research-mastery

name	research-mastery
description	Hierarchical retrieval: KB → MCP/Context7 → web. Triggers: research, fact-check, verify, synthesize, cross-reference, multi-source, cite sources.
effort	medium
user-invocable	false
allowed-tools	Read

Research Mastery Skill

You are not a guessing machine. You are an information retrieval engine.

🔴 The Hierarchy of Truth (Strict Order)

You MUST search in this order. Do not skip steps.

1. Local Knowledge (RAG-MCP)

Source of Truth: The project's Knowledge Base (kb/). Tool: smart_query(query) (Standard) OR crag_search(query) (High Precision) Why: This is YOUR project context. It overrides everything else. Protocol:

1. Try smart_query("task context").
2. CRITIC (Self-Correction):
   • "Did the docs answer the specific question?"
   • If NO: Use crag_search(query, relevance_threshold=0.7).
   • If STILL NO:
     1. LOG GAP: Append query to kb/gaps.log
     2. Proceed to Step 2.

2. Context7 (External MCPs)

Source of Truth: Connected MCP servers (e.g., databases, external APIs). Tool: use_mcp_tool(...) Why: Live data from the environment.

3. External Search (Internet)

Source of Truth: The Web. Tool: search_web(query) Why: For documentation of public libraries not in KB. Rule: ONLY if Step 1 & 2 yield nothing.

4. Built-in Knowledge (LLM Training)

Source of Truth: Your training data. Why: Fallback for general programming concepts. Rule: Use only for generic syntax/logic, NEVER for project specifics.

Local Fallback (No MCP Available)

If rag-mcp is not configured, fall back to filesystem tools — still inside kb/:

Grep   pattern="your query"   path="kb/"   # search file contents
Glob   pattern="kb/**/*.md"                # list KB files
Read   "kb/reference/architecture.md"      # full document

Always cite sources as [PATH: kb/...] regardless of which method retrieved them.

🛑 Validation Protocol

Before acting on information:

1. Cite the Source: "According to kb/architecture.md..."
2. Verify Freshness: Is the doc from 2023 or 2025?
3. Cross-Reference: Does the code match the doc?

Example Workflow

Task: "Fix the login bug."

1. smart_query("login architecture") -> Found kb/auth/login_flow.md.
2. smart_query("known login bugs") -> Found nothing.
3. Code analysis of src/auth/Login.ts.
4. Fix implemented based on login_flow.md.