web-research

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[BLOCKING] Execute skill steps in declared order. NEVER skip, reorder, or merge steps without explicit user approval. [BLOCKING] Before each step or sub-skill call, update task tracking: set in_progress when step starts, set completed when step ends. [BLOCKING] Every completed/​skipped step MUST include brief evidence or explicit skip reason. [BLOCKING] If Task tools are unavailable, create and maintain an equivalent step-by-step plan tracker with the same status transitions.

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Quick Summary

Goal: Execute broad web search on a topic, collect and classify sources, and produce a tiered, deduplicated source map plus a gap list — the triaged candidate-source feedstock that deep-research dives into next — NOT a final research report.

Workflow:

1. Define scope — Parse topic, generate 5-10 search queries from varied angles
2. Execute searches — Run WebSearch for each query, collect results
3. Source triage — Classify each source by Tier (1-4), filter duplicates
4. Build source map — Write structured source list to working file
5. Identify gaps — Note underexplored angles for deep-research

Key Rules:

• Maximum 10 WebSearch calls per invocation
• Follow source hierarchy: Official docs (Tier 1) > Peer-reviewed (Tier 2) > Industry blogs (Tier 3) > Forums (Tier 4)
• Output intermediate source map, not final report

Be skeptical. Apply critical thinking, sequential thinking. Every claim needs traced proof, confidence percentages (Idea should be more than 80%).

Web Research

Step 1: Define Search Scope

Parse user's topic, generate 5-10 search queries covering:

• Definition/​overview — "what is {topic}"
• Current state — "{topic} 2026" or "{topic} latest"
• Comparison — "{topic} vs alternatives"
• Data/​statistics — "{topic} market size" or "{topic} statistics"
• Expert opinion — "{topic} expert analysis" or "{topic} review"
• Criticism/​risks — "{topic} challenges" or "{topic} risks"

Step 2: Execute Searches

For each query:

1. Run WebSearch with the query
2. Record: title, URL, snippet, apparent source type
3. Stop at 10 WebSearch calls maximum

Step 3: Source Triage

For each result, classify by Tier:

• Tier 1: .gov, .edu, official docs, peer-reviewed
• Tier 2: Industry reports, major publications
• Tier 3: Established blogs, verified experts, Wikipedia
• Tier 4: Forums, personal blogs, social media

Filter out duplicates (same URL or syndicated content).

Step 4: Build Source Map

Write to .claude/​tmp/​_sources-{slug}.md:

# Source Map: {Topic}

**Date:** {date}
**Queries executed:** {count}
**Sources found:** {count} (Tier 1: N, Tier 2: N, Tier 3: N, Tier 4: N)

## Sources

| #   | Title | URL | Tier | Relevance | Notes         |
| --- | ----- | --- | ---- | --------- | ------------- |
| 1   | ...   | ... | 1    | High      | Official docs |

## Gaps Identified

- {angle not covered}
- {topic needing deeper research}

Step 5: Identify Gaps

Review source map for:

• Missing perspectives (only positive sources? need criticism)
• Missing data types (no quantitative data? need statistics)
• Recency issues (all sources old? need current data)

Note gaps for the deep-research step.

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Workflow Recommendation

MANDATORY IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION — NO EXCEPTIONS: If you are NOT already in a workflow, you MUST ATTENTION use AskUserQuestion to ask the user. Do NOT judge task complexity or decide this is "simple enough to skip" — the user decides whether to use a workflow, not you:

1. Activate workflow-research workflow (Recommended) — web-research → deep-research → synthesis → review
2. Execute /​web-research directly — run this skill standalone

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Next Steps

MANDATORY IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION — NO EXCEPTIONS after completing this skill, you MUST ATTENTION use AskUserQuestion to present these options. Do NOT skip because the task seems "simple" or "obvious" — the user decides:

• "/​deep-research (Recommended)" — Deep-dive into top sources
• "/​business-evaluation" — If evaluating business viability
• "Skip, continue manually" — user decides

[IMPORTANT] Use TaskCreate to break ALL work into small tasks BEFORE starting.

External Memory: For complex or lengthy work (research, analysis, scan, review), write intermediate findings and final results to a report file in plans/​reports/ — prevents context loss and serves as deliverable.

Evidence Gate: MANDATORY IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION — every claim, finding, and recommendation requires file:line proof or traced evidence with confidence percentage (>80% to act, <80% must verify first).

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AI Mistake Prevention — Failure modes to avoid on every task:

Check downstream references before deleting. Deleting components causes documentation and code staleness cascades. Map all referencing files before removal. Verify AI-generated content against actual code. AI hallucinates APIs, class names, and method signatures. Always grep to confirm existence before documenting or referencing. Trace full dependency chain after edits. Changing a definition misses downstream variables and consumers derived from it. Always trace the full chain. Trace ALL code paths when verifying correctness. Confirming code exists is not confirming it executes. Always trace early exits, error branches, and conditional skips — not just happy path. When debugging, ask "whose responsibility?" before fixing. Trace whether bug is in caller (wrong data) or callee (wrong handling). Fix at responsible layer — never patch symptom site. Assume existing values are intentional — ask WHY before changing. Before changing any constant, limit, flag, or pattern: read comments, check git blame, examine surrounding code. Verify ALL affected outputs, not just the first. Changes touching multiple stacks require verifying EVERY output. One green check is not all green checks. Holistic-first debugging — resist nearest-attention trap. When investigating any failure, list EVERY precondition first (config, env vars, DB names, endpoints, DI registrations, data preconditions), then verify each against evidence before forming any code-layer hypothesis. Surgical changes — apply the diff test. Bug fix: every changed line must trace directly to the bug. Don't restyle or improve adjacent code. Enhancement task: implement improvements AND announce them explicitly. Surface ambiguity before coding — don't pick silently. If request has multiple interpretations, present each with effort estimate and ask. Never assume all-records, file-based, or more complex path. Keep domain concepts out of generic/​shared/​infrastructure layers. A reusable layer (shared library, framework, infra module) must reference NO consumer-specific domain concept — tenant/​customer/​product IDs, business entities, feature rules. The leak compiles and runs, so it passes review silently while coupling the "reusable" layer to one consumer. Push domain fields/​logic down into the consumer via subclass or composition.

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Critical Thinking Mindset — Apply critical thinking, sequential thinking. Every claim needs traced proof, confidence >80% to act. Anti-hallucination: Never present guess as fact — cite sources for every claim, admit uncertainty freely, self-check output for errors, cross-reference independently, stay skeptical of own confidence — certainty without evidence root of all hallucination.

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MUST ATTENTION apply critical thinking — every claim needs traced proof, confidence >80% to act. Anti-hallucination: never present guess as fact.

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MUST ATTENTION apply AI mistake prevention — holistic-first debugging, fix at responsible layer, surface ambiguity before coding, re-read files after compaction.

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Prompt-Enhance Closing Anchors

IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION follow declared step order for this skill; NEVER skip, reorder, or merge steps without explicit user approval IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION for every step/​sub-skill call: set in_progress before execution, set completed after execution IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION every skipped step MUST include explicit reason; every completed step MUST include concise evidence IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION if Task tools unavailable, maintain an equivalent step-by-step plan tracker with synchronized statuses

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Closing Reminders

IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION Goal: Produce a tiered, deduplicated source map plus a gap list — the triaged candidate-source feedstock that deep-research dives into next — NOT a final research report. IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION cap WebSearch at 10 calls per invocation, and rank sources by tier (1 official > 4 forums) — why: bounded fan-out + tier ranking keep the feedstock high-signal for deep-research. MANDATORY IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION break work into small todo tasks using TaskCreate BEFORE starting. MANDATORY IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION validate decisions with user via AskUserQuestion — never auto-decide. MANDATORY IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION add a final review todo task to verify work quality.

[TASK-PLANNING] Before acting, analyze task scope and systematically break it into small todo tasks and sub-tasks using TaskCreate.

[IMPORTANT] Analyze how big the task is and break it into many small todo tasks systematically before starting — this is very important.