skill-researcher

# Researcher Skill Thin wrapper that delegates general research to `general-research-agent` subagent. **IMPORTANT**: This skill implements the skill-internal postflight pattern. After the subagent returns, this skill handles all postflight operations (status update, artifact linking, git commit) before returning. This eliminates the "continue" prompt issue between skill return and orchestrator. ## Context References Reference (do not load eagerly): - Path: `.opencode/context/formats/return-metadata-file.md` - Metadata file schema - Path: `.opencode/context/patterns/postflight-control.md` - Marker file protocol - Path: `.opencode/context/patterns/file-metadata-exchange.md` - File I/O helpers - Path: `.opencode/context/patterns/jq-escaping-workarounds.md` - jq escaping patterns (Issue #1132) Note: This skill is a thin wrapper with internal postflight. Context is loaded by the delegated agent. ## Trigger Conditions This skill activates when: - Task type is "general", "meta", "markdown", "latex", or "typst" - Research is needed for implementation planning - Documentation or external resources need to be gathered --- ## Execution Flow ### Stage 1: Input Validation Validate required inputs: - `task_number` - Must be provided and exist in state.json - `focus_prompt` - Optional focus for research direction ```bash # Lookup task task_data=$(jq -r --argjson num "$task_number" \ '.active_projects[] | select(.project_number == $num)' \ specs/state.json) # Validate exists if [ -z "$task_data" ]; then return error "Task $task_number not found" fi # Extract fields task_type=$(echo "$task_data" | jq -r '.task_type // "general"') status=$(echo "$task_data" | jq -r '.status') project_name=$(echo "$task_data" | jq -r '.project_name') description=$(echo "$task_data" | jq -r '.description // ""') ``` --- ### Stage 2: Preflight Status Update Update task status to "researching" BEFORE invoking subagent. ```bash .opencode/scripts/update-task-status.sh preflight "$task_number" research "$session_id" ``` This atomically updates state.json (status, timestamps, session_id), TODO.md task entry, and TODO.md Task Order section. If the script exits non-zero, abort and keep current status. --- ### Stage 3: Create Postflight Marker Create the marker file to prevent premature termination: ```bash # Ensure task directory exists padded_num=$(printf "%03d" "$task_number") mkdir -p "specs/${padded_num}_${project_name}" cat > "specs/${padded_num}_${project_name}/.postflight-pending" << EOF { "session_id": "${session_id}", "skill": "skill-researcher", "task_number": ${task_number}, "operation": "research", "reason": "Postflight pending: status update, artifact linking, git commit", "created": "$(date -u +%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ)", "stop_hook_active": false } EOF ``` --- ### Stage 3a: Read Artifact Number Read `next_artifact_number` from state.json (or fall back to directory scanning for legacy tasks): ```bash # Read next_artifact_number from state.json artifact_number=$(jq -r --argjson num "$task_number" \ '.active_projects[] | select(.project_number == $num) | .next_artifact_number // 1' \ specs/state.json) # Fallback for legacy tasks: count existing artifacts if [ "$artifact_number" = "null" ] || [ -z "$artifact_number" ]; then padded_num=$(printf "%03d" "$task_number") count=$(ls "specs/${padded_num}_${project_name}/reports/"*[0-9][0-9]*.md 2>/dev/null | wc -l) artifact_number=$((count + 1)) fi artifact_padded=$(printf "%02d" "$artifact_number") ``` --- ### Stage 4a: Memory Retrieval (Auto) Retrieve relevant memories from the memory system to inject into the delegation context. **Skip if**: `clean_flag` is true in the delegation context (from `--clean` command flag). ```bash # Check clean_flag if [ "$clean_flag" != "true" ]; then memory_context=$(bash .opencode/scripts/memory-retrieve.sh "$description" "$task_type" "$focus_prompt" 2>/dev/null) || memory_context="" fi # memory_context will be empty string if: # - clean_flag is true (skipped) # - memory-index.json missing or empty # - no keywords matched any entries # - script exited with error ``` If `memory_context` is non-empty, it will be injected into the Stage 5 prompt alongside the format specification from Stage 4b. If empty, no memory block is injected. --- ### Stage 4: Prepare Delegation Context Prepare delegation context for the subagent: ```json { "session_id": "sess_{timestamp}_{random}", "delegation_depth": 1, "delegation_path": ["orchestrator", "research", "skill-researcher"], "timeout": 3600, "task_context": { "task_number": N, "task_name": "{project_name}", "description": "{description}", "task_type": "{task_type}" }, "artifact_number": "{artifact_number from Stage 3a}", "focus_prompt": "{optional focus}", "effort_flag": "{effort_flag from command, null if not set}", "model_flag": "{model_flag from command, null if not set}", "roadmap_path": "specs/ROADMAP.md", "metadata_file_path": "specs/{NNN}_{SLUG}/.return-meta.json" } ``` **Note**: The `artifact_number` field tells the agent which sequence number to use for artifact naming (e.g., `01`, `02`). **Model/Effort Flags**: If `model_flag` is set (haiku, sonnet, opus), pass it as the `model` parameter on the Task tool to override the agent's frontmatter default. If `effort_flag` is set (fast, hard), include it as prompt context for reasoning depth guidance. --- ### Stage 4b: Read and Inject Format Specification Read the report format file and prepare it for injection into the subagent prompt. This ensures the subagent always has the full format specification in its context, regardless of whether it reads the file itself. ```bash format_content=$(cat .opencode/context/formats/report-format.md) ``` The format content will be included as a delimited section in the Stage 5 prompt (see below). --- ### Stage 5: Invoke Subagent **CRITICAL**: You MUST use the **Task** tool to spawn the subagent. **Required Tool Invocation**: ``` Tool: Task (NOT Skill) Parameters: - subagent_type: "general-research-agent" - prompt: [Include task_context, delegation_context, focus_prompt, metadata_file_path, AND the format specification from Stage 4b as shown below] - description: "Execute research for task {N}" ``` **Format Injection**: Include the format specification from Stage 4b in the prompt as a clearly-delimited section: ``` <artifact-format-specification> ## CRITICAL: Report Format Requirements You MUST follow this format specification exactly when writing the research report. Non-compliance will be caught by postflight validation. {format_content from Stage 4b} </artifact-format-specification> ``` Place this section AFTER the delegation context JSON and BEFORE any other instructions. **Memory Context Injection**: If `memory_context` from Stage 4a is non-empty, include it in the prompt as a separate block: ``` {memory_context from Stage 4a -- already wrapped in <memory-context> tags} ``` Place the memory context block AFTER the format specification and BEFORE the task-specific instructions. Do NOT inject an empty `<memory-context>` block when no memories were retrieved. **DO NOT** use `Skill(general-research-agent)` - this will FAIL. The subagent will: - Search codebase for related patterns - Search web for documentation and examples - Analyze findings and synthesize recommendations - Create research report in `specs/{NNN}_{SLUG}/reports/` - Write metadata to `specs/{NNN}_{SLUG}/.return-meta.json` - Return a brief text summary (NOT JSON) --- ### Stage 5b: Self-Execution Fallback **CRITICAL**: If you performed the work above WITHOUT using the Task tool (i.e., you read files, wrote artifacts, or updated metadata directly instead of spawning a subagent), you MUST write a `.return-meta.json` file now before proceeding to postflight. Use the schema from `return-metadata-file.md` with status value `"researched"` and the appropriate artifact information. If you DID use the Task tool (Stage 5), skip this stage -- the subagent already wrote the metadata. --- ## Postflight (ALWAYS EXECUTE) The following stages MUST execute after work is complete, whether the work was done by a subagent (Stage 5) or inline (Stage 5b). Do NOT skip these stages for any reason. ### Stage 6: Parse Subagent Return (Read Metadata File) Read the metadata file: ```bash metadata_file="specs/${padded_num}_${project_name}/.return-meta.json" if [ -f "$metadata_file" ] && jq empty "$metadata_file" 2>/dev/null; then status=$(jq -r '.status' "$metadata_file") artifact_path=$(jq -r '.artifacts[0].path // ""' "$metadata_file") artifact_type=$(jq -r '.artifacts[0].type // ""' "$metadata_file") artifact_summary=$(jq -r '.artifacts[0].summary // ""' "$metadata_file") memory_candidates=$(jq -c '.memory_candidates // []' "$metadata_file") else echo "Error: Invalid or missing metadata file" status="failed" fi ``` --- ### Stage 6a: Validate Artifact Content If subagent status is "researched" and `artifact_path` is non-empty, validate the report artifact against format requirements. This is **non-blocking** -- warnings are logged but do not prevent postflight from completing. ```bash if [ "$status" = "researched" ] && [ -n "$artifact_path" ] && [ -f "$artifact_path" ]; then echo "Validating report artifact..." if ! bash .opencode/scripts/validate-artifact.sh "$artifact_path" report --fix; then echo "WARNING: Report artifact has format issues (non-blocking). Review output above." fi fi ``` **Note**: The `--fix` flag attempts auto-repair of missing metadata fields. Validation failures are logged but do not block status update or git commit. --- ### Stage 7: Update Task Status (Postflight) If status is "researched", update status and increment artifact number: ```bash # Step 1: Update status (state.json, TODO.md task entry, TODO.md Task Order) if [ "$status" = "researched" ]; then .opencode/scripts/update-task-status.sh postflight "$task_number" research "$session_id" fi # Step 2: Increment next_artifact_number (research advances the sequence) jq '(.active_projects[] | select(.project_number == '$task_number')).next_artifact_number = (((.active_projects[] | select(.project_number == '$task_number')).next_artifact_number // 1) + 1)' \ specs/state.json > specs/tmp/state.json && mv specs/tmp/state.json specs/state.json ``` **Note**: Research is the only operation that increments `next_artifact_number`. Plan and implement use `(current - 1)` to stay in the same "round". **On partial/failed**: Keep status as "researching" for resume (do not call the script). --- ### Stage 7a: Propagate Memory Candidates If the agent emitted memory candidates, append them to the task's state.json entry using append semantics (merge with any existing candidates from prior operations). ```bash if [ "$memory_candidates" != "[]" ] && [ -n "$memory_candidates" ]; then # Append new candidates to existing array (append semantics, not overwrite) jq --argjson new_candidates "$memory_candidates" \ '(.active_projects[] | select(.project_number == '$task_number')).memory_candidates = ((.active_projects[] | select(.project_number == '$task_number')).memory_candidates // []) + $new_candidates' \ specs/state.json > specs/tmp/state.json && mv specs/tmp/state.json specs/state.json fi ``` **Note**: Uses `// []` fallback so this works whether or not the task already has candidates. Append semantics ensure research and implementation candidates coexist. --- ### Stage 8: Link Artifacts Add artifact to state.json with summary. **IMPORTANT**: Use two-step jq pattern to avoid Issue #1132 escaping bug. See `jq-escaping-workarounds.md`. ```bash if [ -n "$artifact_path" ]; then