows the plan at their own pace.

Research — Study Plan Generator

Researches what the student needs to learn to successfully complete a task or project, then saves a structured checklist with resources to a markdown file.

Invocation

/research <task or project description>

Examples:

• /research build an FTP server in C
• /research prepare for AWS Solutions Architect exam
• /research create a REST API with authentication
• /research understand how Docker networking works

Process

1. Understand the Goal

Read ~/.local/share/claude-education/student.json and dashboard.json to understand:

• What the student already knows (skip those topics)
• Their level and background (calibrate depth)
• Their goals and deadlines (prioritize accordingly)
• Their learning style (choose resource types that fit)

Ask clarifying questions if the task is vague:

• What's the end result? (working app, exam pass, understanding)
• Any deadline?
• Any constraints? (language, framework, platform)

2. Scan the Project (if applicable)

If the student is working inside a project directory, read the codebase before planning:

• Glob for source files to understand the tech stack (languages, frameworks, libraries)
• Read key files: README.md, package.json/Cargo.toml/Makefile/etc., config files, main entry points
• Grep for patterns that reveal what's already implemented vs what's missing
• Check git log — recent commits show what the student has been working on

This tells you:

• What the student has already built (don't plan topics for finished work)
• What they're currently stuck on (prioritize those topics)
• What specific technologies they're using (find resources for those exact versions/frameworks)
• What gaps exist between current code and the goal

If there's no project yet (pure learning goal), skip this step.

3. Decompose the Task

Break the task into skills/knowledge areas needed. For each area, determine:

• Is it a prerequisite (must know before starting)?
• Is it a core skill (directly needed for the task)?
• Is it nice-to-have (improves quality but not required)?

Cross-reference with dashboard.json — if the student already has a topic at solid or working depth, mark it as done in the plan.

Cross-reference with the project scan — if the codebase already has a working implementation of something (e.g., TCP socket setup is done), mark that topic as done and note "already implemented in your project."

3. Research Resources

Use WebSearch to find real, authoritative resources for each topic. For every topic, find 2-4 resources from different categories:

Category	Examples	When to use
Official docs	MDN, RFC, language docs, framework docs	Always — primary source
Tutorial/guide	DigitalOcean, freeCodeCamp, Real Python	For hands-on learners
Article/deep-dive	Blog posts, conference talks, papers	For deeper understanding
Video	YouTube tutorials, course lectures	If student prefers video
Interactive	Exercism, LeetCode, Katacoda	For practice-oriented students

Rules:

• Every link MUST be real and verified — never hallucinate URLs
• WebFetch the top resource for each topic to verify:
  • The page loads and isn't a 404
  • The content is actually relevant to what you're recommending
  • It's reasonably current (not a 2015 tutorial for a 2026 framework)
  • Note the actual title and a one-line summary of what it covers
• If a resource is dead or irrelevant after fetching, replace it — don't include it
• Prefer free resources over paid
• Prefer official docs over third-party when quality is equal
• Include estimated reading/watching time when possible
• Note difficulty level (beginner/intermediate/advanced) for each resource

4. Build the Study Plan

Structure the plan as a markdown checklist with clear phases:

# Study Plan: [Task/Project Name]

> Generated: [date]
> Goal: [one-line goal description]
> Estimated time: [total estimate]
> Student level: [from student.json]

---

## Phase 1: Prerequisites
*Must understand before starting the main task*

### Topic Name
> Why: [one sentence — why this is needed for the task]
> Status: [new | already known (solid) | needs review (learned/weak)]
> Estimated time: ~Xh

- [ ] Read: [Resource title](url) — [type, difficulty, ~time]
- [ ] Read: [Resource title](url) — [type, difficulty, ~time]
- [ ] Practice: [specific exercise or mini-task to verify understanding]
- [ ] Self-check: [question they should be able to answer after studying]

### Another Topic
...

---

## Phase 2: Core Skills
*Directly needed to complete the task*

### Topic Name
> Why: [why this matters for the task]
> Status: [new | already known | needs review]
> Estimated time: ~Xh

- [ ] Read: [Resource](url) — [details]
- [ ] Build: [hands-on mini-task related to the project]
- [ ] Self-check: [verification question]

---

## Phase 3: Nice-to-Have
*Will improve quality but not strictly required*

### Topic Name
> Why: [how this improves the result]
> Estimated time: ~Xh

- [ ] Read: [Resource](url)
- [ ] Optional: [deeper exploration idea]

---

## Suggested Order

1. [Topic A] → [Topic B] → [Topic C] (prerequisites build on each other)
2. Then [Core Topic D] + [Core Topic E] (can be parallel)
3. Finally [Nice-to-have F] if time permits

## Next Steps

After completing this plan, you should be ready to:
- [Concrete outcome 1]
- [Concrete outcome 2]
- Start building: [first concrete step of the actual task]

5. Save the Plan

Save to two locations:

• Project-local: docs/study-plan-<slug>.md
• Global: ~/.local/share/claude-education/docs/study-plan-<slug>.md

Tell the student the file path so they can open it and start checking off items.

6. Update the Education DB

For each NEW topic in the plan that isn't already in the DB:

• Create ~/.local/share/claude-education/topics/<slug>.json with:
  • status: "new" (not yet studied)
  • depth: "surface"
  • prerequisites filled in based on the plan structure
  • related_topics filled in
• Update dashboard.json to include the new topics

Append to session log:

{"time": "[now]", "event": "research", "task": "[task description]", "plan_file": "docs/study-plan-<slug>.md", "topics_added": ["topic1", "topic2"], "topics_already_known": ["topic3"]}

Adaptation Rules

Based on student level (from student.json):

• Beginner: More prerequisites, simpler resources, more self-check questions, smaller steps
• Intermediate: Skip basics, focus on core + nice-to-have, include deeper resources
• Advanced: Minimal prerequisites, focus on specifics and edge cases, include RFCs/papers

Based on learning style:

• Visual learner: Prioritize video resources, suggest /excalidraw or /demo for complex topics
• Hands-on learner: More "Build:" and "Practice:" items, fewer "Read:" items
• Reader: More articles and docs, fewer videos

Based on time commitment:

• If tight deadline: mark nice-to-haves clearly, suggest minimum viable path
• If open-ended: include deeper exploration paths and bonus topics

Quality Rules

• Every resource link must be real (verified via WebSearch)
• Every topic must have a "Why:" explaining relevance to the task
• Every topic must have at least one self-check question or mini-task
• The plan must have a clear suggested order (not just a flat list)
• Already-known topics should be acknowledged (not re-assigned)
• Total time estimate should be realistic based on student level

Integration with Other Skills

• After the student studies a topic from the plan → suggest /quiz-me [topic] to verify
• After a phase is complete → suggest /progress to see updated dashboard
• For visual topics in the plan → suggest /ascii, /excalidraw, or /demo
• For hands-on topics → suggest /challenge
• At session end → /summary captures what was studied from the plan
• The plan file itself becomes a persistent reference the student returns to across sessions