# Research First

> Apply when planning fixes, investigating tech debt, architecting solutions, or diagnosing unknown issues. Search online for current documentation and state-of-the-art approaches before tracing through code.

- Skill: `zaxbysauce/research-first` (Agent Skill)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add zaxbysauce/research-first`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/zaxbysauce/research-first/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Docs & Writing
- Author: zaxbysauce (https://skillmd.com/u/zaxbysauce)
- Updated: 2026-09-17
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/zaxbysauce/research-first

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## Research Before Planning Protocol

Before planning any fix, tracing any issue, or proposing any solution:

1. Search online for current official documentation to confirm the behavior is NOT intended or already fixed
2. Search for state-of-the-art solutions, known community workarounds, and recent discussion on this problem type
3. Use parallel sub-agents to search multiple sources simultaneously
4. Report all findings before any code tracing begins

Then trace each problem end-to-end through the actual source code using parallel sub-agents.
Do not stop until ≥95% confident in the root cause for every issue being investigated.