---
name: researching
description: "Use when Discovery must answer one bounded external question from documentation, release notes, APIs, or other primary sources."
---

# researching: one question, one cited report

## Contract

Follow `references/source-contract.md`. Discovery performs bounded external research. The brief must name one question, required primary
source list, one run-scoped output path, time/tool-call budget, output shape, and non-goals.
Validate all of these before the first read. Codebase orientation or implementation belongs to
the assigned role, not an invented research branch.

Read every required accessible source fully within budget. Record canonical URL or identifier,
version/date, retrieval status, and the exact heading, anchor, line, or excerpt used. A search
snippet, remembered answer, or secondary summary may point to a source but cannot support a
finding. Every claim in the findings section has a citation; unsupported material is an open
question with no implied truth.

## Research loop

1. Restate the question and boundaries without adding a second deliverable.
2. Read the source list, preserving source order and recording unavailable or changed sources.
3. Extract claims only with precise citations. Separate observed text from interpretation.
4. Compare versions and sources. Surface conflicts, freshness gaps, compatibility limits, and
   unresolved questions instead of choosing the convenient answer.
5. Write exactly one report at the declared path and verify its schema, citations, and digest.
6. Stop at the actual budget. A partial report names missing sources and next action; it is not a
   complete answer.

## Authority

Discovery is read-only. It does not edit production, configuration, migrations, build logic,
tests, manifests, or native state; it does not dispatch or coordinate another role; and it does
not decide acceptance. An implementation suggestion is a clearly labeled implication for the
consumer, not a mutation. The report is the only output, and every claim can be traced to a
source or marked unresolved.

## Inheritance and binding

Skill inheritance is explicit: Discovery starts with `researching`. It may load `context` for
bounded project memory and `verification` for report proof. It does not inherit `implementing`,
`debugging`, `artifact-work`, `lane-execution`, `reviewing`, `planning`, or `sprint-graph`.

Native launch binds the exact Discovery role, `research` work kind, question, source list, read
scope, one report path, task digest, and complete sorted skill-bundle digest over every accepted
regular file's path, mode, and bytes. A missing, stale, replayed, cross-install, or broad report
attachment fails before research begins.