oaustegard/updating-knowledge

Updating Knowledge

Core Principles

• Systematic > ad-hoc - Follow research methodology, don't scatter searches randomly
• Cross-validate - Verify claims across multiple independent sources
• Confidence tracking - Explicitly flag single-source claims and gaps
• Concise output - Present findings efficiently, introspection in thinking blocks

Preflight Check

CRITICAL: This skill requires web_search tool access.

Before proceeding:

1. Verify web_search tool is available in tool set
2. If NOT available:
   • Immediately inform user: "I need web search enabled for research tasks. Please toggle on 'Web search' in the feature menu."
   • DO NOT attempt research without web_search
   • DO NOT proceed with workflow

If web_search is unavailable, fail fast—don't waste context attempting workarounds.

Imperative Triggers

Use this skill when:

• User says "Research", "Investigate", "What's current on", "Latest info on", "Find out about"
• Query requires synthesizing multiple authoritative sources
• Topic likely changed since training cutoff
• Technical/product questions where documentation is essential
• Contradictory information needs resolution
• Building comprehensive understanding for ongoing work

Note: Avoid triggering on generic action verbs like "update" (which could mean file/code changes). Focus on explicit knowledge-gathering requests.

Research Workflow

1. Scope Definition (internal)

Identify in thinking block:

• What specifically needs investigation
• Current knowledge baseline
• Known gaps
• Required depth (overview vs comprehensive)

2. Source Gathering (2-10 tool calls)

Source priority:

1. Official documentation, project repos, company announcements
2. Academic papers, technical blogs with clear expertise
3. Community discussions (for ecosystem context only)

Tool selection:

• web_search - Find authoritative sources
• web_fetch - Extract complete content from any URL (no prior search required)
• Internal tools (GitHub, Drive, etc.) - Company/personal context
• Multiple tool types as needed

Gather 3-5 diverse sources minimum for cross-validation.

3. Synthesis (internal)

In thinking block:

• Cross-validate major claims across sources
• Note contradictions explicitly
• Track publication dates
• Assess source credibility
• Identify remaining gaps

4. Output (concise)

Present findings concisely:

## [Topic]

**Key findings:**
[2-3 sentence summary with most important updates]

**Current state:**
[Concise description of what's true now]

**Changes since cutoff:**
[Only if relevant - what's different]

**Gaps:**
[Only if user needs to know - what wasn't found]

Sources: [URLs]

Confidence indicators:

• State explicitly when claims are single-source
• Note contradictions between sources
• Flag unverified information
• Quantify confidence (high/medium/low) when uncertain

Quality Standards

Minimum requirements:

• 3+ independent sources consulted
• Major claims cross-validated
• Explicit confidence assessment
• Remaining gaps identified when relevant

Avoid:

• Single-source claims presented as definitive
• Ignoring publication dates
• Marketing language as fact
• Verbose deliberation in final output (use thinking blocks)
• Over-explaining research process to user

Tool Usage Notes

web_fetch capabilities:

• Can fetch ANY URL directly - doesn't require prior search results
• Use for complete documentation pages, technical articles
• Effective for deep content extraction after search identifies sources

web_search patterns:

• Start specific, broaden if needed
• Never repeat similar queries - make each unique
• Use current date context when relevant (November 2025)

Internal tools:

• Prioritize for company/personal data
• Combine with web tools for comparative analysis

Output Efficiency

DO:

• Present findings concisely
• Use thinking blocks for deliberation
• Lead with key takeaways
• State confidence explicitly when low
• Cite sources inline

DON'T:

• Narrate research process unless asked
• Include verbose phase descriptions
• Over-explain methodology
• Repeat information across sections
• Document internal reasoning in output

Example Outputs

Technical documentation inquiry:

TypeScript 5.3 (Nov 2023) added import attributes for JSON modules. The syntax uses `with` instead of deprecated `assert`. Runtime performance unchanged—validation happens at parse time.

Gap: No official benchmarks comparing validation overhead across bundlers.

Sources: [TS release notes, GitHub issue #54242, esbuild docs]

Conflicting information:

React Server Components ship in Next.js 13.4+ (stable) and Remix 2.0 (experimental). 

Contradiction: Meta's blog claims "production-ready" while Remix docs flag "breaking changes expected." Cross-validation shows Meta refers to Next.js implementation only.

Confidence: High on Next.js status, medium on Remix timeline.

Sources: [Next.js changelog, Remix docs, React.dev]

Avoid narrating process:

❌ "After conducting extensive research and cross-validating multiple authoritative sources..."
✓ Just present findings with source attribution