pr-research

# PR Research Skill

Systematic exploration of upstream repositories before contributing. Produces
structured findings in `~/gt/.agents/<rig>/research/`.

## Overview

Research an external codebase to understand how to contribute effectively.
This is the FIRST step before planning or implementing an open source contribution.

**When to Use**:
- Before contributing to an external repository
- Starting a new open source contribution
- Evaluating whether to contribute to a project
- Understanding a project's contribution culture

**When NOT to Use**:
- Researching your own codebase (use `/research`)
- Already familiar with the project's guidelines
- Trivial documentation-only changes

---

## Workflow

```
-1. Prior Work Check    -> BLOCKING: Check for existing issues/PRs on this topic
0.  CONTRIBUTING.md     -> MANDATORY: Find and read contribution guidelines (BLOCKING)
1.  Repository Setup    -> Clone/identify upstream repo
2.  Guidelines Analysis -> Templates, CODE_OF_CONDUCT, additional docs
3.  PR Archaeology      -> Analyze merged PRs, commit patterns
4.  Maintainer Research -> Response patterns, review expectations
5.  Issue Discovery     -> Find contribution opportunities
6.  Output              -> Write research document
7.  Confirm             -> Verify file, inform user
```

---

## Phase -1: Prior Work Check (BLOCKING)

**CRITICAL**: Before ANY research, check if someone is already working on this.

### -1.1 Search for Existing Issues

```bash
# Search for open issues on this topic
gh issue list -R <owner/repo> --state open --search "<topic keywords>" --limit 20

# Search all issues (including closed) for prior work
gh issue list -R <owner/repo> --state all --search "<topic keywords>" --limit 10
```

### -1.2 Search for Existing PRs

```bash
# Search for open PRs that might address this
gh pr list -R <owner/repo> --state open --search "<topic keywords>" --limit 20

# Check for recently merged PRs (might already be fixed)
gh pr list -R <owner/repo> --state m