research.

Answer a concrete dependency question with source evidence: behavior, revision, and supporting locations. Change project code only when the request also authorizes implementation.

Source and revision

Use the supplied repository or source URL. Otherwise identify the dependency from the request, imports, manifest, and lockfile, then find its official source. Ask only when source or version ambiguity would change the answer.

Prefer the reported or deployed version, then the project’s pinned dependency. Use the current default branch, recording its commit, only for current development. For a cross-release comparison, identify each revision separately; never substitute latest source for an unavailable affected release.

Keep reusable shallow clones outside the project under ~/.research/<owner>/<repo>/ or an equivalent persistent path. Clone a tag or branch with: git clone --depth 1 --branch <tag-or-branch> <repo-url> <store-path>

For an existing clone, run git -C <store-path> fetch --depth 1 origin <ref>, then git -C <store-path> checkout --detach FETCH_HEAD, and record git -C <store-path> rev-parse HEAD. Resolve release names to actual refs and keep fetches shallow. One owner fixes each shared checkout’s revision while workers read it; use separate checkouts for concurrent revisions. If cloning is unavailable, read versioned canonical source or release artifacts and name the evidence you could not reach.

Investigate

Delegate substantive investigation by default; the parent keeps source selection, interpretation, and the answer. If delegation is unavailable, investigate directly and say so. Give each worker the question, revision, context, and a read-only assignment requiring sources and limits.

For a broad question, map exports, implementation paths, examples, and tests first, then assign focused reads. Parallelize independent questions and keep single lookups direct.

Return

Answer with source locations and the revision inspected. Separate demonstrated behavior, inference, and unresolved claims. If blocked, name the check and what would enable it.

If implementation is also requested, apply the demonstrated API and version-specific constraints, then verify behavior and required checks. Reading source does not prove the code works or authorize commits, publication, or deployment.