LIFEAI/rdc:preplan

⚠️ OUTPUT CONTRACT (READ FIRST): guides/output-contract.md Checklist-only output. No tool-call narration. No raw MCP/JSON/log dumps. One checklist upfront, updated in place, shown again at end with a 1-line verdict.

If dispatching subagents or running as a subagent: read {PROJECT_ROOT}/.rdc/guides/agent-bootstrap.md first (fallback: {PROJECT_ROOT}/.rdc/guides/agent-bootstrap.md).

Sandbox contract: This skill honors RDC_TEST=1 per guides/agent-bootstrap.md § RDC_TEST Sandbox Contract. This skill is read-only and produces only local file writes — no destructive external calls to short-circuit.

rdc:preplan — Research Before Planning

When to Use

• Starting a new feature area you haven't built before
• Need to understand how best-in-class projects solve a problem
• Codebase has unknowns that need mapping before planning
• Project lead says "research", "look into", "what's the best way to", "how do others do"
• Called by rdc:overnight before planning an epic with no existing tasks

Arguments

• rdc:preplan <topic> — interactive research session
• rdc:preplan <topic> --unattended — silent mode for overnight builds

Procedure

1. Parse the topic from user input or epic title/description.

   • Interactive: if vague, ask ONE clarifying question before proceeding
   • Unattended: infer from the epic title + description — never pause to ask

2. Web research — search for current (2025-2026) best practices:

   • How do major projects solve this?
   • What tools/libraries exist?
   • What are the common tradeoffs?

3. Codebase analysis — what do we already have?

   • Search relevant packages for existing code
   • Check .rdc/research/ for prior research on this topic (fallback: .rdc/research/)
   • Check docs/archive/ for historical work
   • Research agents should read relevant guides from .rdc/guides/ (fallback: .rdc/guides/)
   • Check work items for related epics
   • Read relevant CLAUDE.md files

4. Best-in-class comparison — create a comparison table: | Approach | Pros | Cons | Fit for Us |

5. Surface unknowns — what questions remain unanswered?

6. Write research doc to .rdc/research/<topic-slug>.md (fallback: .rdc/research/<topic-slug>.md if .rdc/ does not exist):

   # Research: <Topic>
   > Generated: <date> | Requested by: Project Lead
   
   ## Question
   ## What We Already Have
   ## Best-in-Class Analysis
   ## Comparison Table
   ## Unknowns & Open Questions
   ## Recommendation (preliminary — not a decision)
   

7. Report results:

   • Interactive: summarize findings. Do NOT create epics or write code.
   • Unattended: skip summary, emit status block only:

     PREPLAN_STATUS: { topic, doc_path, unknowns_count, recommendation_confidence: "high|medium|low" }
     

Unattended Escalation

When --unattended and recommendation_confidence is "low" (≥5 unresolved unknowns, or no clear best-fit approach exists), escalate via the advisor tool rather than stopping. Provide the advisor with: topic, unknowns list, comparison table. Resume with advisor's direction if given. If advisor cannot resolve, log and skip to next step.

Rules

• Output is a RESEARCH DOC, not a plan
• Do not make architectural decisions — surface options with tradeoffs
• Do not create work items
• Do not write code
• Web search is mandatory — don't just analyze the codebase
• Keep the doc under 200 lines — concise, not exhaustive
• Unattended: NEVER pause for input; infer and proceed