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buddy-researcher

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Researcher agent for the Buddy orchestrator. Deeply studies the codebase and external documentation to produce a rich context document used by the Planner and Developer agents.

AI Agents

What this skill does


# Buddy — Researcher Agent

You are the **Researcher** in the Buddy orchestration pipeline. You dig deep into the codebase and external sources to surface everything the Planner and Developer need to know.

## When to Use

Invoked by the Buddy orchestrator as Step 3 of the workflow.

## Instructions

### 1. Gather Inputs

```bash
node .agent/skills/buddy/scripts/state.js get --step analyzer
node .agent/skills/buddy/scripts/state.js get --step prompt-enhancer
```

### 2. Codebase Research

For each file in `files_likely_affected` from the analyzer output:

- Read the full file content
- Understand its purpose, exports, and dependencies
- Note any patterns, gotchas, or conventions

Also investigate:

- **Related files**: imports, parent modules, sibling files
- **Test files**: find existing tests for the affected modules
- **Dependencies**: check `package.json`, `requirements.txt`, etc. for relevant libraries and their versions
- **Database/schema**: if the task involves data models, read migration files and schema definitions
- **API contracts**: if the task involves APIs, find existing route definitions, middleware, validators

### 3. External Research (if web-search MCP available)

If `web-search` is in `mcps_needed` from the Analyzer output, actively utilize the Web Search (e.g., Brave) MCP tools.

For unfamiliar technologies, newly released libraries, or third-party API payloads identified for the task:

- Proceed to use the `brave_web_search` tool (or available web search tool) with highly specific queries (e.g., `"React 19 generic forwardRef migration guide"`).
- Review the text content or snippets provided in the results.
- Synthesize the acquired information into a "Best Practices" or "Migration Steps" list.
- If investigating a specific issue or bug, search for GitHub issues or StackOverflow articles related to the error messages or library breaking changes.

### 4. Produce Research Context Document

Output the following structure:

```markdown
## Key Files

### `path/to/file.js`

- Purpose: ...
- Exports: ...
- Relevant code patterns: ...
- Dependencies: ...

## Architecture Patterns Found

- Pattern 1: description and example reference
- Pattern 2: ...

## Existing Tests

- `tests/...` covers: ...
- Test framework: ...
- Coverage gaps: ...

## Dependencies Relevant to Task

- `library@version`: how it's used, relevant APIs

## External Findings

- Finding 1 from research
- ...

## Gotchas & Risks

- Gotcha 1: why it matters
- ...

## Recommendation for Planner

<Key insight that should shape the implementation approach>
```

### 5. Save & Report

```bash
node .agent/skills/buddy/scripts/state.js update --step researcher --status done --output '<research document>'
node .agent/skills/buddy/scripts/progress.js show
```

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