[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: setin_progresswhen step starts, setcompletedwhen 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.
[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).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.
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.
Quick Summary
Goal: Deep-dive into top sources, extract key findings, cross-validate claims, build structured evidence base.
Workflow:
- Read source map — Load output from web-research step
- Fetch top sources — WebFetch top 5-8 Tier 1-2 sources
- Extract findings — Pull key facts, data points, quotes
- Cross-validate — Compare findings across sources
- Build evidence base — Structured findings with confidence scores
Key Rules:
- Maximum 8 WebFetch calls per invocation
- Every finding must cite specific source
- Conflicting claims → present both, flag discrepancy
Be skeptical. Apply critical thinking, sequential thinking. Every claim needs traced proof, confidence percentages (Idea should be more than 80%).
Deep Research
Step 1: Load Source Map
Read the source map from .claude/tmp/_sources-{slug}.md (output of web-research step).
Prioritize sources for deep-dive:
- Tier 1-2 sources first
- High-relevance sources
- Sources covering identified gaps
Step 2: Fetch Top Sources
For each priority source (max 8):
- Run
WebFetchwith the URL - Extract: key claims, data points, quotes, methodology
- Note: publication date, author credentials, source type
Step 3: Extract Findings
For each source, extract:
- Key claims — factual statements with specific data
- Data points — numbers, percentages, dates
- Quotes — notable expert statements
- Methodology — how data was gathered (for market reports)
Step 4: Cross-Validate
Compare findings across sources:
- Agreement — 2+ sources say the same thing → high confidence
- Discrepancy — sources disagree → note both positions
- Unique — only 1 source → mark as "single source, unverified"
Step 5: Build Evidence Base
Write to .claude/tmp/_evidence-{slug}.md:
# Evidence Base: {Topic}
**Date:** {date}
**Sources analyzed:** {count}
## Findings
### Finding 1: {Title}
**Confidence:** {95%|80%|60%|<60%}
**Sources:** [1], [3]
**Content:** {finding with inline citations}
**Cross-validation:** {agreement/discrepancy notes}
## Unresolved Discrepancies
- {claim X from source A vs claim Y from source B}
## Gaps Remaining
- {what couldn't be verified}Workflow Recommendation
MANDATORY IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION — NO EXCEPTIONS: If you are NOT already in a workflow, you MUST ATTENTION useAskUserQuestionto 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. Activateresearchworkflow (Recommended) — web-research → deep-research → synthesis → review 2. Execute/deep-researchdirectly — run this skill standalone
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:
- "/business-evaluation (Recommended)" — Evaluate business viability from research
- "/knowledge-synthesis" — If synthesizing research report
- "Skip, continue manually" — user decides
Closing Reminders
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.
- MUST ATTENTION apply critical thinking — every claim needs traced proof, confidence >80% to act. Anti-hallucination: never present guess as fact.
- MUST ATTENTION apply AI mistake prevention — holistic-first debugging, fix at responsible layer, surface ambiguity before coding, re-read files after compaction.
[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.
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_progressbefore execution, setcompletedafter 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