hellblazer/research

research

You MUST call nx_answer for research questions. Direct search/query calls for design/architecture/planning work are an anti-pattern. The plan library contains research-shape templates that compose retrieval + extract + synthesis; direct search skips the composition and returns chunks without the structure a research question needs.

The call

mcp__plugin_nx_nexus__nx_answer(
    question=<caller's phrasing>,
    dimensions={"verb": "research"},
    scope=<optional corpus / subtree filter>,
)

That's it. One tool call. nx_answer internally:

1. Matches the question against the plan library, narrowed to research-verb templates via the dimensional filter.
2. On hit: executes the matched template. Contiguous operator chains (extract → summarize, extract → rank → summarize) collapse into a single claude -p subprocess — 55-72% faster than the old per-step isolation while preserving or improving output quality.
3. On miss: inline claude -p planner decomposes the question into a DAG, then plan_run executes it.
4. Records the run to nx_answer_runs for observability and bumps plans.use_count/success_count/failure_count on matched plans.

Typical intent shapes

• "how does X work"
• "design context for Y"
• "trace Z from spec to code"
• cross-project comparisons ("how does X in project A compare to X in project B")

When direct search is fine

If the question is a single-corpus keyword lookup and you only need the raw chunks — e.g. "find the RDR that defines the Voyage quota limits" — mcp__plugin_nx_nexus__search is the right tool. It returns in ~1s; nx_answer would pay a plan-match + execution tax for no added composition value.

Use this skill when: the question needs composition across steps (retrieve + extract + synthesize), multi-corpus alignment, or decision- history walking through typed catalog links.

Anti-patterns (do not do any of these)

• Calling search directly for a composition-requiring research question. If the answer needs extract-then-synthesize or multi-corpus alignment, you need nx_answer. (For simple single-corpus lookups, see "When direct search is fine" above — that's not an anti-pattern.)
• Calling plan_match directly instead of nx_answer. You lose the run recording, the plan-miss inline-planner fallback, and the use_count telemetry that tells us whether plans are actually useful.
• Passing a narrower dimensions filter than {verb: "research"}. Research plans are scope:global and don't pin a domain; narrowing further will miss.

See /nx:plan-first for the gate discipline across all retrieval, and docs/plan-authoring-guide.md for how the research plan template is authored.