research

research

Produce a standalone research dossier — a multi-page deliverable published on the jackin' docs site — for an open question or roadmap topic. Brief-driven: author the brief, then execute it. Gathers and synthesizes evidence (web + codebase); does not make product design decisions.

Reference implementation: docs/content/docs/research/token-optimization-research/ in the jackin' repo.

When to use

• Operator runs /jackin-dev:research <slug> for a substantial investigation.

When NOT to use

• Design decisions on a roadmap item → /jackin-dev:brainstorm.
• Quick lookup → deep-research or Explore directly, no dossier.

Arguments

• --brief-only — author prompt.mdx (the brief) and stop; execute later via /goal Follow <brief>.
• --in-roadmap — store findings inline in the roadmap item instead of a separate dossier (small research only).
• --web-only / --codebase-only — restrict gathering to one pass.

Output layout (default: separate folder)

docs/content/docs/research/<slug>/
├── meta.json     # { title, defaultOpen:false, pages:[...] } — sidebar order
├── index.mdx     # dossier landing: headline numbers, how-to-read, tier list
├── prompt.mdx    # the brief that was run (the spec; carries the /goal run line)
├── NN-*.mdx      # numbered chapters (00 summary, 01.. foundations, 10-20 areas, 30+ synthesis)
└── tools/        # optional scripts + own meta.json + index.mdx

Also add <slug> to the parent docs/content/docs/research/meta.json pages. Big research → own folder (default); small → --in-roadmap.

Process

1. Scope / brief. From the topic (or roadmap item), draft or load prompt.mdx: mission, chapter list, evidence rules. With --brief-only, stop here.
2. Gather. Web via the built-in deep-research; codebase via Explore/grep. Every external claim carries a source URL; every local number carries its method.
3. Write. index.mdx (headline numbers + how-to-read + tier list) and the numbered chapters in a fixed per-technique record schema; bundle any reproduction scripts under tools/.
4. Wire the sidebar. Create/update the dossier meta.json and the parent research/meta.json.
5. Docs gate + commit. Run the bun docs gate (build, check:repo-links, tsc --noEmit, test) from docs/. Commit docs(research):; push.

Common mistakes

• Forcing a Problem/Why/Design shape — a dossier is free-form, not a roadmap item.
• Making design decisions — that is brainstorm.
• An unsourced external claim, or a local number without its method.
• meta.json pages out of sync with the files on disk.

Tooling

cargo xtask research scaffold <slug> creates the folder + meta.json; cargo xtask research check validates pages against disk. Execution typically runs via the external /goal Follow <brief>.