Search First — Research Before You Code

Systematizes the "search for existing solutions before implementing" workflow.

When to Activate

Use this skill when:

• Starting a new feature that likely has existing solutions
• Adding a dependency or integration
• The user asks "add X functionality" and you're about to write code
• Before creating a new utility, helper, or abstraction
• Evaluating whether to build custom code or adopt a library for a well-known problem domain
• The planner or architect agent is about to choose a technology stack or integration pattern
• Checking whether an MCP server already provides a capability before implementing it natively

Workflow