Tool Selection Guide

Tool Selection Guide

Complete reference for choosing and using the right tools for documentation discovery.

context7.com (PRIORITY)

Use FIRST for all llms.txt lookups

Patterns:

GitHub repositories:

Pattern: https://context7.com/{org}/{repo}/llms.txt
Examples:
- https://github.com/vercel/next.js → https://context7.com/vercel/next.js/llms.txt
- https://github.com/shadcn-ui/ui → https://context7.com/shadcn-ui/ui/llms.txt

Websites:

Pattern: https://context7.com/websites/{normalized-path}/llms.txt
Examples:
- https://docs.imgix.com/ → https://context7.com/websites/imgix/llms.txt
- https://ffmpeg.org/doxygen/8.0/ → https://context7.com/websites/ffmpeg_doxygen_8_0/llms.txt

Topic-specific searches:

Pattern: https://context7.com/{path}/llms.txt?topic={query}
Examples:
- https://context7.com/shadcn-ui/ui/llms.txt?topic=date
- https://context7.com/vercel/next.js/llms.txt?topic=cache
- https://context7.com/websites/ffmpeg_doxygen_8_0/llms.txt?topic=compress

Benefits:

• Comprehensive aggregator of documentation
• Up-to-date content
• Topic filtering for targeted results
• Consistent format across libraries
• Reduces search time

When to use:

• ALWAYS try context7.com first before WebSearch
• Use topic parameter when user asks about specific feature
• Fall back to WebSearch only if context7.com returns 404

WebSearch

Use when:

• context7.com unavailable or returns 404
• Finding GitHub repository URLs
• Locating official documentation sites
• Identifying package registries
• Searching for specific versions

Best practices:

• Try context7.com FIRST
• Include domain in query: site:docs.example.com
• Specify version when needed: v2.0 llms.txt
• Use official terms: "official repository" "documentation"
• Check multiple domains if first fails

Example queries:

Good: "Next.js llms.txt site:nextjs.org"
Good: "React v18 documentation site:react.dev"
Good: "Vue 3 official github repository"

Avoid: "how to use react" (too vague)
Avoid: "best react tutorial" (not official)

WebFetch

Use when:

• Reading llms.txt content
• Accessing single documentation pages
• Retrieving specific URLs
• Checking documentation structure
• Verifying content availability

Best practices:

• Use specific prompt: "Extract all documentation URLs"
• Handle redirects properly
• Check for rate limiting
• Verify content is complete
• Note last-modified dates when available

Limitations:

• Single URL at a time (use Explorer for multiple)
• May timeout on very large pages
• Cannot handle dynamic content
• No JavaScript execution

Task Tool with Explore Subagent

Use when:

• Multiple URLs to read (3+)
• Need parallel exploration
• Comprehensive documentation coverage
• Time-sensitive requests
• Large documentation sets

Best practices:

• Launch all agents in single message
• Distribute workload evenly
• Group related URLs per agent
• Maximum 7 agents per batch
• Provide clear extraction goals

Example prompt:

"Read the following URLs and extract:
1. Installation instructions
2. Core API methods
3. Configuration options
4. Common usage examples

URLs:
- [url1]
- [url2]
- [url3]"

Task Tool with Researcher Subagent

Use when:

• No structured documentation found
• Need diverse information sources
• Community knowledge required
• Scattered documentation
• Comparative analysis needed

Best practices:

• Assign specific research areas per agent
• Request source verification
• Ask for date/version information
• Prioritize official sources
• Cross-reference findings

Example prompt:

"Research [library] focusing on:
1. Official installation methods
2. Common usage patterns
3. Known limitations or issues
4. Community best practices

Prioritize official sources and note version/date for all findings."

Repomix

Use when:

• GitHub repository available
• Need complete codebase analysis
• Documentation scattered in repository
• Want to analyze code structure
• API documentation in code comments

Installation:

# Check if installed
which repomix

# Install globally if needed
npm install -g repomix

# Verify installation
repomix --version

Usage:

# Basic usage
git clone [repo-url] /tmp/docs-analysis
cd /tmp/docs-analysis
repomix --output repomix-output.xml

# Focus on specific directory
repomix --include "docs/**" --output docs-only.xml

# Exclude large files
repomix --exclude "*.png,*.jpg,*.pdf" --output repomix-output.xml

When Repomix may fail:

• Repository > 1GB (too large)
• Requires authentication (private repo)
• Slow network connection
• Limited disk space
• Binary-heavy repository

Alternatives if Repomix fails:

# Option 1: Focus on docs directory only
repomix --include "docs/**,README.md" --output docs.xml

# Option 2: Use Explorer agents to read specific files
# Launch agents to read key documentation files directly

# Option 3: Manual repository exploration
# Read README, then explore /docs directory structure

Tool Selection Decision Tree

Need documentation?
  ↓
Try context7.com first
  ↓
Know GitHub org/repo?
  YES → https://context7.com/{org}/{repo}/llms.txt
  NO → Continue
  ↓
Know website URL?
  YES → https://context7.com/websites/{normalized-path}/llms.txt
  NO → Continue
  ↓
Specific topic/feature?
  YES → Add ?topic={query} parameter
  NO → Use base llms.txt URL
  ↓
context7.com found?
  YES → Process llms.txt URLs (go to URL count check)
  NO → Continue
  ↓
Fallback: WebSearch for llms.txt
  ↓
Single URL?
  YES → WebFetch
  NO → Continue
  ↓
1-3 URLs?
  YES → Single Explorer agent
  NO → Continue
  ↓
4+ URLs?
  YES → Multiple Explorer agents (3-7)
  NO → Continue
  ↓
Need repository analysis?
  YES → Repomix (if available)
  NO → Continue
  ↓
No structured docs?
  YES → Researcher agents

Quick Reference